LLfan Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 What is the difference between i386 and i686 and where did i586 which is what KDE tells me I have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 They are your different types of processors. Roughly i386 equals 80386. Does that make it obvious or am I speaking a foreign language? i586 would be a fairly recent Pentium or equivalent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owyn Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Mike:i386 packages are compiled with the options/instructions which an Intel 80386(+equivalent) will run. They will also run on 486, pentium, ...i586 are 'optimised' for a pentium class processor (i.e. use new instructionsand options) They will run on equivalents but not 80386/486.i686 (or IA64) are for the new 64bit chips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxdude32 Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 i686 (or IA64) are for the new 64bit chips.Actually i686 is optimized for Pentium Pro processors and above. Reason that I know that is that I'm using an i686-optimized kernel and I only have a Celeron CPU:jay@sheridan:~> uname -aLinux sheridan 2.4.20-4GB #1 Tue May 13 08:07:43 PDT 2003 i686 unknown unknown GNU/LinuxHere's also a quote from this page, where ranger_nemo says:All Intel compatible chips can be rated on the x86 scale. It started with 286, 386, and 486. Intel then switched to "Pentium" because they couldn't copyright a number. But, the Pentium is a 586. They developed the Pentium Pro, which switched completely to a 32-bit instruction set. That was the start of the 686 line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Actually i686 is optimized for Pentium Pro processors and above.That's what I thought. I was scratching my head on this one and thought maybe my thinking was goofed up. I went into my computer at home and looked but all it said was Pentium Step 7, 2.8HT (if I can remember back that long ago ), and not the classification I was looking for. I know I have used i686 installs without any problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owyn Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Ooops. [blush]. Tx for the correction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLfan Posted October 7, 2003 Author Share Posted October 7, 2003 I have a Pentium4 2.53ghz processor. So, 586? The reason I ask is not purely for edjumication, but also as I download distros they have PPC (I'm guessing Mac) i386 and i686. So where do I fit in with my 586? Just download the i386?Thanks for all the info, and Teacher this is all foriegn language to me which is slowly becoming more and more clear by the day. Heck, I even bothered editing a file for giggles using vi in the console. And the ZZ actually worked this time--it's MAGIC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Heck, I even bothered editing a file for giggles using vi in the console. And the ZZ actually worked this time--it's MAGIC!Now what did I tell you ?? . . . . . See all this effort is paying off ! B) Bruno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxdude32 Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I have a Pentium4 2.53ghz processor. So, 586? The reason I ask is not purely for edjumication, but also as I download distros they have PPC (I'm guessing Mac) i386 and i686. So where do I fit in with my 586? Just download the i386?I'm not absolutely positive but Pentium 4 would probably be considered a 686. Does anyone know if Pentium 4 is full 64-bit? If it is, it might be considered a 786.Only the Pentiums of the original line (Pentium 166 Mhz, for example, no add-on designations like Pro, II, III, Celeron, etc.) are considered 586s. Penta- actually means "five" like Pentagram, Pentagon. Of course, the creative geniuses at Intel couldn't figure out new names for the following processors so they named the following series like movie sequels.However, to answer your question, you don't have to use binaries compiled only for your processor, they can be a lower number but not above. What I'm saying is that 386 binaries will run on any Intel CPU equivalent or better to a 386. So you can use binaries up to 686 on your computer. Some people think they will only run at 386 speed, but that's not true though they *may* run a little bit slower. Another way of saying this is that a Pentium IV processor is backward compatible -- it can run programs built for previous Intel architectures, as well as programs build just for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 The Pentium 4 is in the i686 class. It is not a 64-bit CPU; still 32-bit. Whatever Intel calls their next generation processor, Pentium 5, it will at first be 32-bit and then 64-bit. AMD has already released their 64-bit CPU, the Athlon64. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prelude76 Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 i always thought we're on our 8th generation of chips here is how i thought it was. if i'm wrong, my apologies.i486 -> Intel and AMD 486 ( AMD made a 5x86 which was just a 'souped up' 486 chip )i586 -> Pentium ; AMD K5 ( Intel did name change for reason mention earlier, about not being able to copyright numbers; AMD stuck to '5' theme )i686 -> Pentium II & Pentium Pro ; AMD K6i786 -> Pentium III ; AMD Athlon (7th generation, hence 'Socket 7' terminology)i886 -> Pentium IV; AMD Athlon XPso as long as you have a chip faster than original Pentium or K5, use i686 installations if possible.p.s. - Intel's Pentium (meaning Penta, as in Fifth generation) name is getting silly these days, IMO. what's next, Pentium Penta? Pentium 5? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Prelude,As far as I know i686 is the highest we got yet . . for pentiumIV and AMD athlonXPB) Bruno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 For the base PC, it would bei386-intel-linux-gnu or i386-amd-linux-gnu if there is difference betweenthe 2 i386 processors between intel and linux which makes a difference inthe configuration. If there is no difference between intel and amd at thislevel, leave the supplier as unknown. For the 80386 type processors, thereis no difference to linux, hence: i386-unknown-linux-gnu. For the i686 typeprocessors it would be i686-intel-linux-gnu for Intels pentiumII andi686-amd-linux-gnu for the amds K6. Reference.I know this is a bunch of gobbledly gook but it explains that the i386 is a 80386 and the i686 is for Intel Pentium II and AMD K6. Hope that clears up some. It wsa in a thread about rewriting the architecture for the 64s. What is an architecture?"i386" refers to the architecture ("design") of the Intel ("i" is for"Intel") 80386 processor.The 80386 was the first kind of processor on which Linux was made torun."i686" refers to a later series, again from Intel, of processors withadditional capabilities and instructions. Intel decided by that pointnot to number them as "80686", due to inability to put trademarks onnumbers. "i686" points to the Pentium Pro and Pentium II chips, whichnotably added in MMX instructions.The notion of "architecture" is related to that of "design;" these"architectures" involve computer CPUs with particular sets ofcapabilities. When someone "architects" a building, that involvesdesigning in building features to fit with purposes planned for thebuilding, as well as engaging in actvities fitting with the design ofthe building.The designers of computer processors generally build a variety ofrelated CPUs; the "architecture" addresses things like: - the way registers are set up; these are "memory cells" on the chip that are used to store addresses or values that are to be processed; - the model by which memory will be addressed; - the set of instructions used to control the CPU.Intel produced "80386" processors with varying sets of features; the"architecture" characterizes the similarities between thoseprocessors.Later designs from Intel have generally been derivative of the earlierones. Code written for "80386" chips generally runs quite well onlater models, and, indeed, on later architectures such as i486, i586,and i686. The later series' offer additional capabilities, but it isnot always mandatory to make use of all the "new stuff." Reference.Is everything as clear as mud now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 FWIW, both of my Pentium 4's, the 2GB laptop and 1.6GB desktop, are listed at bootup as i686. But I've found very few packages that offered an i686 version...most are for i386, and they seem to work just fine. From what's been said above, LLfan, I'd say stick with the i386, since i686 would be "above" your i586. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLfan Posted October 8, 2003 Author Share Posted October 8, 2003 Wow, I thought this was going to be pretty cut and dry but it seems as though it has sparked up a pretty good discussion.I will download both and attempt to run both--you know the old addage, fix it till it's broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolfProRM Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 very curious as to why your PentIV shows up as i586 architecture. i686 is the structure for anything PPro and above (PIII/PIV/Athlon). You can always run i386 software and you'll hardly ever notice a performance difference. It can help sometimes to run higher, but the difference is usually very minimal (less than 1% speed difference). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLfan Posted October 8, 2003 Author Share Posted October 8, 2003 very curious as to why your PentIV shows up as i586 architecture. i686 is the structure for anything PPro and above (PIII/PIV/Athlon). You can always run i386 software and you'll hardly ever notice a performance difference. It can help sometimes to run higher, but the difference is usually very minimal (less than 1% speed difference).I thought it was odd too. Here's a good question, I have all this unallocated HD space, shall we delve into a dual boot Linux and test if a i686 will work. The only 686 I know of is Gentoo--and she is downloaded. =) Come on, ya know you wanna! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Isn't that what all the extra space is for? To test distros? Of course I would get everything else running the way I want it first before installing a new distro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 My Mandrake says:[bruno:~]$ uname -mi686[bruno:~]$:'( Bruno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owyn Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 i686, Intel Celeron, Pentium II/III/IV/Xeon, AMD Athlon, Duron, VIA C3-II i586, Intel Pentium/MMX, Cyrix 5x86, IBM 6x86, AMD K6, Via C3 and Winchip i486, Intel 80486 i386, All Intel 80386 compatible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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