From owner-freebsd-questions Sat Jan 5 23:14:45 2002 Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from post.mail.nl.demon.net (post-11.mail.nl.demon.net [194.159.73.21]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 119EE37B400 for ; Sat, 5 Jan 2002 23:14:42 -0800 (PST) Received: from [212.238.194.207] (helo=tanya.raggedclown.net) by post.mail.nl.demon.net with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 16N7Vw-000AoF-00 for freebsd-questions@freebsd.org; Sun, 06 Jan 2002 07:14:40 +0000 Received: by tanya.raggedclown.net (Postfix on SuSE Linux 7.3 (i386), from userid 500) id 4CAF4117A; Sun, 6 Jan 2002 08:14:39 +0100 (CET) Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2002 08:14:39 +0100 From: Cliff Sarginson To: FreeBSD Questions Subject: Re: Parts I recommend (formerly "Workstation and server-market") Message-ID: <20020106071439.GE1003@raggedclown.net> References: <20020105195536.27073ca2.johann@broadpark.no> <20020105170230.636999bb.matthew@starbreaker.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <20020105170230.636999bb.matthew@starbreaker.net> User-Agent: Mutt/1.3.24i 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 On Sat, Jan 05, 2002 at 05:02:30PM -0500, Matthew Graybosch wrote: > On Sat, 5 Jan 2002 19:55:36 +0100 > J.S. 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? > > > --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! > No no !. A server doesn't need such a thing, a crappy old 14 inch will do if you need console access, most of the time you will probably administer it remotely. I would also be circumspect about a 21 inch screen for a workstation, the cost differential is phenemonal, and unless you are a graphic designer ( and have the stength to lift it) I would make very sure that you will feel comfortable with it. Many people (including me) find that size of screen very over-whelming to work on. There are a lot of psychological factors involved here ! A 19" I would say is good for most people's needs. If I had the money I would still prefer a TFT flat screen personally, visually they are just gorgeous on your eyes. > --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. > Don't live in the same room as a server with SCSI drives though. They are significantly noisier than ATA ones. > --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). > Dats are good, dat drives are expensive, but dat tapes are very cheap. > --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. Mmm. I would say my most favourite object amongst my array of technology, is an optical cordless mouse ... it really is a revelation when you first start to use one. Don't forget about the requirements to keep the things cool .. :) -- Regards Cliff To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message