Hey guys, I just built a new desktop/workstation system, and I'm having the best experience with FreeBSD as a desktop that I've ever had. I wanted to share my hardware config in the hopes that it will help others trying to decide on hardware for a similar system. I'm tracking 10-STABLE with all-ZFS storage, and using a combination of Mate and i3. All told, under $1200 dollars through (mostly) Newegg.
CPU: AMD FX-8320: 3.5GHz 8-core Vishera
MOB: GIGABYTE 990FXA-UD3
RAM: AMD Radeon RP1866 (2x 8G)
SSD: AMD Radeon R7 120G
HDD: 4x WD Red 2TB WD20EFRX
GPU: GIGABYTE GV-R927XOC-2GD
Other:
PSU: Seasonic SS-520FL2 520W
CASE: Corsair Vengence C70 Black
Like I said, I did some research and built this machine specifically to run a FreeBSD 10x workstation/desktop, and I have never been happier with a system. I can buildworld in about 25 minutes, and buildkernel in about 3 minutes. Incredibly stable, both in terms of the system and applications. With the recent graphics improvements and vt, any who say that FreeBSD cannot match Linux in terms of graphic desktops (I haven't tried gnome-shell or any other newfangled 3D desktops, as I don't see a reason to) should give FreeBSD another try. And any who are having trouble determining what kind of hardware to purchase, I would recommend this build as a starting point, as I am incredibly happy with how it turned out.
CPU: AMD FX-8320: 3.5GHz 8-core Vishera
MOB: GIGABYTE 990FXA-UD3
RAM: AMD Radeon RP1866 (2x 8G)
SSD: AMD Radeon R7 120G
HDD: 4x WD Red 2TB WD20EFRX
GPU: GIGABYTE GV-R927XOC-2GD
Other:
PSU: Seasonic SS-520FL2 520W
CASE: Corsair Vengence C70 Black
Like I said, I did some research and built this machine specifically to run a FreeBSD 10x workstation/desktop, and I have never been happier with a system. I can buildworld in about 25 minutes, and buildkernel in about 3 minutes. Incredibly stable, both in terms of the system and applications. With the recent graphics improvements and vt, any who say that FreeBSD cannot match Linux in terms of graphic desktops (I haven't tried gnome-shell or any other newfangled 3D desktops, as I don't see a reason to) should give FreeBSD another try. And any who are having trouble determining what kind of hardware to purchase, I would recommend this build as a starting point, as I am incredibly happy with how it turned out.