Re: Advantages of 64-bit vs 32-bit on old hardware

[Dave McGuire <mcguire%neurotica.com@localhost>]

On Mar 12, 2008, at 1:25 AM, raymond.meyer%rambler.ru@localhost wrote:
> > I think a better question is, "Are there any particular advantages of
> > such old hardware?"
> >
> > You can find a (single CPU) 450 MHz Ultra 60 with 1 GB of RAM, a  
> > CD-ROM
> > drive and a 9 GB disk on eBay for US $95.  I cannot fathom for the  
> > life
> > of me why anyone in their right mind would run anything older/slower,
> > except out of pure masochism.
>
> Well my Ultra 10 is 440MHz, so not that much slower than Ultra 60.

  - uniprocessor vs. dual processor
  - how much cache lives on that 440MHz module?

> I fitted 2
> SCSI disks giving me a total of about 80GB of storage, Sony DVD  
> multi drive,
> 5 port USB card so I can use USB printer/keyboard/mouse. This makes  
> it quite
> a nice workstation. Some time ago the battery in NVRAM module died,  
> since
> this machine is about 10 years old, but I bought a brand new one,  
> so that
> should last for another 10 years.
>
> The hardware may be old, but it's very reliable and quite usable.  
> Solaris was
> kinda slow on it, but NetBSD feels much faster, it took only 3 days  
> to build
> kde3, koffice, gimp and a bunch of other software I use.
>
> Why spend money on new hardware when old hardware is much cheaper  
> and does
> everything I need.

  Forgive me for jumping in...I generally agree 100% with that  
sentiment, but let's face the facts: The Ultra5/Ultra10 are the "PC"  
versions of UltraSPARC hardware.  Everything about those two machines  
is far, far below Sun's general level of quality, from chassis  
solidity to performance to overall feel.

  Grab yourself another member of the Ultra family (I'd recommend an  
Ultra2 or Ultra60) and you'll see what I mean.

          -Dave

--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL