I agree that a preemptable kernel probably won't help start up times. It will help his overall system latency, which he was complaining about also.
However, I have to correct you on your statement. Preemptable kernel configurations are hardly a week step when you consider a twenty fold increase in process-level responses in some cases.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/5600
"The theory is that when I/O data becomes available, a preemptive kernel can wake an I/O-bound process more quickly. The result is higher throughput, a nice bonus. The net result is a smoother desktop, less audio dropout under load, better application response and improved fairness to high-priority tasks."
However, Billy, I just realized you have a Core2Duo. Most package distros compile for lowest common denominator. Which means your probably not using the full potential of your processor. Which has dual cores and a 64-bit architecture. Here is a good wiki to point you in the right direction on setting up your kernel:
http://gentoo-wiki.com/HARDWARE_Intel_Core2_Duo
It's a Gentoo wiki, but should be valid for all distros.
-----Original Message----- From: Jason D. Clinton [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 11:23 AM To: Jeremy Fowler Cc: Billy Crook; [email protected] Subject: RE: Speeding up a machine
Since no one else corrected this statement I feel that I should. Preemptible kernel configurations are specficially made available as a weak stepping stone to a time when the Linux kernel offers real-time scheduling. The pre-emptible feature will only increase the rate at which the kernel responds to hardware interrupts and even then only by a few milliseconds at most. This would mostly be visible in things like mouse cursor responsiveness when the system is under heavy IO load. It will not help the start up time of any application.