Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2002 17:02:30 -0500 From: Matthew Graybosch <matthew@starbreaker.net> To: J.S. <johann@broadpark.no> Cc: FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Parts I recommend (formerly "Workstation and server-market") Message-ID: <20020105170230.636999bb.matthew@starbreaker.net> In-Reply-To: <20020105195536.27073ca2.johann@broadpark.no> References: <20020105195536.27073ca2.johann@broadpark.no>
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--=.DQ/3Yo.U0fszd5 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit On Sat, 5 Jan 2002 19:55:36 +0100 J.S. <johann@broadpark.no> wrote: > Where do I go for the most reasonable, well-equipped and good-looking > workstations and servers, which are decently compatible with FreeBSD? > > I thought I'd go and look a bit further than dell.com -- I'm also a bit > interested in building my own boxen, where do I go for that? Name-brand OEMs build their machines to run Windows. Unix compatibility is incidental to most of them, despite IBM pushing Linux on its servers. Basically, any machine that can run Linux can probably run FreeBSD just as well. Here are the parts I recommend (also the parts I used) --AMD Athlon CPU. A single 1 GHz CPU is adequate for a workstation unless you're doing heavy 3D graphics work. If you are, then consider a pair of Athlon MP CPUs and build an SMP rig (you'll need a custom kernel for SMP so RTFM). For a server, you'll almost definitely want SMP. --If you're doing a single Athlon, then you can choose between ABit, Tyan, and DFI motherboards. I've heard that ABit and Tyan are best for Athlon, but the guy I buy parts from swears by DFI (Diamond Flower), and I haven't had any problems with the DFI board I installed 18 months ago. For SMP using Athlon, I think your choices are limited to Tyan boards. Check Tom's Hardware for further info. --For a workstation I recommend at least 256MB of DDR SDRAM. If you can get DDR, then get PC133. If you have to choose between 512MB of PC133 RAM and 256MB of DDR, then go with the 512MB of PC133. I recommend favoring capacity over speed, especially for servers. For a server, I'd suggest at least 512MB of the fastest RAM with error checking/correction that you can afford. For a heavy-duty server, get at least a gig of RAM. You don't want to use swap except as a last resort. --For a workstation or a server, you should have at least a 17-inch display. 19-inch is preferable, and if you can afford a 21-inch display then GO FOR IT! --Video cards... Hmmm... This one's kinda iffy. If 3Dfx was still in business I'd say that no one do voodoo like they do, and heartily recommend them. I loved my Voodoo3 adaptor until I screwed it up and had to replace it. These days, the major video card people for Linux and FreeBSD seem to be ATI, Matrox, and nVidia. I'm using a Hercules card based on nVidia's GeForce2 MX chipset, for which XFree86 provides 2D acceleration. If you need 3D acceleration as well, then you should probably get an ATI card, or try to find a 3Dfx Voodoo card. --A server probably doesn't need a sound card, but a workstation definitely does. I've never had any problems with a good Creative Labs card. Get an Ensoniq (es1371 chipset) or a SoundBlaster Live! (emu10k1 chipset), and make sure to recompile your kernel with a "device pcm" line in your kernel config. I'll send a copy of mine if you want. --Disk space? The more the merrier. Especially for a server, and especially if you're doing a http/ftp server or running an RDBMS. I recommend a bare minimum of a 7200RM disk with 20GB capacity. For a workstation, you can probably get away with ATA100 disks, but with a server you need SCSI or a RAID configuration. --You'll also need a backup device. For a server, you probably want a high-capacity tape drive. Ask around the list for recommendations; I've never used or installed a tape drive (I use CD-RW for backup). --You'll also need a good ergonomic keyboard. *Equips asbestos trenchcoat and casts NulBlaze* I like the Microsoft Natural keyboard; it makes for very comfortable typing. Also, if you plan on heavy X use, get a good optical mouse. I myself use the MS IntelliMouse Optical, which has 5 buttons and a wheel. If you use it, let me know and I'll tell you how to make X talk to it. If you have any other questions, just post to the list. Please don't CC me unless private comms are *really* necessary. HTH. -- Matthew Graybosch http://www.starbreaker.net GnuPG Key ID: 0x45BC4581 "Sex, Unix, and rock 'n roll" -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- Version: 3.12 G! d- s:+ a-- C+++ UB++++ P+ L+++ E W++ N+ o K- w--- O- M-- V-- PS+ PE++ Y+ PGP++ t 5 X R tv-- b++++ DI+++ D+ G++ e* h+ r++ y+ ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------ --=.DQ/3Yo.U0fszd5 Content-Type: application/pgp-signature -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (FreeBSD) iD8DBQE8N3f7XG3c5kW8RYERAqBuAKDphFpTbcTSblvYCDSnK+81kj847gCgwwtH 6gwsLOPg+2iom6Kn5UfQ4Pw= =Djib -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --=.DQ/3Yo.U0fszd5-- To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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