Quote:
Originally Posted by e1-531g
Hello,
I am a student from Poland...
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This same message was also posted to
misc@:
http://marc.info/?t=140404297200001&r=1&w=2
Here are a few guidelines to consider:
- Search through the archives of the project's mailing lists to see if others have asked the same questions before. A favorite archive site of many is http://marc.info/.
- nVidia does not release specifications for their GPU's, & given the OpenBSD project's stand on open specifications, nVidia & OpenBSD do not play well. You can search the archives both here & on the project's mailing lists to find countless stories of those trying to get stellar performance from their nVidia hardware, & frequently they don't. The general mantra is to avoid nVidia at all costs.
- When it comes to hardware compatibility -- especially in terms of amd64 & i386 platforms, the project does not have access to every last motherboard available, & new products are being introduced at a rate where knowledge and/or direct experience is not possible.
- If you are dealing with used hardware, install OpenBSD to a flash drive, & boot directly from the flash drive to determine compatibility. Information on installing to a flash device can be found in Section 14.17.3 of the official FAQ.
- If you are dealing with new hardware, do the same testing if possible. If booting from flash is not allowed or possible, be very clear on the return policy from where ever you are buying the system. Most likely they are selling Windows or Apple systems, & do not have the knowledge of dealing with Open Source operating systems.
New cutting edge hardware may have problems not yet resolved with OpenBSD. The issue is whether the project developers have run into these problems & determined a solution. What isn't supported today may be supported in the next few months, & compatibility will be found in -current first. If you are not familiar with OpenBSD's flavors, see Section 5.1 of the FAQ.
- Having said all of this, most Dell or Thinkpad (IBM or Lenovo...) laptops are largely compatible. Many project developers have Thinkpad laptops in their collections, so you can guess that compatibility will be forthcoming.
I can certainly understand that you don't want to waste funds searching for hardware, but that market is oriented to where they are likely to make sales, & that is towards the Windows & Apple ecosystems. By going into the world of Unix-like operating systems, you will need to have the patience to search for information. When it comes to OpenBSD in particular, searching archives of the project's mailing lists is most likely your best choice outside of experimenting yourself.