Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2003 13:42:16 +1200 From: Tom Munro Glass <gentoo@tmgcon.com> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: FreeBSD on GigaByte GA-8EGXDR-E? Message-ID: <200309241342.16343.gentoo@tmgcon.com> In-Reply-To: <200309240111.h8O1BadJ000934@ice.nodomain> References: <200309240111.h8O1BadJ000934@ice.nodomain>
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Hi Dan, Thanks for the very informative reply. I have searched the 4.8 & 5.1 HARDWARE.TXT files and can find some but not all of the devices on this mobo. So I think you have convinced me not to buy that particular board! The other option that I have been considering is to buy a Dell PowerEdge 1600SC. I would be using the onboard SCSI Ultra 320 rather than RAID. I've searched the mailing lists and newsgroups for information about this, and I get the impression that the 1600SC is *probably* alright with FreeBSD 4.8, but I'd really appreciate confirmation of this. Regards, Tom > > http://tw.giga-byte.com/Server/Products/Products_ServerBoard_GA-8EGXDR-E. > >htm > > > > As far as I know, it's a current model. > > I found it. For some reason it is categorized on the Gigabyte web site as > a networking product rather than as a motherboard. > > I don't have any direct experience relevant to the compatibility of this > motherboard with FreeBSD because my new Gigabyte motherboard, the 8KNXP, > uses a different support chipset, the Intel 875P/ICH5R, and has a very > different set of motherboard devices. > > I found that while FreeBSD runs reasonably well on my motherboard, FreeBSD > does not support a large number of the more exotic motherboard devices. > The situation is expected to improve a little bit when FreeBSD-5.2 comes > out, whenever that happens. Not soon I gather. I frequently browse the > freebsd-current mailing list. FreeBSD-current looks sufficiently unstable > that I don't want to mess with it. FreeBSD-5.1 is flaky enough. > > Your motherboard seems to have an even more exotic set of motherboard > devices and features. I would check the HARDWARE.TXT file for the FreeBSD > release you intend to run. Devices not mentioned in the HARDWARE.TXT file > are moderately likely to prove problematic. > > I see that your motherboard has an AWARD BIOS. The AWARD BIOS on my > motherboard does something strange that confuses the standard FreeBSD > master bootstrap program (booteasy) as to which disk is really being > booted so that I have to type F5 at it three times in order to boot. > > If the Intel ICH5R serial ATA controller on my motherboard is configured > to operate in "native" mode, the AWARD BIOS fails to enter my serial ATA > disks into the BIOS disk list. Since I have to boot off my serial ATA > disks, I have to configure them in "legacy" mode. That means I can't use > one of my standard ATA ports and that means I can't use standard ATA disks > on my system (unless I buy an extra PCI ATA controller card for them). > > You may get lucky, but I expect you to have some exiting experiences > in your future. > > Dan Strick > strick@covad.net > > P.S. I find that Gigabyte email tech support is extremely sluggish > and not very helpful. If you have clout, please light a fire > underneath those guys.
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