Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 18:00:55 +0100 From: Stefan =?iso-8859-1?Q?E=DFer?= <se@FreeBSD.org> To: Martin Cracauer <cracauer@cons.org> Cc: freebsd-mobile@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Experiences with HP, Compaq? Message-ID: <20031224170055.GB30405@StefanEsser.FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <20031224105010.A79893@cons.org> References: <87zndjidfr.fsf@lomond.aae.uiuc.edu> <200312231650.30382.cbehanna@panasas.com> <20031224105010.A79893@cons.org>
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On 2003-12-24 10:50 -0500, Martin Cracauer <cracauer@cons.org> wrote: > > > The specs for the two notebooks are nearly identical: AMD Athlon XP-M > > > 2500+, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB HD, ATI Mobility graphics, USB, FireWire, > > > CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive. I don't expect the built-in wireless (11g) will > > > ever work, but I'd like to know 100Base-T does. "16-bit Sound > > > Blaster Pro-compatible audio" could be anything, I suppose. The -current NDIS driver framework does already support the Broadcom 802.11g chip (assuming that is what's in that system), though as of now without support for WEP. > > For about that same price, Best Buy has an eMachines laptop w/17" > > widescreen (1280x768) LCD, the same Athlon-M, and the same ATI video > > chip. > > I looked at that part yesterday. For $800 (if you manage to get the > mail-in-rebates) you can get that thing with a Celeron 2.4 GHz and the > Intel 852 GM graphics, or as you say a more expensive model with an > Athlon and ATI graphics. Beware: The P4 based Celerons are just a rip-off! Expect a Celeron with 2.4GHz to consume as much power as a desktop P4 (it does not support SpeedStep !) but do perform no better than a PIII at half the clock speed !!! (Exception to the rule: Multimedia applications using SSE2 instructions and running within the small L2 cache of the P4-Celeron.) A shared memory graphics chip does not help at all, since the CPU has to access RAM much more often than a P4 (which has about 4 times the memory bandwidth requirement of a PIII or Centrino or Athlon running at the same speed). > I think I would have bought the Celeron version if they had it > in-store which they didn't and I cannot mailorder it because it will > not arrive in time to use the mail-in-rebate (one of the most awful > aspects of current U.S. corporate practice from a German standpoint, > BTW). > > Anyway, I had a closer look and the whole thing feels so flimsy and > cheap mechanically-wise that I am pretty much put off it. I might > have a second look these days but I really wouldn't like to buy a > notebook with a keyboard that breaks. > > But hey, it's widescreen and a 2.4 GHz Celeron for $800. Mumble. > > > I have no idea if FreeBSD will run on it. > > Should be fine, at least on the Intel part, including graphics. I > don't know what chipset the AMD version uses. The Rage Mobility in the Athlon based machine should be well supported. Regards, STefanhelp
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