Re: Athlon doesn't like Athlon optimisation?

Albert D. Cahalan
2001-08-31T03:34:59Z

Richard, the FAQ could use an entry about this and the other VIA problem.

David Hollister writes:
> Jan Niehusmann wrote:

>> I have a computer with a duron 600 which doesn't like current athlon
>> optimised kernels: It runs fairly well with an old 2.4.0-test7 kernel
...
>> Is it likely to be a broken CPU?
>> The board is an A7V with the infamous via chipset, but I don't think
>> this looks like the typical via problems, does it?
...
> point is, your hardware is likely fine (fine being relative, I
> suppose) If there are other tricks, I'm all ears.

There are highly optimized memory copy/clear operations that
run twice as fast on the Athlon, thus demanding more from the
motherboard and power supply. You have a VIA chipset and most
likely have a relatively weak power supply.

Don't go blaming Linux when power supply upgrades sometimes
make this problem go away. You could also try one of the
recent SiS or ALi chipsets.

I just saw a reference (maybe www.tomshardware.com) to AMD's new
chips having trouble on VIA boards -- I'd guess that the Palimino
core can push the motherboard too hard without fancy Athlon code.