i give up

[Garrett Cooper]

On Sat, Nov 29, 2008 at 1:42 PM, Alexander Churanov
<alexanderchuranov at gmail.com> wrote:
> Folks!
>
> I have some ideas on that. The problem is it's sometimes hard to check that
> given hardware is supported by FreeBSD, even in case you know and want to do
> it. The list of supported hardware is often written in terms of chipsets and
> manufacturers often produce cards using supported chips, but named after
> their own trademark.
>
> For example, at my location one of frequently sold TV card brands is
> "beholder". It is not in the supported hw list. However, three years ago
> I've installed ethernet cards named "compex" to PCs and they worked well and
> were detected as "realtek". Given that, should one try "beholder" tv card in
> the first place?
>
> The solution is to ask someone, or, better, to pay someone for providing
> that knowledge. Computer shops rarely indicate that hardware is compatible
> with FreeBSD. Whom to ask/pay? All this leads to idea of creating some
> organization that will sell FreeBSD compatible PCs and hardware. I'm sure,
> business like that can not exist , because FreeBSD userbase is not largest.
> But non-profit organization, would, probably.
>
> Currently I have ordinary PC and several years ago it was running Windows,
> now FreeBSD. Fortunately, all hardware works. Now I am thinking of buying
> new PC and I would pay 10% extra for a brand PC with a sticker "FreeBSD
> inside" or "Designed for FreeBSD". A shop like that would also sell
> 100%-compatible photo cams, remote control units, etc.
>
> All of these is highly hypothetical, but probably is possible. 10% is a good
> donation.
>
> Alexander Churanov

There's a hardware compatibility page, but it's probably out of date /
incorrect (I'm sure not all supported hardware is noted there --
bsdstats might have more info):
http://www.freebsd.org/releases/index.html (look under `Hardware
Notes' for your given release).

My mileage:

- nVidia sucks for use on Unix platforms. Even under Linux I ran into
a bunch of issues when building my PC last year, and I've discovered
that if you're going to run Unix, stick to Intel chipsets.
- nVidia chipsets (from my PoV -- I can be swayed) offer almost zero
real advantage over Intel chipsets other than SLi. Then again I never
have and never plan on running 2+ nVidia cards at once.

So unfortunately by purchasing nVidia hardware you're kind of
beckoning for problems, mostly because their datasheets and specs are
more closed than Intel.

There are also vendors who sell certified working FreeBSD desktops and
laptops. Someone posted it on the list a few months back (questions@
maybe) and that's all I can remember about that.

-Garrett