Intel chipsets and FreeBSD

[Samuel Clements]

> I'm about to make a decision on which motherboard to buy to run FreeBSD
> 4.9 in a production environment, and I'm getting a little confused over
> compatibility issues with the available chipsets and this version of
> FreeBSD.

It depends on what features you're expecting to work. For the most part,
everything works with the exception of most ICH5 SATA RAID implementations
(for now). I think you're going to find more opinions about various
motherboards and onboard peripherals then you would about the chipsets
proper.

> The chipsets in question are: Intel 865G, 865PG, 865PE.

865G means built in video
865P(E) means discreet video (you add your own)
865PG doesn't exist as far as I know as the G means built in video and the P
means no built in video - not possible to have both in one chip.

> I did some searching on the mailing lists earlier and found a couple of
> posts detailing problems between the 865G chipset and FreeBSD 5.1.

Probably X related as the G specifies the onboard video. Taking a stab in
the dark at it, you'd want to check X compatibility here unless you're
planning on adding an AGP card of your own. In which case, do not buy an
865G based board.

> I am working on the assumption that the motherboard manufacturer isn't
> too important, but I am expecting to buy from Gigabyte as they've worked
> fine in the past.

I prefer the Intel boards myself, just because they tend to be more
consistent and stable, but I'm sure someone here would disagree. =)
  -Sam