From owner-freebsd-questions Sat Mar 16 22:25:26 1996 Return-Path: owner-questions Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) id WAA25213 for questions-outgoing; Sat, 16 Mar 1996 22:25:26 -0800 (PST) Received: from mail.barrnet.net (mail.barrnet.net [131.119.246.7]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) with ESMTP id WAA25207 for ; Sat, 16 Mar 1996 22:25:19 -0800 (PST) Received: from digital.netvoyage.net (digital.netvoyage.net [205.162.154.10]) by mail.barrnet.net (8.7.4/MAIL-RELAY-LEN) with SMTP id WAA29310 for ; Sat, 16 Mar 1996 22:25:03 -0800 (PST) Received: (from bkogawa@localhost) by digital.netvoyage.net (8.6.13/8.6.9) id WAA20379; Sat, 16 Mar 1996 22:21:14 -0800 Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 22:21:14 -0800 (PST) From: "Bryan K. Ogawa" To: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Computer purchase for FreeBSD Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-questions@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk I'm looking to get a system to run FreeBSD (and Windows95, probably) on. I'm willing to put a fair amount of money into it (this is the first new computer I've bought in about 5 years), and I'm looking for some recommendations. I am planning on running X and probably 2.1-stable (although I would prefer to do a CD install instead of a net-install of FreeBSD). I'd appreciate any comments you would like to make on the component choices I'm proposing. Since I'm asking many questions, feel free to skip over as many as you want. You are welcome to direct a copy of comments to me as well as to the list; I'm subscribed to the list, but on another account (so I'll see them later rather than sooner). Here's the system I have so far: System: Motherboard/BIOS/RAM: Intel P-133 - Right now this seems to be the best price/performance balance for me. Triton Motherboard w/ 256K (512K?) Pipeline Burst Cache - Is 512K worth extra money (e.g. is there a significant performance increase)? - Are there any incompatibilities with 512K of cache? 32 Megs EDO RAM - the Triton chipset boards don't support parity, correct? Does that mean they support the EDO RAM features (e.g. the error correction features?) I know it was discussed before, but I wasn't entirely clear on the answer. - If the answer to the above is no, what other advantages (if any) would EDO RAM have? Video: Diamond Stealth 64 w/ 2 megs VRAM - The video chipset FAQ (see sources, below) lists this as an S3 964 chipset (or the 968 for the Video version of the board). I'm planning on starting out with XFree86. Is a Number 9 cheaper or faster? 17" Monitor (probably a Mag, but maybe a Shamrock or other cheap) - Anyone have any comments on these monitors? According to InfoWorld, some of the Mags are pretty good. (see below for InfoWorld reference.) Storage Adaptec 2940UW (PCI) - I've seen Jordan's hardware recommendations list, which says that unless you're doing news or NFS, Wide SCSI is not worth it. Is this still true? - The drivers for the 2940UWs are in -current (-stable?), right? Does that mean that I must install these versions to run, or can I install 2.1.0-RELEASE initially and upgrade to take full advantage of the board later? If the answer is that I must install a more recent version, is there a CD I can buy that would let me install? - Does anyone know what the differences are between the 2940W and 2940UW? 2.1 GB Fast Wide SCSI 4X SCSI CD-ROM - I didn't see a real advantage to a faster drive, since I'll probably be using it primarily to install software, not run multimedia titles (or so I think--I suspect most of the time I'll be in FreeBSD). References I found useful 1. The PC Hardware FAQs were helpful, especially the video ones. (all one line) 2. The November 20, 1995 issue of InfoWorld tested 17" monitors. Search for a complete report (search for "17 inch monitors"). 3. Jordan Hubbard's hardware recommendations are on the FreeBSD home pages. Part of the Hardware Guide. Thank you very much for your time. bryan -- Bryan K. Ogawa II Infinitum <>< On this account I speak for myself. SDG http://www.netvoyage.net/~bkogawa/