From owner-freebsd-questions Wed Nov 14 20:50:16 2001 Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from hotmail.com (f266.law11.hotmail.com [64.4.16.141]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6A0DA37B405 for ; Wed, 14 Nov 2001 20:50:13 -0800 (PST) Received: from mail pickup service by hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC; Wed, 14 Nov 2001 20:50:13 -0800 Received: from 24.116.158.21 by lw11fd.law11.hotmail.msn.com with HTTP; Thu, 15 Nov 2001 04:50:13 GMT X-Originating-IP: [24.116.158.21] From: "Charles Burns" To: raymond@one.com.au, freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: The need for speed Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 21:50:13 -0700 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Message-ID: X-OriginalArrivalTime: 15 Nov 2001 04:50:13.0288 (UTC) FILETIME=[031B2280:01C16D91] Sender: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk List-ID: List-Archive: (Web Archive) List-Help: (List Instructions) List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: X-Loop: FreeBSD.ORG >We use uni and dual processor PIII systems with FreeBSD and the MUMPS >language (it's an ANSI database language - see http://www.mumps.org/ ). >The language and application tend to be mainly processor bound (due >to the poor coding in the language, mine). I'm looking for more speed >than a dual 1GHZ PIII system for a largish customer - to this end I'm >attempting to boot FreeBSD 4.4-RELEASE on an Intel server with >4 x Pentium xeon 700MHZ processors, each with 1MB cache. > >Wether I boot from floppy or CD, this thing immediately halts >(no twirling batton at all) with "BTX halted" after a lot of numbers. >(I can copy down all the crash screen if this is any use to anyone.) > >So - two questions... > >1. Have I encountered a known (fixable) problem? Dunno, sorry. >2. What is the best way to go to get more grunt than a dual 1GHZ PIII? A dual P6 core Xeon isn't really going to be much faster than a dual P3, in fact, a dual 700MHz Xeon will be left in the dust by a dual 1GHz P3 in all but very specific cache-memory-dependant applications such as (possibly) database software. That said, the current fastest systems for FreeBSD, short of going with really exotic hardware, would be a dual AMD AthlonMP 1.6GHz setup (Dubbed the 1900+) In general, an AthlonMP or AthlonXP system can outperform any Intel based dual or single processor system by quite a large margin, in addition to being cheaper. A few things to note about the AMD systems is that there are currently only 2 dual processor motherboards available, both by the very reputable server motherboard manufacturer: Tyan. This does limit your options to fairly basic boards with no bells and whistles, but the other major manufacturers such as Asus and Gigabyte are releasing boards "real soon now (TM)" As far as stability, the systems are rock solid but have issues with certain select pieces of hardware. You can look at a compatibility list on tyan's website at www.tyan.com For a reference to performance beyond my word, visit such hardware review sites as www.tomshardware.com, www.anandtech.com, and www.aceshardware.com Be sure to do research and get other's opinions before trying a new platform. There are always surprises that pop up with any setup. Charles Burns _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message