Best OS

What is the best OS for SMP? I plan on running dual pentium 3's

There was a thread earlier on this one, you might want to search it out. If linux is your thing, most any will do.

Windows wise, 2k is my vote, because it's so much cleaner than XP pro. My dual PIII 600's @ 800 mhz run like a dream. I'm loving it.

eli said:

My dual PIII 600's @ 800 mhz run like a dream. I'm loving it.

Click to expand...

Now are they coppermines or katmais?

They run on a standard 100 fsb. I bumped it to 133. So they must be the Katami core.

There are Coppermine 100fsb CPU's.....550, 600, 700, 750, 800 and 1000 MHz were made IIRC. I also doubt that you have 2 Katmai 600's running at 800

Hey, i'll take your word for it. I'm not quite with it when we're talking intel cpus.

Where's the delete button? flames are boring.

If you want a good OS for SMP, first you have to figure out what exactly do you want to do with the SMP system? If you want to do Distributed Computing projects, etc, I'd say go with Linux or FreeBSD.

If you want an easy to use general desktop, try Win2k, WinXp, or BeOS. There are several versions of BeOS with many great apps. BeOS was made from the ground up with SMP in mind--Don't knock it till you try it. Specifically Developer's Edition v2.0 or Max Edition v2.1. If you want to use a Linux desktop, I'd stick with Debian or Gentoo (even though they SUCK to install, their method of package management & application retrieving are the best available [like BSD.]) If you hate building from Source or CVS, checkout the uPM project: http://u-os.org/upm.html a development team which is trying to make installing 3rd party software a hell of a lot easier in Linux.

There's A LOT of OS' out there, and few people outside of engineering/research institutions know about them. Write up a checklist of your needs: Ie, OS must support internet, have a web browser, support Software RAID, whatever.

I would just go with win 2K. Linux (mandrake) won't even boot when I enable SMP in the sig below.

I actually like Win Xp for all of the features and stability. It really depends on what you are doing with it.

vod said:

As far as win2k vs linux, imho linux wins out on smp.
In past experimentation linux tends to make better use of 2 procs. W2k leaves them half unused most of the time if you're not running cpu intensive apps, linux uses both to the max whenever it can.
But that choice is dependant on a lot more things than performance

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Umm... huh?

Any OS uses the CPU when it needs it (and only as long as it needs it) for thread execution. No matter what OS you have if your CPU's are running full bore all the time, something is wrong (unless you're running F@H, Seti, etc).

Most likely if you're basing it off of *your* Linux system, you've probably got a whole boatload of services/daemons running that you don't need.

erm. No.
What I meant was that linux will utilize the CPU's better and finish the task much quicker. Not that it loads them all the time.
I'm running kernel 2.5.50-vanilla and the smp support in it was completely overhauled. It is now one of the best on the planet. No joke. I would put linux smp in 2.5 up against any other OS in existance.
That's my impression and of people on the list.
If you don't believe me wait for some benchmarks when 2.6 or 3.0 whatever they end up calling it is released.

Also, don't forget that it's not just 'Linux'.
It's GNU/Linux. It's the linux kernel and a hell of a lot of free software.
Free software that tends to be smp-capable.
I'm not going to start a flame war. I'm gonna delete my original post.
Like I said at the end. Linux smp performance is better, but that HARDLY factors into which OS one chooses to run.

Vod, all opinions are welcome here. We won't flame you.

The sharing of knowledge, experience, and opinions is what the forums are all about.

TheFrag, what are planning on doing with your dual? I think that is probably the most important factor in which operating system to choose.