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Old 17th December 2012
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fossala fossala is offline
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Smile New desktop computer.

Hey guys, I haven't talked on here in nearly a year. This is because my desktop (samsung n130 plugged into a monitor) doesn't play nice with OpenBSD. I'm going to be buying a new desktop after xmas. This time I want to make sure I can install OpenBSD as I'm getting sick of Linux. Can you guys give me some direction, this is what I'm looking for in order of importance.

1. Can run OpenBSD
2. Energy efficiant
3. HDMI output
4. Powerful enough not to be held back
5. SSD

Thanks guys in advanced for your help.
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Old 17th December 2012
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jggimi jggimi is offline
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Are you considering shopping hands-on? If so, install onto a USB stick and take it with you to the retailer. Ask them if they mind if you test boot your OS from USB.

SSD: see http://marc.info/?t=135573327100003&r=1&w=2 and other archived threads
HDMI: see http://marc.info/?t=134652258500001&r=1&w=2 and other archived threads

"Energy efficient" and "Powerful enough" are neither specifications nor metrics.
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Old 17th December 2012
ocicat ocicat is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fossala View Post
This time I want to make sure I can install OpenBSD as I'm getting sick of Linux. Can you guys give me some direction...
While I understand your question, providing anecdotal evidence is getting harder given that manufacturers are coming out with new models faster than they did a few years ago. As an example, Lenovo appears to be introducing new models every few months. This is simply a faster cycle than the OpenBSD developers can absorb newer hardware to determine/ensure compatibility.

The OpenBSD developers have no arrangement with manufacturers allowing them to determine compatibility before release. The developers simply buy hardware just like the rest of us to see what works & what doesn't. Sometimes, members of the community will buy hardware for the developers either because the developers have requested specific items:

http://www.openbsd.org/want.html

...or users want to see specific hardware supported faster, so they either loan hardware to developers, or simply buy it for them outright.

If you are unable/unwilling to provide hardware, the solution is three-fold:
  • Search/read the misc@ archives for the manufacturer/models in which you have interest. Perhaps information there already mentions compatibility.
  • Go to a brick-&-mortar store which will allow you to run a Live CD (an excellent use for jggimi's CD/DVD-environment offerings...), & test yourself.
  • If you do order online or through mail-order, be very clear as the conditions of their return policy in case you are not satisfied with whatever conclusions you may draw.

Last edited by ocicat; 17th December 2012 at 08:04 PM. Reason: clarity
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Old 17th December 2012
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jggimi jggimi is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ocicat View Post
  • Go to a brick-&-mortar store which will allow you to run a Live CD (an excellent use for jggimi's CD/DVD-environment offerings...), & test yourself.
I recommended installing onto a USB device. They're readily available and should boot as mass storage on most modern BIOSes. I had two reasons:
  1. Not all "modern" equipment comes with optical drives any longer. An external optical drive might be needed to boot optical media, which a retailer may not have available, and may cause some delay if you bring your own and attempt to exit the store with it in hand.
  2. My live media is now out-of-date, the most recent version is based on 5.0-release. I'd recommend installing 5.2-release or -current onto USB if looking to acquire new equipment. (I will evenutually update the live media; I just have not had time to do so.)
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Old 17th December 2012
ocicat ocicat is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jggimi View Post
I recommended installing onto a USB device. They're readily available and should boot as mass storage on most modern BIOSes.
Point well articulated & taken.
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Old 18th December 2012
silex silex is offline
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My .02 addition to what have been said, USB live installation of 5.2 is probably the best bet. If for some reasons you're not going to follow that line, i'd like to say that desktops, compatibility wise, should be less of a hassle than laptops, and yet puffy plays well with alot of laptops imo. All depends on how new/free the components are. I won't be able to give a model number etc. as models as pointed out by OPs change quickly nowadays. So my advice is go with HP or Dell, then cross reference their spec sheets on their websites with http://openbsd.org/amd64.html that list is quiet extensive and upto date. More specifically I've been using SSDs with OpenBSD with no concern at all, I don't think you should worry that much about that, second for HDMI you have to either test, check the mailing list and avoid Nvidia. Again with the major brands online, the worst case scenario you can return with no hassle. Just avoid anything that's clearly unsupported, and stay clear of the very new graphic chipsets. I installed OpenBSD on a wide variety of computers, and for amd64 my personal experience tells me to go with whatever the major brands sell avoiding anything too new (say less than 6-9 months). Also on undeadly there was a talk of opening up the dmesg db or something along that line IIRC. I don't think Theo is ok with sharing the dmesgs afaik, but some people/vars do build/sell computers targeting OpenBSD, that could be very helpful for you if you dig around and peek at dmesgs. Let us know what you decide to buy afterall and how it goes.

Last edited by silex; 18th December 2012 at 01:20 AM.
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Old 18th December 2012
shep shep is offline
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As long as we are tossing opinions around, I think the Key Issue is chipsets and most specifically the video chip. I feel I have a lot more control if I purchase the components and assemble them. When you buy a Dell or HP it is like getting a box of chocolates - you do not really know what you're gonna get.

It is incredibly easy and online guides on how to roll your own abound. The vast majority of the connections are polarized. I do not have a grounding cable but for as few as I put together - resting my naked foot on a furnace register gets rid of my surface charge

I put a high priority on the power supply and case. I am still using a Lian Li case I bought in 2002. It has gone through 3 motherboards. I also saw a recent article on energy rated power supplies and if you are a heavy user the return on investment is less than a year.

Where I tend to get burned is new connectors. The upgrade to a new Power supply was prompted by 24pin power connectors and SATA power connectors. I have several working AGP video cards gathering dust.

If I were in your shoes I would look for a Radeon/AMD video card with the 4xxx chipset. I think some can be had with hdmi.

I also recommend Newegg to do your hardware searches as it allows selection by chipset and features. For example, for a video card you can select an AMD/Radon, then 2400XT, then the slot (PCIe -2.0) then the amount of card memory, the connectors (vga, dvi or hdmi) and finally the manufacturer. I hesitate to recommend them as vendor although I generally have had good luck. I will not buy refurbed mother boards from them (never come with the heat shield)

Last edited by shep; 18th December 2012 at 02:29 AM.
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Old 18th December 2012
pcronin pcronin is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shep View Post
As long as we are tossing opinions around, I think the Key Issue is chipsets and most specifically the video chip. I feel I have a lot more control if I purchase the components and assemble them. When you buy a Dell or HP it is like getting a box of chocolates - you do not really know what you're gonna get.

It is incredibly easy and online guides on how to roll your own abound. The vast majority of the connections are polarized. I do not have a grounding cable but for as few as I put together - resting my naked foot on a furnace register gets rid of my surface charge
Agree with this 100%. I've been building all my PCs since the 90s, except for the 2 Macs, and my reasons are that I will know exactly what chipsets are in the components.
Quote:
I put a high priority on the power supply and case. I am still using a Lian Li case I bought in 2002. It has gone through 3 motherboards. I also saw a recent article on energy rated power supplies and if you are a heavy user the return on investment is less than a year.

Where I tend to get burned is new connectors. The upgrade to a new Power supply was prompted by 24pin power connectors and SATA power connectors. I have several working AGP video cards gathering dust.
If possible, try to get a modular PSU. I have used these in a few build, and not only to they cut down on excess wires(thus adding cooling), they offer the possibility of ordering the new connections from the manufacture in the future.
Quote:
If I were in your shoes I would look for a Radeon/AMD video card with the 4xxx chipset. I think some can be had with hdmi.
Also what I have been looking at, my debate is now mostly on HDMI vs DVI/VGA outputs.
Quote:
I also recommend Newegg to do your hardware searches as it allows selection by chipset and features. For example, for a video card you can select an AMD/Radon, then 2400XT, then the slot (PCIe -2.0) then the amount of card memory, the connectors (vga, dvi or hdmi) and finally the manufacturer. I hesitate to recommend them as vendor although I generally have had good luck. I will not buy refurbed mother boards from them (never come with the heat shield)
I like to compare Tigerdirect and Newegg, but wasn't aware of the advanced selection features of 'egg. I usually find some known working chipsets (from the HCL) and google to find cards, then find them on Tigerdirect and Newegg.
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Old 18th December 2012
J65nko J65nko is offline
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Although it is a good thing to stimulate the economy by getting a new Desktop computer, you also could download and install the latest OpenBSD current snapshot.

OBSD 5.2 has been released the first of November, but actually is from end of July, beginning of August:
Code:
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450         84196 Aug 01 16:10 INSTALL.amd64
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450          1720 Aug 01 16:11 SHA256
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450      61387977 Aug 01 16:11 base52.tgz
-rwxr-xr-x    1 500      450       9060353 Aug 01 16:10 bsd
-rwxr-xr-x    1 500      450       9088176 Aug 01 16:10 bsd.mp
-rwxr-xr-x    1 500      450       7311395 Aug 01 16:10 bsd.rd
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450       7432192 Aug 01 16:10 cd52.iso
-r-xr-xr-x    1 500      450         45492 Aug 01 16:10 cdboot
-r-xr-xr-x    1 500      450          2048 Aug 01 16:10 cdbr
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450      69025652 Aug 01 16:10 comp52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450        531648 Aug 01 16:10 etc52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450       1474560 Aug 01 16:10 floppy52.fs
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450       2710461 Aug 01 16:10 game52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450          1339 Dec 17 11:07 index.txt
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450     252758016 Aug 01 16:10 install52.iso
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450       9724820 Aug 01 16:10 man52.tgz
-r-xr-xr-x    1 500      450         55264 Aug 01 16:11 pxeboot
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450      12434993 Jul 23 10:11 xbase52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450         63893 Jul 23 10:11 xetc52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450      39803297 Jul 23 10:11 xfont52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450      26774217 Jul 23 10:11 xserv52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450       4619848 Jul 23 10:11 xshare52.tgz
The latest snapshot is from middle of December:
Code:
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450         84404 Dec 13 09:21 INSTALL.amd64
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450          1720 Dec 13 09:21 SHA256
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450      63056088 Dec 13 09:21 base52.tgz
-rwxr-xr-x    1 500      450       9196320 Dec 13 09:21 bsd
-rwxr-xr-x    1 500      450       9224220 Dec 13 09:21 bsd.mp
-rwxr-xr-x    1 500      450       7393098 Dec 13 09:21 bsd.rd
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450       7534592 Dec 13 09:21 cd52.iso
-r-xr-xr-x    1 500      450         69108 Dec 13 09:21 cdboot
-r-xr-xr-x    1 500      450          2048 Dec 13 09:21 cdbr
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450      51772044 Dec 13 09:21 comp52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450        523250 Dec 13 09:21 etc52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450       1474560 Dec 13 09:21 floppy52.fs
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450       2780792 Dec 13 09:21 game52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450          1339 Dec 17 11:07 index.txt
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450     237805568 Dec 13 09:21 install52.iso
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450       9731662 Dec 13 09:21 man52.tgz
-r-xr-xr-x    1 500      450         78860 Dec 13 09:21 pxeboot
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450      11507609 Dec 04 21:43 xbase52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450         64027 Dec 04 21:43 xetc52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450      39803161 Dec 04 21:43 xfont52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450      28179210 Dec 04 21:43 xserv52.tgz
-rw-r--r--    1 500      450       4329565 Dec 04 21:43 xshare52.tgz
As you can see the OBSD developers have been working on new features and better hardware support for 4 1/2 months, since 5.2 has been cut. So it is quite possible that your system is better supported in this snapshot than 5.2
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