Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 20:18:37 -0400 From: Bill Moran <wmoran@potentialtech.com> To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org Cc: freebsd@keyslapper.org Subject: Re: Version query for a new machine Message-ID: <20040611201837.34a47cfe.wmoran@potentialtech.com> In-Reply-To: <20040612000815.GC88919@keyslapper.org> References: <20040612000815.GC88919@keyslapper.org>
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Louis LeBlanc <freebsd@keyslapper.org> wrote: > Hey everyone. After my CPU fan (or was it the hard drive?) spent a > day or two screeching constantly at high frequencies (and volume), I > finally broke down and ordered a new PC. The problem is what to > install on it. > > The new system is a Dell Dimension 8300, w/P4 @ 3.0 Ghz, HT etc. The > video card is a 128M NVidia GeForce, and I want to make sure the sound > works, which should be easy enough (SB Live! 5.1). It's gonna be > strange after working for years on the same systems at 400-450 Mhz! > > The real decision isn't whether to install FreeBSD (it *will* be > FreeBSD dedicated), but which version? > > I want it to be reasonably stable, so CURRENT is probably out. I'm > running RELENG_4_10 now, which I like just fine, but I'm not sure if > this will take advantage of the HT tech in the processor. > /usr/src/UPDATING has the following on the subject: > > Support for HyperThread logical CPUs has now been enabled by > default. As a result, the HTT kernel option no longer exists. > Instead, the logical CPUs are always started so that they can > handle interrupts. However, the extra logical CPUs are prevented > from executing user processes by default. To enable the logical > CPUs, change the value of the machdep.hlt_logical_cpus from 1 to > 0. This value can also be set from the loader as a tunable of > the same name. > > I'm not an SMP guru (or even a novice) but that sounds like it will > take full advantage if I simply make the specified sysctrl > configuration change (finding the sysctrl documentation is tricky > enough in itself). > > I know nobody is going to "guarantee" their answer to this one, but is > RELENG_5_2 reliable enough for a moderately loaded system? If it is, > are the gains worth the supposedly lower stability? Would I even > notice this, going from a 400Mhz to a 3.0Ghz? I think you'd be happier with 5 at this point. Not -CURRENT, but the latest 5.2.1. You are going to have a few problems, depending on what you're doing. For example, I wanted to do C# development on FreeBSD, and was majorly bummed to find that mono doesn't work on 5 ... seems to work OK on 4. So you might just want to peruse the ports you want searching for BROKEN= messages that refer to 5.x before taking that route. I believe the upgrade path from 4 to 5 is more or less a reinstall at this point ... but wiser folk may correct me on this if I'm wrong. I ran 5 for quite a while on my 1G desktop machine, and the only frustration I had was being unable to use mono. Then my HDD went up in smoke, and when I reinstalled, I put 4 on so I could do C# work ... then (following the rules of Murphy) I got tied up in other things, and haven't done a damn thing with C# yet ... Anyway, 5 seemed (in my opinion) to perform just as well as 4 for a desktop system, so I wouldn't worry about that at all. > I don't put much load on except when upgrading ports, munging photos, > etc, but I plan to do some Perl, C/C++ and Java/Tomcat/webapp > development on it in the near future, and I'd like to finally be able > to compile OpenOffice.org. I may also take it for a test drive with a > game or two (particularly if I get wine working), which might push the > envelope a bit. > > If 4.10 is the best route for now, what kind of pain factor will the > upgrade to 5.x be when the time comes? I typically keep over 300 > ports installed, so I expect that alone will be kinda ugly to work > with (See the corrolary to Murphy at the bottom). > > Since I haven't got the system yet (about 10 days out), I'd like to > have an idea where to start *before* I get it - once I do, it will be > too late to plan, because I'll probably just stop thinking objectively > until I have it up and running. Hence the need for a plan beforehand > :) -- Bill Moran Potential Technologies http://www.potentialtech.com
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