building a machine for Gentoo

5 msg	DVD and iso9660:1999
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8 msg	upgrade kernel
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building a machine for Gentoo
\ Philip Webb (9 Jul 2007)
. \ Aleksey V. Kunitskiy (9 Jul 2007)
. \ Mark Shields (9 Jul 2007)
. . \ Philip Webb (9 Jul 2007)
. . . \ Mark Shields (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . \ Dale (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . . \ Philip Webb (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . \ Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . \ Julian Simioni (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . . \ Philip Webb (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . . . \ Ophidian (10 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . . . . \ Dan Farrell (10 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . . . . . \ Julian Simioni (10 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . . . . . . \ Dan Farrell (10 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . . . . . . . \ Dale (11 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . \ Tim Allingham (11 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . . \ b.n. (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . . . \ Aleksey V. Kunitskiy (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . . . . \ Dan Farrell (9 Jul 2007)
. \ Dan Farrell (9 Jul 2007)
. . \ b.n. (9 Jul 2007)
. . . \ Patrick May (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . \ Aleksey V. Kunitskiy (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . . \ Dan Farrell (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . \ Iain Buchanan (9 Jul 2007)
. . . . . \ Dan Farrell (10 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . \ Philip Webb (10 Jul 2007)
. . . . . . . \ Dan Farrell (10 Jul 2007)
. . . \ Neil Bothwick (9 Jul 2007)
. \ Alexander Skwar (9 Jul 2007)
. . \ b.n. (9 Jul 2007)
. \ Alexander Skwar (10 Jul 2007)
. \ Philip Webb (10 Jul 2007)

5 msg	USB modem locks weirdly
4 msg	Static addresses and timeouts
3 msg	Camcorder capture
3 msg	QT4 programming setup
5 msg	portage-2.1.3_rc6 doesn't compile
6 msg	OOo-2.2.1 fails to emerge
2 msg	MacBook Pro - unknown ethernet device (11ab:436a)
2 msg	[OT samba] Preferred Master Browser
8 msg	Kmail issues/questions
13 msg	live cd, ip fail
3 msg	Portage curruptness problem
11 msg	Updating menu in KDE
12 msg	A Good player for streaming audio
5 msg	Is webmin a good thing?
2 msg	OT - Can't send mail from non-root accoutns

Subject:	building a machine for Gentoo
Group:	Gentoo-user
From:	Philip Webb
Date:	9 Jul 2007

I have run Gentoo since I built my 2nd machine in Oct 2003 .
The 1st box (2000) is set up for emergency use (Mandriva 2005)
& is becoming too old & slow for today's Internet & software in general.
As a result, I'm planning to build a 3rd machine later this summer.
The 2nd will become my emergency alternative machine.

Below are the parts which seem best for my needs & budget.
The new machine probably wb overkill for my modest desktop needs,
but I was very successful with cutting-edge pieces for the 2nd box 2003
& hope the 3rd wb as good in 2011, when I mb more ambitious (grin).

(1) 3rd Machine

(a) CPU -- AMD 64 X2 4800+ (65 W) , 512 K , 65 nm , socket AM2
or AMD 64 X2 5600+ (89 W) , 1 M , 90 nm , socket AM2
(b) Mobo -- Asus M2N-E Nforce 570 , DDR2 533/667/800
(c) Memory -- Kingston , 1 GB , 800
(d) Graphix -- Asus EN8500GT Nvidia , 512 MB DDR2 800
(e) HDD -- W Digital , 500 GB , 16 MB
(f) DVD-RW -- Samsung SH-S182F/BEBN , DVD-W 8x , CD-W 32x
(g) Diskette -- from 1st machine
(h) Case -- store-brand Radiant P4 Mid (500 W)

(2) Additions for 2nd machine

(a) Copy data into 2nd machine : DVD-ROM -- LiteOn 16x
(b) Switch keyboard/mouse/monitor : KVM switch -- DLink

(3) LCD Monitor -- Samsung SyncMaster 931BW , 19 in , 1440x900 , 2 ms

Brands are chosen which I've had some experience with before.
I want to be sure all the pieces can be used with Gentoo
(I looked at Gentoo docs, but didn't see anything re hardware).

(1a) I'm confused by the CPU features '65 nm' & '90 nm':
yes, I know they refer to tiny distances,
but would expect the faster CPU to have the smaller distance,
whereas the opposite is true for those listed (AMD docs don't mention it).
(1d) The Nvidia site lists '8500GT' as supported by driver 100-14-09 ,
which is in Portage, but currently masked (the reason is not clear);
Phoronix has a review of this card used with Linux.
(1f 2a) I'm new to DVD's, which I plan to use for back-ups
& to keep the 2nd machine upto-date as an emergency alternative;
I don't now do video or gaming, but the box should support them in case.
(1h) The store will probably confirm whether the power supply is adequate.
(2b) A KVM switch seems a big improvement on plug/unplugging connections.
(3) My Samsung SyncMaster 550s CRT monitor (2000) still works very well.

Does anyone have any warnings or comments re any of the bits & pieces ?

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SUPPORT ___________//___, Philip Webb : purslow
ELECTRIC /] [] [] [] [] []| Centre for Urban & Community Studies
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