Re: Problems with Dell (Memory and CPU)

aaronfude@xxxxxxxxx wrote: 
Hi,

Just got a new Dell and installed FC4 on it.

1. The machine is supposed to have 4gb of RAM but "top" only shows
about 3.5g. Is this a problem with the computer or with "top" or
neither?

This depends on the type of Dell system you have! Could be that the memory is taken as cache or even for the RAID controller. It could be you have a Memory RAID?

I can get you more info if you state the type of Dell system you have.



2. Also, this is a dual-core machine. I don't know what this means but
I figure it's kinda like have 2 CPU's. But, according to "top", the
load on a single process never goes above about 35%. I would expect 50%
for heavy computational processes. Is this a problem with the computer,
with "top", or neither?

A dual core processor is a Physical processor, with two logical processors. You can turn this feature on and off in BIOS.

On some OS's the "Hyperthreading" feature can be of a disadvantage, as the OS has a problem using both processors. This could cause a performance loss of up to 70%.

The problem with Dual core processors, is that they use the same(!) cache. Only one logical Processor can write to the cache at a time.

The latest drivers should solve the problems you have, also the screen and network issues.
Red Hat ES and AS have all the drivers incorporated.

Frank


Many thanks in advance!

Aaron Fude

.

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