Member Avatar for nschessnerd

Hey im new to linux, and i need help with what type of gentoo to get for an intel pentium 4. is it supported? Also is it possible to put slax on an ipod?

Thanks,
M

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A few concise, practical points to clear up the architecture confusion and help pick the right Gentoo image.

"Spark" and "alpha" are different CPU families (SPARC and DEC Alpha) and are not for Intel PCs — that is why you do not see an explicit "Intel" label. , the correct Gentoo download is the one that matches your CPU's instruction-set family, not the vendor name.

To decide 32-bit vs 64-bit on the machine itself, inspect the CPU features. On a running Linux box these commands quickly show what the CPU supports:

lscpu
# look for "Architecture" or "CPU op-mode(s)"

grep -m1 '^flags' /proc/cpuinfo
# if 'lm' appears among the flags, the CPU supports long mode (64-bit)

If the CPU reports 64-bit capability, use the amd64/x86_64 stage3; otherwise use the x86/i686 stage3. For many Pentium 4 boxes the safe default is the i686 (x86) stage, unless the CPU shows 'lm'. This expands on 's point about architecture: check the CPU rather than guessing from the chip name.

Build-time tuning: keep CFLAGS conservative to avoid breakage. Typical safe examples:

CFLAGS="-O2 -march=pentium4 -pipe"
# or, if building on the same target machine and you know your toolchain:
CFLAGS="-O2 -march=native -pipe"

Avoid aggressive flags like -Ofast or exotic microarchitecture targets if you plan to move binaries between machines. For exact stage3 filenames and the current recommended profiles, consult the Gentoo Handbook for x86/amd64.

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Member Avatar for John A

>Hey im new to linux, and i need help with what type of gentoo to get for an intel pentium 4. is it supported?

Sure it's supported, but Gentoo is not a good choice for Linux newbies like you. I've used it a fair amount, and installation and setup is difficult and requires a lot of time - and that's if you know what you're doing. Trying to learn Linux while doing all that is simply too much.

I would recommend Debian Linux as it's not only easy to use, but it's very fast and flexible, and is one of the oldest Linux distros around. If you're looking for something more hardcore, then try Slackware.

>it possible to put slax on an ipod?

It's probably possible, as is all things with Linux, but it's certainly not going to be easy, and you shouldn't try it if you have never used Linux before. If you're interested in getting Linux on your iPod, check out the iPod Linux project, which has a special version of Linux for your iPod and tons of support and documentation. But again, it might be easier if you try this once you've had some experience with Linux.

Member Avatar for nschessnerd

well im not that new, i currently have 2 comps running on kubuntu, i have setup gentoo before and i just need to know what distro works on an intel...
thanks

Member Avatar for John A

Hey im new to linux

well im not that new, i currently have 2 comps running on kubuntu, i have setup gentoo before and i just need to know what distro works on an intel...

Did I misread?

Have you been living under a rock? Intel is like the most popular microchip on the market, followed by AMD, whose architechtures are compatible. There's not that many distros that don't support the x86 architechture.

And did you ever think of checking out Gentoo's website before posting here?

Member Avatar for nschessnerd

Yes i checked but im confused about which one to get, theres like spark and alfa, it doesnt say "intel" so which one do i get?
oh and btw amd is way better than intel

Member Avatar for jbennet

intel pentium 4 compatibile = x86 (sometimes shown as i386, i486, i686)

this does NOT include x86_64

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