which BSD platform should i choose?

C

chrtylee

I have a Dell Optiplex 330 which has an Intel Pentium e2160 processor, Asus Nvidia en210 video card, and 4gb ram. On the platform selection it said if you're unsure choose i386 but I do have a 64 bit processor.
 
chrtylee said:
i have a dell optiplex 330 which has an intel pentium e2160 processor, asus nvidia en210 video card, and 4gb ram. on the platform selection it said if your unsure choose i386 but i do have a 64 bit processor.
Click to expand...
On your system the decision isn't so clear. Most of the 64-bit-capable Dell desktop systems support more than 4GB of memory. On those systems, I'd recommend FreeBSD-amd64 even if there is only 4GB or less memory installed now. It isn't possible to do an in-place conversion from i386 to amd64, so if there is any potential for more memory being added later on, amd64 should be used.

However, your system is limited to 4GB of memory, so you won't see the one of the major benefits of the amd64 architecture. Depending on the hardware, an amd64 kernel might "see" a little more memory than an i386 kernel on the same hardware. However a given program (or kernel) compiled to i386 code is generally somewhat more compact than when compiled to amd64 code. This isn't likely to be a big enough difference (worst case, around 10% size difference if I remember correctly) to tip the scales one way or the other.

That leaves two remaining considerations:

1) Will you be running any ports or 3rd-party software that isn't compatible with amd64? There aren't many packages that won't run on amd64 (as long as the 32-bit libraries are present), but a number of them won't compile from source on amd64. As an example, emulators/wine.

2) If you are developing software which will be deployed on other FreeBSD systems, you don't want to use an incompatible architecture. For example, if you install amd64 and create a 64-bit binary (the normal compilation mode), it won't run on i386. Conversely, you wouldn't want to limit yourself to i386 if your target system is amd64, particularly if your application uses a lot of memory.

Hopefully I've given you some things to help you decide, not simply confused things.
 
@rdl I have 4GB as stated in my first post, and as terry pointed out my system has a max of 4GB. @terry I have no idea what my plans for the system will be. I just want to learn a new OS, and from what I've researched on running mac on a windows, it seems like a pain in the ass to do the hackintosh thing.
 
chrtylee said:
@rdl I have 4GB as stated in my first post, and as terry pointed out my system has a max of 4GB. @terry I have no idea what my plans for the system will be. I just want to learn a new OS, and from what I've researched on running mac on a windows, it seems like a pain in the ass to do the hackintosh thing.
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that FreeBSD doesn't work exactly the same way as Darwin does. Darwin is built around the Mach kernel with some FreeBSD bits thrown in there. OS X then has its own bits thrown on top of it (which includes things like the Aqua GUI). So, things like installing programs, managing configurations, and even directory paths will be different. That being said, what you can learn on one will carry over to the other.

I'd say just use the 64-bit version.
 
chrtylee said:
I have a Dell Optiplex 330 which has an Intel Pentium e2160 processor, Asus Nvidia en210 video card, and 4gb ram. On the platform selection it said if you're unsure choose i386 but I do have a 64 bit processor.
Click to expand...
Check if your processor supports Long Mode (64 bits):
# cat /var/run/dmesg.boot | grep 'AMD Features'
If you find LM then your processor supports Long Mode (64 bits).
Code: 
$ cat /var/run/dmesg.boot | grep 'AMD Features'
  AMD Features=0x20100800<SYSCALL,NX,LM>
  AMD Features2=0x1<LAHF>
 
izotov said:
Check if your processor supports Long Mode (64 bits):
# cat /var/run/dmesg.boot | grep 'AMD Features'
If you find LM then your processor supports Long Mode (64 bits).
Code: 
$ cat /var/run/dmesg.boot | grep 'AMD Features'
  AMD Features=0x20100800<SYSCALL,NX,LM>
  AMD Features2=0x1<LAHF>
Click to expand...

i have no idea how to do this
 
Switch to superuser:
$ su -
You must enter root password here.
Then open the file /var/run/dmesg.boot with your favourite editor:
# vi /var/run/dmesg.boot
This file contains dmesg(8) output of the last boot (lots of device information for example).
Look for the line beginning with 'AMD Features='. If this line contains 'LM' (Long Mode) then your CPU supports 64 bits.

This is what I wanted to express with the line
# cat /var/run/dmesg.boot | grep 'AMD Features'
Here '#' wants to sign that enter this command to a root shell. 'cat' let's say prints the contents of the file, grep filters the interesting lines. If the resulting line starting with 'AMD Features=' contains 'LM' (just like in the example) then the CPU supports 64 bits.
 
chrtylee said:
if these are windows instructions, im not a programmer...i need step by step instructions
Click to expand...

Ok, I see. These were (FreeBSD) commands in a shell.
Is there an OS already installed on the machine?
 
chrtylee said:
if these are windows instructions, im not a programmer...i need step by step instructions
Click to expand...

I dont know your sistem, so you might try the following (leaves your system intact):
1., boot a FreeBSD installation DVD
2., go to live CD
3., examine the /var/run/dmesg.boot

In details:
1., boot a FreeBSD installation DVD as described in the handbook
2.,
a., in the first screen select 'Live CD':
bsdinstall-choose-mode.png

b., at the login promt log in as root (no password is needed):[CMD="login:"]root[/CMD]
3.,
a., when you get the shell prompt type# cat /var/run/dmesg.boot | grep 'AMD Features='
b., examine the output if it contains 'LM' like in this example: AMD Features=0x20100800<SYSCALL,NX,LM>
4., when ready remove the installation DVD and shut down the system
# poweroff
 
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