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Major Linux/Athlon CPU bug discovered
GeorgeFrancisco writes "I recently installed the nVidia drivers so I could play TuxRacer on my Athlon. Problem is it kept inexplicably hanging Linux. Now I know why. The CPU bug affects Athlon/Duron/Athlon MP AGP users. Fortunately there's a way around it, and: "Alan [Cox] is going to try to add some kind of Athlon/AGP CPU bug detection code to the kernel so that it will be able to auto-downgrade to 4K pages when necessary." Read more on the Gentoo Linux site."
Windows=Security Bugs, huge pricetag.
Linux=Performance Bugs, no pricetag.
Gee, wonder which I'll choose...
Shift happens. Fire it up.
The patch is a one line registry change to tell win2k not to use PSE. Not only was this problem made public over a year ago but the patch is open source. The linux developers could have easily incorporated it into the kernel but I think they just don't take linux on the desktop too seriously.
But the bug was there since Sep. 2000 !
You think someone in AMD may have correct the bug, but nooooooo.
How many version of Athlon / Thunderbird / XP / MP have there since Sep. 2000 ?
I thought in all new iteration of chip, they have "de-bugging sessions" - just like softwares - before the "tape-out" stage.
Have to wonder why AMD don't do debugging before tape-out ?
Is it money?
Or is the bug a "feature" instead ?
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
To me, this looks like AMD doesn't give a rats ass about its customers customers who use linux.
I, personally, think it's sad when a video game's measure of frames per second becomes a benchmark. At least re-index a database or something ;)
- Sometimes you're the pidgeon, sometimes you're the statue.
A lot of your market share is there only because we who use Linux® have stuck by you. We have been ridiculed because we are using an "off-brand" processor, we've rationalized a way thermal problem's and fragile cores to get the benefit of more bang for the buck. We have suffered through inadequate compiler support, until your market share has grown to the point where an honest push onto the main-stream desktop is possible.
And what do we get for it, no real support, write your own fix, no; that we can, and often do. What we got was forgotten, you didn't even tell us. We are used to and demand full disclosure, and in real time. Linix people hang their dirty laundry out in public to give everyone a fair and equal chance at a fix.
We're often treated as a minority because we are, but treat us as a second class minority at our own peril. In short don't ever let the marketing weenies convince you to hide something from us; if we wanted to be treated that way we would use Win/Intel products
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds