From owner-freebsd-amd64@FreeBSD.ORG Wed Sep 15 04:36:34 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-amd64@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0AD5916A4CE for ; Wed, 15 Sep 2004 04:36:34 +0000 (GMT) Received: from aaryn.lunarpages.com (aaryn.lunarpages.com [216.193.217.198]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C093C43D41 for ; Wed, 15 Sep 2004 04:36:33 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from solita2@solitarylight.com) Received: from 68-173-147-104.nyc.rr.com ([68.173.147.104] helo=bsd.nyc.rr.com) by aaryn.lunarpages.com with smtp (Exim 4.42) id 1C7RX4-0008Ic-Ry for amd64@freebsd.org; Tue, 14 Sep 2004 21:36:39 -0700 Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 00:39:15 -0500 From: John Wilson To: amd64@freebsd.org Message-Id: <20040915003915.2489d1b0.solita2@solitarylight.com> X-Mailer: Sylpheed version 0.9.12 (GTK+ 1.2.10; i386-portbld-freebsd5.3) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it with any abuse report X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - aaryn.lunarpages.com X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - freebsd.org X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [0 0] / [47 12] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - solitarylight.com X-Source: X-Source-Args: X-Source-Dir: Subject: Mainboard suggestions? X-BeenThere: freebsd-amd64@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: Porting FreeBSD to the AMD64 platform List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 04:36:34 -0000 Hello all. I am currently in the process of spec'ing a new machine for myself and wish to go the AMD64 way. Unfortunately, trying to find good information on the myriad of mainboards that are available is giving me a serious headache. :) Please keep in mind, that up to this point, I've not strayed from the Intel world, and always used Intel mainboards. >From what I've been able to gather, the two best mainboards for the AMD64 platform come from either Asus or MSI. My original goal was to find a board with the minimum of additional features onboard, save for sound and a NIC. Firewire is useless to me. For what it's worth, I'm planning on getting a retail package AMD64 3000, which includes the AMD brand heatsink and fan. I've attempted browsing the AMD64 mailling list here for good info, but have come away scratching my head even more. Basically, my questions are as follows: - Which is the better chipset for FreeBSD, the Via offering or the NVidia one? - It seems that a lot of the MSI boards use Realtek audio and NIC's. Are these any good? Are they at all supported? My understanding was that Realtek was on the crappy side, but I've no personal experience with them. - It appears that Asus has problems with their onboard NIC as well; there were a few messages posted to the list in regard to this. Is this still a problem? Should I avoid Asus because of this? - If anyone could make a suggestion as to the best mainboard, in regard to FreeBSD compatibility, I'd be most appreciative. Thank you all very much for your time, John Wilson.