XP vs. Linux or FreeBSD and Hardware?

JPuma

Hello,
I ran a webserver with Mandrake Linux until they revamped to Mandriva in 2005/6. I had that machine on a mini-itx with 24/7 apache webserver.
In 2007, my clone mini-itx failed and I rebuilt a webserver with AMD64 and ti is now my 24/7 with Ubuntu 6.06LTS. I must confess that I absolutely hate it. I preferred earlier versions of Mandrake.
I still have my Mandrake 10 hard drive complete. I am using my prototyping machine which has had Abyss 1X on it for some years as my webserver backup machine.
I have been doing a lot of thinking about the OS I need or want. What are the pros and cons using XP Pro vs. Linux or FreeBSD?
I have thought about rebuilding the AMD64 with XP but honestly do not know the stability of it on my AMD64 rig. Does anyone else run Abyss on XP Pro on AMD64?
I am looking at all my parts, I have another empty Micro-Atx case bit no extra MB. I have memory, etc. I have a ASUS w/ Duron 900Mhz only problem is that if there is a power outage, I need to manually press F1 due to some obscure error which I spent hours trying to catch. I have a K6 400Mhz FIC that works beautifully for years and years. What machine configs are people using with Abyss?
Insights are highly appreciated.

AbyssUnderground

I have several config's running Abyss...
My Home Server:

Intel Celeron 2.13GHz, 512MB RAM, 40GB, 80GB, 200GB, 250GB, 2x500GB HD's, Windows XP SP2, Abyss X2

My Desktop PC:

Intel Core2Duo E6750 2.66GHz, 4GB RAM, 2x80GB HD RAID0, Windows Vista Ultimate x64 SP1, Abyss X1

My Laptop:

Intel Core2Duo E5250 1.66GHz, 2GB RAM, 120GB HD, Windows XP SP2, Abyss X1

My Dedicated Server:

Intel Pentium 4 HT 3.06GHz, 2GB RAM, 750GB HD, Windows Server 2003 Web Edition, Abyss X2

rrinc

I have an AMD Opteron 1212 runnning XP and Abyss.

DonQuichote

I run the abyss on Xubuntu 8.04 on various "hard"ware. And did run it on 7.04 and 7.10. I really love it. I still have Windows XP installed at my work, but it is dual boot and I mainly use Xubuntu. At home, my computers are completely MS-free (as in beer, bug, and speech). My hardware is mainly HP, but I also ran it on a Pentium III dell with 4GB harddisk without any troubles (on both Windows 98 and Xubuntu).
The reason I quoted "hard"ware is that it also runs fine on a virtual machine on an ESX server (yes, Xubuntu again).
Home PC: HP d530 SFF with 40G harddisk
Laptop: HP XE-3
As you see, that is quite second-hand hardware. I do not run high-volume web sites on it though. I merely use them for web development and the sites are hosted on dedicated servers elsewhere. Those servers usually run apache on Gentoo and I thank heavens that I do not have to configure them. My main reason of choosing the Abyss is that you can configure it without a 5 year study.
One of the advantages of Linux/FreeBSD is that you can access the machine remotely through SSH without having to open too many ports to the big bad internet. A few port forwardings allow you to connect to MySQL, the Abyss and off course to the shell and even run programs that use X in a safe manner. If you use wine, you can even run Windows programs through X over SSH.

senshi

When it comes to hardware architecture, you should dispense with the myth that one is better than the other.
Both architectures are as good as each other, the only difference is the instruction set that the CPU's use, one uses a RISC set which runs faster as it is after all a reduced instruction set and Intel that uses CISC.
Source: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Nv8mgYSt1TAC&pg=... ...esult&resnum=6&ct=result#PPA43,M1
Basically, unless the vendor stipulates a computer platform, you can use whatever program you want on an AMD or Intel.
I can say from using Abyss for many years, it is a rock steady piece of software engineering marvel. I have tried several other server systems on various machines I have and in every case, regardless of architecture, Abyss whips the Lamas ass, Oops, bit of WA creeping in... but you get the picture.
AMD are often cheaper than Intel systems.
Example, my neighbor has a system I helped to build, it has a Foxconn 2.0Ghz AMD board with 2 Gig of ram which is faster than my P4 2.66 Ghz machine and beats it hands down every time.
The same for the older AMD I have compared to my partners P3 700mhz machine, y old AMD K7 650mhz board whips the intel P3 700 by a big margin. So theirs something to be said for AMD's constant performance.
Does that help you?

mitchsb

I have and always will use AMD processors for all my computers. They are cheaper (the motherboards tend to be cheaper too) and they run every piece of software that an Intel processor can.