Can't decide - can you help?

[zolar1]

If I have a CPU with multiple cores I expect every one of the cores to share equally in the load, not max out one then go onto the next. That would be pointless.

If you run an app that can only use one thread and it loads a single core there is not much you can do about it ........  except find out what is causing it ......  IIUC ....

In XP Pro, you can select which CPU you want to use. Can this be done with Linux?

15 apps on one core and the other 3 cores are unused isn't very efficient

You seem to miss the point .......  if you run four apps, one on each core, and one of those apps uses the full resources of its core while the other three are lightweight, you get one core maxed out and the other three little used.

What do you think could be done about it?

At least only one app will be slow but the other 3 will work nicely.

Under normal use, if one app maxes out the cpu the whole computer grinds to a halt until it gets done with the work. Coined: a resource hog.

So, to keep the cpu working on more than one thing you give the resource hog one cpu core and split the remaining load between the other 2-5 cores.

The whole computer doesn't slow down or stop.

[gseaman]

At least only one app will be slow but the other 3 will work nicely.

Under normal use, if one app maxes out the cpu the whole computer grinds to a halt until it gets done with the work. Coined: a resource hog.

So, to keep the cpu working on more than one thing you give the resource hog one cpu core and split the remaining load between the other 2-5 cores.

The whole computer doesn't slow down or stop.

If you are experiencing this on your system with PCLinuxOS and you are using the .bfs or .pae.bfs kernel, then you are probably encountering I/O blocking. I am working on a new kernel with an improved I/O scheduler that will probably solve this for you.

Galen

[zolar1]

At least only one app will be slow but the other 3 will work nicely.

Under normal use, if one app maxes out the cpu the whole computer grinds to a halt until it gets done with the work. Coined: a resource hog.

So, to keep the cpu working on more than one thing you give the resource hog one cpu core and split the remaining load between the other 2-5 cores.

The whole computer doesn't slow down or stop.

If you are experiencing this on your system with PCLinuxOS and you are using the .bfs or .pae.bfs kernel, then you are probably encountering I/O blocking. I am working on a new kernel with an improved I/O scheduler that will probably solve this for you.

Galen

I am using the AMD kernel for pclos.

I usually get the stoppage when running online flash animation/games under chrome.

I get the same problem with firefox too.

So, I figure that if I can get flash and chrome on one cpu I can still use the computer for other things while waiting.

[Old-Polack]

I have seen the DDR3 with varying numbers. Like 10200 or similar, 12800, etc.

On my box I seem to have 100% CPU usage regularly.

I did notice that for the past few months my update notifier keeps saying do not upgrade.
I'm not sure why.

Shut down update-notifier, then upgrade with Synaptic. It will point out any problems to be corrected. Once that's done and the upgrade has finished, close Synaptic and restart update-notifier. It should then continue to work as expected.

I like PCLOS but have been thinking about going to Mint because of all the extra software available.

PCLOS is still 32 bit too. Mint you can get either way.

We will too, very shortly. The main hold up, at this point, is the new graphics theme being made for the official 64 bit release. I'm running it right now, and have been doing so for months. It is very stable and user friendly, just needs the final polish to make it pretty.  

If I have a CPU with multiple cores I expect every one of the cores to share equally in the load, not max out one then go onto the next. That would be pointless.

If I run any VM I will have XP on it since the memory will exceed the 4gb limit for XP.

I would also set up my two SSD drives in a RAID 1 via on board hardware settings so as not to have linux do it. I don't want to have to configure anything. Just plug and play.

I am hoping that the new generation of SSD's have on board TRIM support. Maybe buy one of those.

I pretty much want double my existing speed. At least the computer would be good for a few years yet.

I expect this build of my machine to last quite some time too. I may, at some point, replace the four core with a six or eight core, and maybe add an SSD or two, but otherwise it's pretty much set for the long haul. I put it in a new case because the old one was 12 years old, and lacked front USB, eSATA and audio jacks. I was looking for an add in panel, and found what I wanted for $29.99. Then I saw this case, on the same web page, with the same front ports included, with the drive bays facing the left side, and all the drive and external bays requiring no tools to mount whatever was placed in them. The side panels are held in place with large thumb screws too, so no tools are required to make changes to the hardware, except for fan mounting screws. It came with three 120 mm fans, already mounted, and an option for two extra 120 mm speed controlled left side panel fans for $39.99, on sale. The optional fans were another $7.98 for the pair. It seemed more prudent to buy the case, and extra fans, than spend the $29.99 for just the front port panel.

It really is a nice case, well thought out, well built, and the 120 mm fans are very quiet, as in, I have to place my hand in front of them to be sure they are running. I don't hear them at all. The front fan and the two side panel fans blow inward, while the top and back fans exhaust, giving excellent cooling to the interior and all components. One of the drive bays has a special carrier for up to two SSDs, and extra ones can be ordered, if desired. The bay itself can be used for either a standard hard drive, or the SSD carrier, and the carrier will work with any one of the internal bays. The power supply is bottom mounted also, so that big heavy power cord is on the floor, not in the way of everything else connected at the rear.

[Crow]

OK O-P  spare me more details and just give me the brand and model of that case    maybe I still can find one.

[zolar1]

It really is a nice case, well thought out, well built, and the 120 mm fans are very quiet, as in, I have to place my hand in front of them to be sure they are running. I don't hear them at all. The front fan and the two side panel fans blow inward, while the top and back fans exhaust, giving excellent cooling to the interior and all components. One of the drive bays has a spacial carrier for up to two SSDs, and extra ones can be ordered, if desired. The bay itself can be used for either a standard hard drive, or the SSD carrier, and the carrier will work with any one of the internal bays. The power supply is bottom mounted also, so that big heavy power cord is on the floor, not in the way of everything else connected at the rear.

Now that is really smart. Less chance of a tip over!

[Old-Polack]

How about a link? Price listed now is $10.00 above what I paid on the special, but still lower than its regular listing.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

Click on the picture to get an enlarged view, and extra views. Note those showing the interior. I always thought a case was a case, nothing to get carried away with, all pretty much the same, but for the price I paid, I'm super pleased with this item, and it's more than just another case. Most of the features only appear in cases with much higher prices.

I wouldn't pay this much for a case, except at a very rash moment, but I wouldn't turn it down as a birthday present. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139005

Watch the video, too.

[Crow]

Goes to bookmarks, now I will ask my brother in law if he can bring it from the border and when   

[zolar1]

How about a link? Price listed now is $10.00 above what I paid on the special, but still lower than its regular listing.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

Click on the picture to get an enlarged view, and extra views. Note those showing the interior. I always thought a case was a case, nothing to get carried away with, all pretty much the same, but for the price I paid, I'm super pleased with this item, and it's more than just another case. Most of the features only appear in cases with much higher prices.

I wouldn't pay this much for a case, except at a very rash moment, but I wouldn't turn it down as a birthday present. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139005

Watch the video, too.

Both are quite nice, but I don't think I need a night light - LOL

Other one is unnecessarily expensive.

I can reuse my current box so I can divert more money into getting hardware.
My power supply is rated for 750 watts If I remember. I ran 6 hard drive, 2 burners, 3 accessory cards, a video card, 4gb ram, and Athlon CPU with fans of course.

Electric meter went haywire over all that. I needed a dedicated 20 amp circuit to handle it.

Now, just a little of what I really need. SSD's don't use much power and that saves money.
Running 2 SSD's and one traditional Hard drive (shared), a video card, mobo, cpu, memory, and 2 burners.

Probably D/C one of the burners. I don't use them much anymore.

I do have a self powered USB hub so that doesn't take much away from the power supply.

[Old-Polack]

Both are quite nice, but I don't think I need a night light - LOL

Other one is unnecessarily expensive.

I can reuse my current box so I can divert more money into getting hardware.
My power supply is rated for 750 watts If I remember. I ran 6 hard drive, 2 burners, 3 accessory cards, a video card, 4gb ram, and Athlon CPU with fans of course.

Electric meter went haywire over all that. I needed a dedicated 20 amp circuit to handle it.

Now, just a little of what I really need. SSD's don't use much power and that saves money.
Running 2 SSD's and one traditional Hard drive (shared), a video card, mobo, cpu, memory, and 2 burners.

Probably D/C one of the burners. I don't use them much anymore.

I do have a self powered USB hub so that doesn't take much away from the power supply.

When I ran the unit with the 7 hard drives, I also had two IDE burners, one CD-R/RW compatible  and one CD/DVD+/-R/RW/RAM compatible with LiteScribe, and a nVidia GeForce 8600 GT graphics card. I called Antec and asked what sized PSU I'd need. They asked for a complete list of of the hardware I was installing, by brand name and model number, ran some calculations and recommended a 430 watt unit. At the time there was a 550 watt Antec modular unit on a spacial that actually cost less than the non modular 430 watt, so I bought that one. I'm still using it and have never come close to overloading it. Your 750 Watt is overkill, but should last forever.

I did 5 rebuilds using my previous case, and all the parts from the previous dual core build are still in working order, so I'm going to put them back into that case and use it as a server/backup unit to this one. It's a AM2+ socket MB using DDR2 RAM, so I may also add a Phenom four core, which is a drop in with that socket, and are currently showing up, on and off, as reasonable priced specials. It's not necessary, but if the price is right...  

I just missed, by one day, a special on an AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, with $20.00 off the current $109.99 listed price. That's the one that is a 6 core, sold as a 4 core, with two cores locked. They may be good, they may be bad, but they are unlockable in the Black Edition. That's not a bad price for a 4 core, and an even better price if the extra cores are good. It may show up again, in a week or two, at the same or an even lower price.

Hey, I forgot to check my mail. Then again, there will always be another sale.  

[Old-Polack]

Speaking of another sale, I just got this in my mailbox from Newegg.



Hadn't noticed that the top fan is a 140 mm unit, rather than the 120 mm I reported earlier. I checked my case, and it is. 

[zolar1]

Both are quite nice, but I don't think I need a night light - LOL

Other one is unnecessarily expensive.

I can reuse my current box so I can divert more money into getting hardware.
My power supply is rated for 750 watts If I remember. I ran 6 hard drive, 2 burners, 3 accessory cards, a video card, 4gb ram, and Athlon CPU with fans of course.

Electric meter went haywire over all that. I needed a dedicated 20 amp circuit to handle it.

Now, just a little of what I really need. SSD's don't use much power and that saves money.
Running 2 SSD's and one traditional Hard drive (shared), a video card, mobo, cpu, memory, and 2 burners.

Probably D/C one of the burners. I don't use them much anymore.

I do have a self powered USB hub so that doesn't take much away from the power supply.

When I ran the unit with the 7 hard drives, I also had two IDE burners, one CD-R/RW compatible  and one CD/DVD+/-R/RW/RAM compatible with LiteScribe, and a nVidia GeForce 8600 GT graphics card. I called Antec and asked what sized PSU I'd need. They asked for a complete list of of the hardware I was installing, by brand name and model number, ran some calculations and recommended a 430 watt unit. At the time there was a 550 watt Antec modular unit on a spacial that actually cost less than the non modular 430 watt, so I bought that one. I'm still using it and have never come close to overloading it. Your 750 Watt is overkill, but should last forever.

I did 5 rebuilds using my previous case, and all the parts from the previous dual core build are still in working order, so I'm going to put them back into that case and use it as a server/backup unit to this one. It's a AM2+ socket MB using DDR2 RAM, so I may also add a Phenom four core, which is a drop in with that socket, and are currently showing up, on and off, as reasonable priced specials. It's not necessary, but if the price is right...  

I just missed, by one day, a special on an AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, with $20.00 off the current $109.99 listed price. That's the one that is a 6 core, sold as a 4 core, with two cores locked. They may be good, they may be bad, but they are unlockable in the Black Edition. That's not a bad price for a 4 core, and an even better price if the extra cores are good. It may show up again, in a week or two, at the same or an even lower price.

Hey, I forgot to check my mail. Then again, there will always be another sale.  

I discovered that all power supplies aren't as they claim.
Assuming that most power supplies have a power factor of maybe .6 to .8 your 440 watt power supply becomes about 600 watt.

Only the expensive good ones tell you the startup power (peak) and the sustained (running maximum). Most of them only tell you the peak startup power.

I have about 8-9 days left to finish packing and get 90% of my stuff out. At the end of that time frame I hope to know which MOBO & CPU combo to buy.

I need the proverbial work horse MOBO and CPU. One that can handle most anything I toss at it.

Remember, as time goes on, CPU power requirements will increase.

While technology may double at a rate of every 18 months, so does the software requirements.

With many CPU's approaching the 4Ghz level as being common, and DDR3 is vastly faster than DDR, not to mention the differences between SATA and SATA3, my box is quickly becoming the old nag, so to speak.

[izto]

Ram is very cheap these days, so max out. You may not need 16 or 32 Gb of ram today, but tomorrow you can split it among other computers, and what better place to have it safe in the meantime than your own computer now!

[zolar1]

Ram is very cheap these days, so max out. You may not need 16 or 32 Gb of ram today, but tomorrow you can split it among other computers, and what better place to have it safe in the meantime than your own computer now!

True, but Linux seldom uses more than a couple hundred Mb worth of ram for typical use.

Linux IS, however, a bad CPU hog. I guess that is because it is efficient?

I noticed that nearly every version of Linux is made for laptops, not desktops. And with RAM being at a premium for laptops I supposed that is why they make it not to use much ram.

[zolar1]

Sheesh. Here is a reason NOT to use wireless routers -

http://www.lockergnome.com/blade/2012/08/16/wireless-router-see-through-wall-police/