i386,i486,i586... n so on, but which one is mine

[fukinmale]

what is i386,i486,i586,i686
whenever i m there to download a file i get across these terms n i totally get confused
i have a pentium D processor with 512mb or ram and 160gb hdd
is this something to do with all this

and one thing more ,,,, i m very new to linux, i liked its speed and responsiveness
somehow i installed it on my computer now its a dual boot with xp
i dont wanna leave linux in mid way , i want to learn more n want a perfect source for it
so i request u all to please help me to stick on to this new operating system............

[devils casper]

what is i386,i486,i586,i686
whenever i m there to download a file i get across these terms n i totally get confused
i have a pentium D processor with 512mb or ram and 160gb hdd
is this something to do with all this

check this thread and post the output of 'uname -a' command here.

[mahlerfan]

You should be an i586, how it works is that i386, 486, 586 or generic x86 should work for you. See your processor is right on this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I586

To be sure type

cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep "cpu family"

If the number is 5 or lower that fits the bill, if it's 6 or higher there will be no restriction on what specific x86 architecture you use (because Intel and Athlon processors are backwards compatible).

[bigtomrodney]

Isn't the Pentium D an i686? Actually I think it might even have the 64bit extensions....

EDIT - Just checked it out, it has EM64T.

http://www.intel.com/products/proces...odbrief800.pdf

[IO3]

You have a i686. Any processor from a pentium 3 (I think) is an i686.

[IsaacKuo]

686 is anything Pentium 2 onwards (including all Celerons). Actually, some sorts of Pentium Pro also include the necessary Pentium 2 extensions.

[fukinmale]

thanks all of u for ur help , i really needed it

but i think i have to study more to be able to find out wat all these terms mean

i m new to all these terms but surely learn all this soon ...........

thanks again to all of u

[bigtomrodney]

You can go into a lot of details, but ultimately all you need to know is that they are generations of Intel CPUs. They are generally backwards compatible, so when a package is i386 it means it is not specifically targeted at the newer features of a processor and will run on anything later than (and including) an i386.

Before Pentium processors these CPUs were simply referred to as a '386' or a '486', but if urban legend is true someone got there and grabbed the copyright on 'i586' and thus began the Pentium brand (Pent as in 5). Of course the Pentium brand was so well established that by the release of 686 technology the Pentium name was kept.

[IsaacKuo]

That's a funny urban legend. More like you can't trademark a number!

Back then, Cyrix and others were selling clone processors with the "486" number. Intel couldn't sue them to stop it, because you can't trademark a number. Consumers had no special loyalty to the Intel brand, so they just bought whatever processors they wanted based on the "486" number and Mhz rating. Intel was in trouble of being swamped by clone makers, just like what was happening to IBM.

So Intel came up with a processor name they COULD trademark--"Pentium". Intel had a catchy name that no one else could copy and an "Intel Inside" campaign to build brand loyalty. The rest is history...

(Of course, the "Pentium" name would also be latched onto the infamous "Pentium bug"...but that ended up being a minor footnote.)