first post: would gentoo be appropriate for this system?

torchZ06

hi all,

first off let me say what a great resource this forum is and how happy i am to have come across it. i've been playing around with linux for a few years now (mostly redhat, suse, mandrake) and i've been working with unix systems (suns and sgi's) since the early 90s. i've also tried the different BSD's and had a powerbook that i converted from OSX to yellowdog, so i'm not quite a newbie, but i'm a little confused as to whats the best distro to use on my girlfriends PC.

right now i've got gentoo on my PIII 500 system, and i was able to emerge and compile everything in a "reasonable" ammount of time, but her machine is a PII 266 with 128MB of RAM and a 4.3GB disk (she's got another 3GB that's got win2k on it and is expressly for playing The SIms) .

i've got gentoo on it right now, but i downloaded the 2 live CD's and emerged the binary packages-- it took a pretty long time to compile the kernel, so i don't think i'll want to make a regular habit of compiling stuff on it.

she's a photography buff and basically wants her computer for image manipulation chores-- so i figured i could eek the most performance out of it with gentoo, but now i'm thinking maybe i should just put redhat on it and turn her loose?

any thoughts? i haven't played with gentoo enough to know how much maintenance it requires-- she's getting tired of not being able to use "her" computer!

i know you all have probably been thru similar situations, and i would really appreciate any direction you can impart.

thanks much!
patrick

Mactabilis · Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2003 11:17 pm Post subject:

Assuming all your computers are networked I would setup distcc so you can use the combined computer power to compile software on her computer.

Here is the official gentoo distcc guide, you can find lots more information on these forums.

Hope that will help you somewhat.

avenj · Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2003 11:36 pm Post subject:

I run Gentoo on a 300mhz K6-2 with 128mb, but it really is primarily a nameserver, not a desktop.

distcc may be a good option, as would a GRP install. If it seems like too much waiting, Debian's great for slower boxen.

RedBeard0531 · Guru Joined: 21 Sep 2002 Posts: 415 Location: maryland

Add 64-128Meg of ram to get the most performace increase. Im on a TP 600 with a p2 400 and 167MB. With a 2.6 kernel (love-sources to be specific) I can compile to my hearts content while surfen the web and playenmusic in beep(a gtk2 xmms) from over the network. That is untill I start using swap. Since Ive made the move to -Os I rarly swap and my sys is superfast and responcive. I sugest you try it, and NEVER user -O3 EVER!!!
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gsfgf · Veteran Joined: 08 May 2002 Posts: 1266

www.ebay.com
get a new computer, man. you can get something much better for nothing these days. If you stick with the current com, try FreeBSD. It's as fast as gentoo, uses a similar package system, but as a lot of prebuilt binaries (for everything) available.
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torchZ06 · Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2003 7:15 am Post subject:

thanks for all the feedback! i didn't know about distcc-- sounds cool, but the only problem is the computers are not in the same place-- do they have to be on the same LAN or is a cable connection on each end fast enough?

i rescued a cyrix 366 machine from the dumpster the other day, and it works fine-- only problem is i can't get it to run at 366MHz-- fastest i could get it to be stable at is 315MHz (it says 100MHz bus and 2.5 mult on the chip, which would be 250MHz, which is what it was running at when i found it, but i don't know why then it was labled as a MX366 or something like that....

i'll probably give her my pIII when i build a new system here shortly. i was working on a sun ultra5 and i've got an old VAXstation that i fool around on, so i really need to upgrade my hardware a bit.....

i've got the debian (woody) 7 CD set that i made up, but i don't care much for the installer and the lack of choice when it comes to filesystems (ext2 or ext2 or ext2) i'm told there are ways around this, but i can't see any reason to put forth the extra effort.

and yea i was thinking about trying out freebsd on her machine-- i remember it was very quick when i had it on my pIII-- so that might be something to try in the mean time.

Naughtyus · Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2003 8:52 am Post subject:

I think The Sims works with Winex

torchZ06 · Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2003 9:43 am Post subject:

ok, i guess this is a non issue now that i'm giving my GF my old system (piii 500, 256MB, 40GB)

i took a look at the current HW prices and couldn't resist-- so here's what the fedex guy otta bring tomorrow: p4 3.2, abit ic7-g, 1GB mushkin L2, 80GB SATA barracuda, antec 480W true blue, still waiting on the antec p160 case to be available... it looks too suhweet! i'm gonna keep my old asus geforce2 GTS for now-- i want to get an LCD monitor and i'll pick up a card with DVI support then. first i gotta get rid of my 24" sony-- i know its a great monitor but i don't do graf/x stuff anymore and for me reading code on a flatpanel is much easier on the eyes than a CRT-- personal preference i guess-- or im just getting old-- so anybody looking for a cherry gdm-fw900, drop me an email

thanks again for the input and i'll let y'all know how the system runs when i get in put together and get gentoo installed.

best,
patrick

nlightn · Apprentice Joined: 16 Sep 2003 Posts: 171