Author Topic: Yay NetBSD  (Read 3688 times)

ahluka

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Yay NetBSD
« on: August 22, 2005, 09:31:07 AM »
Well I woke up this morning and felt the need for a change. KUbuntu doesn't suit my tastes, and I only use Windows for gaming; although my laptop is shite for games so I won't need to see Windows until I get my new PC ( :D ).

I've got FreeBSD discs somewhere (lost :() and read up on NetBSD. It's just what I need, so the ISO's are on the download as I type.

Anyone else use it? Hate it? Love it?

*edit*

When I get my new PC I'll have my dream setup:

60GB Gentoo Linux
    2 GB  Swap
    20GB Home
    ~38GB Root

60GB Windows XP [Home/Pro/Media, doesn't matter]

KDE 3.4.2 Desktop with all the bells and whistles.

My actual PC will have 512MB RAM to start with, then by Feb next year I'll (hopefully) have it up to ~3GB. ATI Radeon X800 (I think) 256MB GPU, AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (I hope :D). I was thinking of getting a ~300 GB HDD instead of the 120 GB. Hmm.

Just thought I'd share that with you :)
« Last Edit: August 22, 2005, 09:36:35 AM by ahluka »

Perspective

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Yay NetBSD
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2005, 10:53:05 AM »
I find that more repos out there have linux binaries more often than BSD ones. So using BSD will likely mean more building from source. Im too lazy for that (hence why im not into the whole Gentoo thing). Its ok for some packages but id rather just install an rpm most of the time.

webwhy

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Yay NetBSD
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2005, 02:10:53 AM »
i have some FreeBSD experience, but not much.  I really prefer a linux distrobution for purely personal reasons.

and yeah...the software in ports is built from source just like portage in gentoo

Major_Small

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Yay NetBSD
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2005, 06:48:06 AM »
Quote from: Perspective
Im too lazy for that (hence why im not into the whole Gentoo thing). Its ok for some packages but id rather just install an rpm most of the time.
with Gentoo's portage, it's does all the compiling/installing itself, and alot of things are pre-configured as well... even with the kernel, just use genkernel and you get a kernel that can be used for most anything...

for some reason I'm avoiding BSD... I'm trying to stick with a linux variant.
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ygfperson

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Yay NetBSD
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2005, 04:57:57 PM »
I usually make my linux partition 6 gigs or so, and let my home partition have the rest since that's where I download everything.

I don't really have an opinion on BSD... never needed to use it. I've been a redhat person for a long while now

saeculum

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Yay NetBSD
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2005, 05:29:56 PM »
Personally, I don't see why you'd want to waste a CD for an iso.  The assumption is that you have a fairly juicy 'Net connection.

NetBSD is alright, I rate it much more than I rate FreeBSD.  OpenBSD n DragonflyBSD are two superb BSD's (note that DFBSD is based on FBSD)

Quote from: "perspective

    I find that more repos out there have linux binaries more often than BSD ones. So using BSD will likely mean more building from source. Im too lazy for that (hence why im not into the whole Gentoo thing). Its ok for some packages but id rather just install an rpm most of the time.


There are two mechanisms in place for the BSD's that I use (all of the above).  There's ports and there's packages.  Packages can be used very much like RPMs in that you say something like:
Code: [Select]
pkg_add ftp://ftp.openbsd......./thatpackage.tgz

Ports, pkgsrc and all that are very useful for fairly bleeding edge (relative to the BSD).

Also, I feel I have to mention that NetBSD has by far the best introduction to the 'NetBSD-way' in respect to hacking.  FreeBSD come second, and OpenBSD slightly out of sight (IMO).  DragonflyBSD is well... nice to see :)

Also, I don't know why you're using KDE, I mean it's a nice DE, and sure it's up there leading the pack, though I find installing the KDE apps that are useful, and then sticking to a simple WM (fluxbox) leads to a much cleaner and quicker system.  (ps output is annoying when a KDE app is running...)

Tman

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Yay NetBSD
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2005, 11:55:07 PM »
Yay Gentoo! I love my Gentoo  :D.

But stay away from genkernel.. it kinda defeats the point of having customized everything. If you just take the time to configure your kernel (takes, what, 30 minutes?), and then do "make && make modules_install && make install", your kernel will be MUCH faster. And when you get a new kernel all you have to do is copy the old config over and do a make oldconfig, then you have your old config + all the new options that you want that come with the latest kernel. Takes very little time and it pays off.

Also, I would definitely stay away from ATi if you're going Linux, Gentoo has very good nVidia support and it's best just to stay with them. On my Athlon64 box I have a GeForce 6200TC, it's cheap but pretty good (I can max out my ut2004 settings without a problem). My motherboard is an nVidia nForce4-939; I would also reccomend one of these as it has good support. Stick with Socket939; IIRC the other Athlon64 sockets are being retired in favor of 939, so this way your box will be easier to upgrade in the future. My processor is a homely 3000+ but it is still quite an improvement over 32-bit processors when in 64-bit mode.

Oh and memory - I bought two seperate sticks of 512MB, so I have dual-channel giga memory. Don't fall for buying the more expensive dual-channel memory packages (where they give you two memory sticks all in one package), it's just a waste of money and buying two seperate sticks should work fine. I would say 3GB is mucho overkill, but it's your choice ;). I never have memory problems myself with 1GB. What exactly are you going to do with 5GB total memory anyway? :dunno:

You will definitely notice a significant improvement when using portage/compiling stuff/etc. when using a 64-bit OS. Make SURE that you're doing a Gentoo x86_64 install, if you do regular x86 you'll be using 32-bit emulation and won't notice much of a difference. Although Gentoo64 doesn't have as much support, it's getting there and all kinds of apps are improving their 64-bit compatibility every day, so don't sweat it ;).

If you do get an nVidia card, make sure you read the Gentoo handbook page for nVidia (google it) - this is priceless info!

Finally, I reccomend that you subscribe to Transgaming ($15) and get Cedega if you want to play any Windows games on linux. Setting this up can be a pain, but if you can get things working it'll be worth it.

Okay, that's about it.. I hope I didn't bore you with anything, but instead helped you a bit ;)

EDIT: Oh, don't listen to those crazy FluxBox guys, on Athlon64, KDE runs very smoothly ;). That doesn't mean it's simple or anything...

Perspective

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« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2005, 12:51:27 AM »
>>You will definitely notice a significant improvement when using portage/compiling stuff/etc. when using a 64-bit OS.

How do you figure? downloading binary x86 packages v.s. compiling them is the same boat as downloading x86_64 packages v.s. compiling them...

gentoo is still linux with racing stripes AFAIC