x86, x86_64, PPC - What's the difference? 
To help you in choosing the correct version of Linux and the proper architecture for yor PC we will explain the difference between the three most common architectures you will find that are available with the different Linux distributions.
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x86 or 80x86 is the generic name of a microprocessor architecture first developed and manufactured by Intel. This is the most common architecture for the desktop, laptop, and small server market. The "x" in x86 refers to the generation of the processor. You may be familiar with seeing i386, i486, i586, i686, and so on. The "i" refers to Intel. Here is a quick list of chips that use the x86 architecture: 386, 486, Pentium, PentiumMMX, Pentium PRO, Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium 4, AMD's K5, K6, K6-2, K6-3, Athlon, Enhanced Athlon (AKA thunderbird), Athlon4, and the AthlonMP. You may also see these referred to as 32 Bit processors.
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x86_64 refers to systems with 64 Bit processors like the ones with AMD64 instruction set. The AMD64 instruction set can can be found in the AMD's Athlon 64, Athlon 64 FX, Athlon 64 X2, Turion 64, Opteron and later Sempron processors. Intel also has a line of 64 Bit processors which is the Itanium line (Itanium and Itanium 2), which was jointly developed with Hewlett Packard. You may also see these referred to as the EM64T or x64.
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The ppc or PowerPC was created by the Apple-IBM-Motorola alliance which was also know as AIM. This architecture is most commonly found in the Apple Macintosh line of personal computers, IBM's AIX computers, Cisco Routers, and even the BlueGene Supercomputer.
If you are still in doubt over which Linux Distribution to choose or which architecture is right for you you should contact your computer manufacturer or you may contact us at questions @ pctech101.com (please remove the spaces in the email address) and we will be happy to help you as we want your experience with Linux to be as easy as possible. |
