Confused about build proceedure srcdir vs objdir

[Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com>]

Setup: Redhat Linux 7.1
       controversial gcc-2.96-85 installed
       from stock RH 7.1 rpm

I'm attempting to install from tar.gz source gcc-3.0.2

The configure instructions at http://gcc.gnu.org/install/configure.html
are just a little to jargon riddled for my inexperienced layman eyes.

>> First, we highly recommend that GCC be built into a separate directory
>> than the sources which does not reside within the source tree. This is
>> how we generally build GCC; building where srcdir == objdir should
>> still work, but doesn't get extensive testing; building where objdir
>> is a subdirectory of srcdir is unsupported.

I'm not sure what an `objdir' refers to or what under gcc-3.0.2 is
considered `srcdir'.  Or how one knows when they are outside the
`tree'.  I don't see the familiar `src' subdirectory.

I'm familiar with the common setup that works like this:

Toplevel/src (and a number of other subdirectories)
Where the build is done in Toplevel like the steps below.

All gnu software that I've built here-to-fore, and that would only
number in the teens, used a procedure like this:

   tar xzvf gnu_packgage-1.tar.gz
   cd gnu_package-1
   ./configure [options]
   make [options]
   make install

From the discussion in the cited web page above, I can't tell if they
are describing something radically different or what.

I followed the above outline.  Is it wrong?

Can someone hand hold a bit here and show brief steps as in the above
build proceedure I described, using actual directory names for a
gcc-3.0.2.tar.gz (or other recent source file)?

My first attemp failed and I posted here the fail messages.  No one
has yet responded.  I have a hunch I'm building this differently than
the recommended proceedure so want to get that nailed down before
discussing any more errors. 

PS-In my previous attempt the `make' process lasted a very long time.
I lost track of the exact amount but well over an hour.
Is that normal on  a 400mhz pc?