From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Mon May 7 19:25:04 2007 Return-Path: X-Original-To: questions@freebsd.org Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [69.147.83.52]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DCFCF16A40F for ; Mon, 7 May 2007 19:25:04 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from jnatola@familycareintl.org) Received: from mail.familycareintl.org (mail.familycareintl.org [68.167.21.154]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 896BA13C489 for ; Mon, 7 May 2007 19:25:04 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from jnatola@familycareintl.org) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft Exchange V6.5 Content-class: urn:content-classes:message MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 15:25:03 -0400 Message-ID: <3A85D7EF44E1C744BF6434691F5659E9702C1A@www.fcimail.org> In-Reply-To: <463F77B1.3020508@infracaninophile.co.uk> X-MS-Has-Attach: X-MS-TNEF-Correlator: Thread-Topic: HARDWARE compatability Thread-Index: AceQ2lSfELmzrnMSReG6PDX1uNr7gAAAj3kg From: "Jean-Paul Natola" Cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: RE: HARDWARE compatability X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 07 May 2007 19:25:04 -0000 Hash: SHA256 Jean-Paul Natola wrote: > Hi everyone, >=20 > I'm looking to retire my PIII freebsd box for something a little more = of age- > being that I'm at a non-profit I do not have the largest of budgets- >=20 > On that note I have never used and AMD before for a server so I was = looking > at this box > http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpN= o=3D17 > 40107&CatId=3D1206 >=20 > it seems pretty good in terms of hardware-cpu speed/ram/raid etc.. >=20 > and for approx 600 bucks I cant really complain- I'm womdnering if = there if > there are any compatibility issues I need to watch out for , here are = the > specs; >=20 > Form Factor 2U Rackmounted=20 > Processor Class Athlon64=20 > Processor Number 3500+=20 > Processor Speed 2.20GHz=20 > Processor Interface Socket AM2=20 > Processors Supported 1=20 > Additional Technologies HyperTransport=20 > Memory Type DDR2=20 > Total Memory 1 GB=20 > Memory Speed DDR2 667 (PC2-5400)=20 > Compatible RAID Levels 0+1 0,1,5 > Number Of Hard Drives 2=20 > Hard Drive Size 160 GB=20 > Hard Drive Interface SATA-II=20 > Spindle Speed (RPM) 7200=20 > Buffer Memory 8 MB=20 > Optical Drive Type 52x CD-ROM=20 > Communications Description Integrated LAN=20 > Data Transfer Rate 10 Mbps 100 Mbps 1000 Mbps Hmmm... unfortunately that site doesn't tell you exactly what you need to know. For this class of machine, there are really two fundamental parts of the system where you may run into trouble: the on-board network interfaces and the SATA controller. Server class machines like this tend to have lowest common denominator graphics which will just work in VESA mode, and who cares about sound if the box is in a machine room... In order to have a chance of predicting whether the system will support FreeBSD you're going to need to know the Motherboard manufacturer and model number -- or equivalently the chipsets used on the board. Then it's a case of hunting through documentation and mailing list archives to see what other people's experience has been. There's also this page on the FreeBSD site: Gigabyte GA-M61PM-S2=20 MotherboardNVIDIA(r) GeForce 6100 / nForce 430=20 Super I/O chip: ITE IT8716=20 Integrated Peripherals=20 T.I. IEEE1394 controller=20 Realtek RTL8211 Gigabit Ethernet controller=20 Realtek ALC883 Audio Codec AMD Athlon(tm)64/ Sempron(tm) Socket AM2 platform=20 Supports high performance Dual-Channel DDR2 800 memory=20 Integrated NVIDIA(r) CineFX 3.0 Graphics Engine=20 Features NVIDIA(r) SATA 3Gb/s with RAID function=20 Optimized Gigabit LAN and IEEE1394 connection=20 Enhances security with NVIDIA(r) TCP/IP Acceleration technology=20 Features 8 channel High Definition Audio=20 RoHS compliant motherboard for green computing