Date: Sun, 14 Apr 1996 03:34:36 -0400 (EDT) From: "Marc G. Fournier" <scrappy@ki.net> To: hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Hardware Recommendations Requested Message-ID: <Pine.BSI.3.92.960414030844.5278C-100000@freebsd.ki.net>
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Hi... I'm just about to get at least one, if not several, new machines put together to run -stable on, and figure before I get quotes on the hardware, I'd get opinions on the hardware that I'm currently planning on going with, as to whether I can expect problems with it or not. All the machines will be essentially the same, some with a little more hard drive space, but that's about it: Hard Drives: Quantum or Fujitsu? Will vary from 500meg to 2Gig Mainly, I've heard that the Fujitsu are good drives, and price wise, are cheaper then the Quantum...but are they the sort of drive that I can *confidently* rely on? And, any size range to shy away from? I seem to recall that it used to be that if you wanted a <1gig drive, conner was good, but >1gig, you stayed away from conner. Does Fujitsu have anything like that? Video: Trident 512K ISA SVGA Monitor/Keyboard will be shared using a switch, as I currently don't need any more systems...staff currently works from home instead of coming to the office. Motherboard: 486DX4-100, ASUS, PCI Now, ASUS motherboards I've always had good luck with, and I've noticed that most on the lists seem to agree that they are good boards...but I also seem to recall someone mentioning something wrong with the DX4-100's? Would I be better to pop up to a Pentium 100 instead? I haven't checked motherboard prices recently, but last time I checked, the DX4-100's were substantially cheaper, and performance compared to the P100's was pretty good (for the price difference, at least)... Oh...I read the thread awhile back about the Triton-II chipset, but haven't seen anything recently regarding whether it is out yet or not...is it? Memory: 32Meg Parity 72pin SIMMS - Brand ?? Memory wise, I'm going with Parity memory, but really haven't got a clue if I'm going to notice anything different using Parity vs Non-Parity...I've always used Non-Parity, mainly since I was told once, erroneously I've since heard, that PCs don't use parity *sigh* Comments? Any particular manufacturer to stay away from? Someone mentioned Panasonic as being good... Ethernet: SMC 8013, 10baseT If I were to go with a PCI SMC Ethernet card (which SMC is it that supports the DEC DC21x40 100/10Mbs chipset again?) but only am using a standard 10baseT hub currently, would I see any performance difference over the ISA model? Ie. would I get any more data throughput using a PCI model over the ISA? SCSI Controller: ASUS SC-200 (PCI) SCSI controller...should I stay away from the ASUS SC-200? if so, which PCI controller is recommended? Right now, I'm only looking at 1 or 2 drives on the bus, so if the ASUS model is felt to be stable enough, and the drivers are solid, you can't beat the price...and if I need more in the future, its easy to upgrade. I think that about covers it. I'm trying to build a machine that I won't have to worry too much about hearing "its a hardware problem" if I have any kernel panics, so want to be confident in what I'm putting together. I'd much rather have a kernel panic that is software related, and readily fixable, then a hardware related panic that requires swapping hardware around to try and isolate it :( Thoughts? Caveats? Recommendations? Thanks... Marc G. Fournier scrappy@ki.net Systems Administrator @ ki.net scrappy@freebsd.org
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