Paul,
The Opteron is completely 32bit AND 64bit compatible. You will be able to run a 32bit OS as flawlessly as you run a 64bit OS. However, one of the great things about the Opteron is that you can run 32bit binaries natively within the 64bit OS! ( and by the way the Opteron is the HIGHEST end ia32 CPU you can buy! ;) )
... thanks!
- doug
************************************************************************ Doug Zeman \ \ | __ \ ____ | Phone: 408 7747674 CAD Sys Eng II / \ | _/ | | | | Cell : 408 7187466 CA MicroProc Div ____ \ | | | | | | Fax : 408 7747811 Sunnyvale, CA _/ __| _| _____/ ____/ | doug.zeman@amd.com ************************************************************************
Paul Heinlein wrote:
I'm spec-ing a development server for some Haskell hackers. In particular, they need to be able to build and run the Glasgow Haskell Compiler (ghc), the x86_64 port of which isn't quite there yet.
My current thought is to get an Opteron-based system, but load it (initially, at least) with the 32-bit i386 version of CentOS. That buys me near-term ghc compatibility. In the future, should ghc become 64-bit clean, I'll be able to upgrade to a full 64-bit OS.
The alternative is to build the server around high-end ia32 chips and leave the Opteron for another day.
Does anyone have experience running a 32-bit-only OS on Opterons? Are there any gotchas?