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VIA K8T800 Chipset Preview - Dual Opteron in Action

Posted by timothy on from the more-than-you-can-shake-a-stick-at dept.

Mr.Tweak writes "It has been a long time coming but we are finally reaching the beginning stages of 64-bit mainstream computing. AMD has been the first to bring a 64-bit processor to the market with any true support in the Opteron. VIA is one of the key chipset companies supporting AMD64 and today TweakTown takes a preview look at their new K8T800 chipset with AMD Opteron 242 and 244 processors. 64-bit computing is boarding - don't miss the train!"

12 of 258 comments (clear)

  1. Well. by JanusFury · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As much as I'd love to board the train, the ticket price is a bit expensive, especially because I don't know exactly where the train goes.

    I'm sure this is true for most other computer users as well. 64-bit on the x86 desktop is not really a 'mature' technology, even though it's been done before with Alpha and Itanium... I for one would hate to spend lots of money moving to an Opteron-based platform, to find out that one of my devices doesn't work or that one of my programs doesn't work. So I suspect that the risk involved (even though it's rather minimal, really) probably is going to keep a lot of people from moving to Opteron and co. for a while.

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    using namespace slashdot;
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    1. Re:Well. by Electrode · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Because in 64-bit mode, the size of long is 8 bytes. Some programes have a major problem with that, as I've so painfully discovered...

    2. Re:Well. by cowbud · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That is exactly why I won't even bother with this processor. If I have the source and it doesn't work with 64 I can compile it as 32 ok great. Now if I buy a game or something that I do not have the source for and it doesn't work what then? Companies will continue to distribute 32Bit applications, because they can support the most amount of platforms that way. As a result the 64 bit processor will just sit there doing 32bit operations.

      The train is a beast, but the desitinations are limited

      Great :)

    3. Re:Well. by eakerin · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The original Intel 32 bit processors did exactly that, they sat for YEARS running 16 bit code on a 32 bit processor, because no one made 32 bit apps.

      Have patience, 64 bit apps will come, it's just a matter of time.

  2. Readable hardware reviews by Ed+Avis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just once, it would be nice to have a link to a motherboard review that wasn't split over 15 different sections.

    'Without dragging on anymore, let's see what VIA's K8T800 chipset is capable of' - well, without dragging on any more than going to the next page after about two paragraphs...

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    -- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
  3. The first 64-bit platform (with qualifiers...) by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 2, Insightful

    True support... such as developing their own motherboard chipsets, like Intel, instead of farming the task out to VIA??

    Don't get me wrong, AMD has done rather well relying on 3rd parties to develop mobo chipsets for them, but I'm not sure I'd call NOT having at least 1 in-house chipset solution "true support". If VIA and NVIDIA decided to dump AMD for some reason, they'd suddenly be in a pretty lousy position.

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  4. This is great news for us by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... the majority of people who want to pay less for the same computers. Whenever a new super-duper computer comes up, a minority fringe with too much money (that I was once part of) blows ungodly amounts of money to get it, driving down the cost of perfectly serviceable, good, fast, but older computers for the rest of us.

    So I say go AMD64 and go KIA, so I can buy those Athlons 2000+ based-machines I need even cheaper.

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    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  5. 64 bit processors running 32 bit software by mkosmul · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sure, the benchmarks are impressive, but it would be nice to see more benchmarks using 64-bit-optimized software (eg. an optimized gromacs). 32 bit software just doesn't use all the power these chips have.

  6. Re:"Finally"?... I dont think so . by polyp2000 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Yes, but ... Although the G5 is a 64 bit processor,
    The OS is not truly 64bit, it only has "Hook's" in the OS where 64bit is / might be needed. There are a lot of reasons why apple have done this, and this is open for debate. In my book its not truely 64bit until the whole of the architecture is 64bit and that includes the OS.

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    Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
  7. Server software by BenjyD · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The benchmarking software that would give us the opportunity to test the SMP Opteron platform to its fullest extent costs many thousands of dollars (Ed. Note - If any company wishes to sponsor us with this type of software, you are most welcomed!).

    Thousands of dollars? Can't they just run Apache or something on it and show transactions per second comparisons serving some complex dynamic page?

  8. How could you? by skwog · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...64-bit computing is boarding - don't miss the train!

    Miss the train? Miss the train? How could you possibly miss the train? As 64 bit computing comes into the market, 32 Bit will gradually move out (not unlike 8 and 16 bit have previously done). So when you need buy new systems, you're gonna eventually end up buying into the 64 bit thing.

    It's all good, but it's not like you need to buy now, or forever miss the train!

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    You can laugh without eating a sandwhich, but you can do both if bring one.
  9. Re:Yes, but... by jo42 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The train left years ago, fools.

    DEC Alpha, MIPS R10K, Sun UltraSPARC - all of these 64-bit processors are in machines that I have at home and are several years old.

    Get your heads out of Linus' backside for once.