which kernel

[religion1904]

there are too many choices
i seem to be using the 586 desktop kernel 3.8 in mageia
I do want to share my spin with my linux group so a really fast 32 bit system is what I aim for.
686 kernel? server? desktop?
in pclinuxos I use the following

i686 Linux kernel
This kernel package contains the Linux 3.2.18-pclos2 kernel. It is optimised for i686 CPUs, supports up to 4GB of system memory (highmem enabled). The kernel timer interrupt is set to 100 HZ. It defaults to using the 'CFQ' scheduler, 'SMP' is enabled and is compiled with voluntary kernel preemption enabled.

[djennings]

If you installed using the live CD you will be using the i586 kernel because it offers the most compatibility across all hardware.

The kernel-desktop-latest is the one with similar configuration to the pclinuxos kernel you were using.