Re: Laptop recommendations?

On Wed Jul 02 2003 at 22:42:42 +0300, Jukka Marin wrote:

> I'm hoping to get a new laptop to run NetBSD
> (and maybe xp, because of this cad package).
> Are there any exceptionally good ones when it comes
> to NetBSD compatibility?  How about ones that I should
> avoid?

You will find a list of lappy that work under
openbsd there (they will work fine under netbsd
since openbsd forked from netbsd and you will be
able to port any code if there is a difference)

http://open.bsdcow.net/config/#i386l

From my own experience, I have used two models from
IBM, an A20 and currently an X30. There are a lot
of different models when it comes to the X30 and
you could end up with various graphic cards, wireless
or Ethernet components. I use a 1.2 GHz one, with
NetBSD 1.6.1, the modem is a winmodem (some code
is available for Linux and could be ported but
I don't use the modem), the wireless card is a
prism 2.5 one (working nice under netbsd, I'm
using the lappy on wireless all the time) and
Ethernet is a 3Com Etherexpress which works fine
even under high loads. Full APM support, you
can put it to sleep, it reduces and speeds the
CPU as load rises or goes down, and hibernation
works fine (once netbsd is installed, you leave
RAM quantity + a few Mb at the end of disk and
create a hibernation partition using a bootable
DOS/IBM disk for that purpose). BIOS updates are
done from bootable disks that are fully automated
and you don't need any Windows for updates or
settings. Everything is done from the BIOS.
The X Window support is a bit tricky since my
model uses a 830M Intel chip but patch is
available for netbsd 1.6.1 and this code has
been integrated into current. You will need
to install XFree 4.3 to get proper support of
the graphic chipset (which "steals" its memory
from the machine main memory).

Sound works, and the buttons can be used to
raise or lower sound just above the keyboard.
The contrast and other functions (sending
output to VGA plug, LCD or both). You can
put the machine to sleep by closing the lid,
using APM or even pressing the sleep key
(Fn + F4). A small light is also available
on the upper part of the screen, so it lights
the keyboard in low light conditions ;)

I don't have functional sound input it seems,
while output and line-out works fine.

The PCMCIA port works fine, there is also
a Flash card one that doesn't seem to be
supported. If a card is there, it's not seen
and removing or adding one while NetBSD
is running will panic the kernel. Two
USB plugs are available, each on its own
USB-Hub (the plugs are not shared in
voltage and bandwidth).

Use time is 4 hours. I have tried the machine
both in "auto throttle mode" and using a
fixed low CPU speed (200 MHz) and the
battery life is the same, so it's just nice
to let the machine handle its auto-throttle
(check the dmesg below : speed is near 200 MHz,
while it gets to 1.2 GHz once plugged to
power outlet). Using fixed low speed,
even at 200 MHz, reads mp3 and ogg just fine
and pushes battery to 4h30 (near 4h with
auto-throttle)

dmesg below :

(while my machine runs 1.6.1, the agp0 is
supported as i backported the current code
to 1.6.1 for 830/845 support)

NetBSD 1.6.1 (X30) #0: Mon May  5 19:29:41 UTC 2003
    root <at> gilbou.shacknet.nu:/usr/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/X30
cpu0: Intel Pentium III (Tualatin) (686-class), 199.90 MHz
cpu0: I-cache 16 KB 32b/line 4-way, D-cache 16 KB 32b/line 2-way
cpu0: L2 cache 512 KB 32b/line 8-way
cpu0: features 383f9ff<FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,SEP,MTRR>
cpu0: features 383f9ff<PGE,MCA,CMOV,FGPAT,PSE36,MMX>
cpu0: features 383f9ff<FXSR,SSE>
total memory = 247 MB
avail memory = 225 MB
using 3187 buffers containing 12748 KB of memory
BIOS32 rev. 0 found at 0xfd7f0
mainbus0 (root)
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0: configuration mode 1
pci0: i/o space, memory space enabled, rd/line, rd/mult, wr/inv ok
pchb0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0
pchb0: Intel 82830MP CPU to I/O Bridge 1 (rev. 0x04)
agp0 at pchb0: detected 8060k stolen memory
agp0: aperture size is 64M
agp0: aperture at 0xe0000000, size 0x4000000
vga0 at pci0 dev 2 function 0: Intel 82830MP Integrated Video (rev. 0x04)
wsdisplay0 at vga0 kbdmux 1: console (80x25, vt100 emulation)
wsmux1: connecting to wsdisplay0
Intel 82830MP Integrated Video (miscellaneous display) at pci0 dev 2 function 1 not configured
uhci0 at pci0 dev 29 function 0: Intel 82801CA/CAM USB Controller (rev. 0x02)
uhci0: interrupting at irq 11
usb0 at uhci0: USB revision 1.0
uhub0 at usb0
uhub0: Intel UHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 1.00/1.00, addr 1
uhub0: 2 ports with 2 removable, self powered
uhci1 at pci0 dev 29 function 1: Intel 82801CA/CAM USB Controller (rev. 0x02)
uhci1: interrupting at irq 11
usb1 at uhci1: USB revision 1.0
uhub1 at usb1
uhub1: Intel UHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 1.00/1.00, addr 1
uhub1: 2 ports with 2 removable, self powered
uhci2 at pci0 dev 29 function 2: Intel 82801CA/CAM USB Controller (rev. 0x02)
uhci2: interrupting at irq 11
usb2 at uhci2: USB revision 1.0
uhub2 at usb2
uhub2: Intel UHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 1.00/1.00, addr 1
uhub2: 2 ports with 2 removable, self powered
ppb0 at pci0 dev 30 function 0: Intel 82801BAM Hub-to-PCI Bridge (rev. 0x42)
pci1 at ppb0 bus 1
pci1: i/o space, memory space enabled
cbb0 at pci1 dev 0 function 0: Ricoh 5C476 PCI-CardBus bridge (rev. 0xa8)
cbb1 at pci1 dev 0 function 1: Ricoh 5C476 PCI-CardBus bridge (rev. 0xa8)
Ricoh product 0x0552 (Firewire serial bus, interface 0x10) at pci1 dev 0 function 2 not configured
wi0 at pci1 dev 2 function 0: Intersil Prism2.5 Wireless Lan
wi0: interrupting at irq 11
wi0: 802.11 address 00:05:3c:07:0c:a6
wi0: using RF:PRISM2.5 MAC:ISL3874A(Mini-PCI)
wi0: Intersil Firmware: Primary (1.1.0), Station (1.4.9)
fxp0 at pci1 dev 8 function 0: Intel PRO/100 VE Network Controller, rev 66
fxp0: interrupting at irq 11
fxp0: Ethernet address 00:09:6b:a0:3a:19
ukphy0 at fxp0 phy 1: Generic IEEE 802.3u media interface
ukphy0: i82562ET 10/100 media interface (OUI 0x005500, model 0x0033), rev. 0
ukphy0: 10baseT, 10baseT-FDX, 100baseTX, 100baseTX-FDX, auto
cbb0: interrupting at irq 11
cardslot0 at cbb0 slot 0 flags 0
cardbus0 at cardslot0: bus 2 device 0
pcmcia0 at cardslot0
cbb1: interrupting at irq 11
cardslot1 at cbb1 slot 1 flags 0
cardbus1 at cardslot1: bus 5 device 0
pcmcia1 at cardslot1
pcib0 at pci0 dev 31 function 0
pcib0: Intel 82801CAM LPC Interface (rev. 0x02)
pciide0 at pci0 dev 31 function 1: Intel 82801CA IDE Controller (rev. 0x02)
pciide0: bus-master DMA support present
pciide0: primary channel wired to compatibility mode
wd0 at pciide0 channel 0 drive 0: <IC25N040ATCS04-0>
wd0: drive supports 16-sector PIO transfers, LBA addressing
wd0: 38154 MB, 16383 cyl, 16 head, 63 sec, 512 bytes/sect x 78140160 sectors
wd0: 32-bit data port
wd0: drive supports PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2, Ultra-DMA mode 5 (Ultra/100)
pciide0: primary channel interrupting at irq 14
wd0(pciide0:0:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 5 (Ultra/100) (using DMA data transfers)
pciide0: secondary channel wired to compatibility mode
pciide0: disabling secondary channel (no drives)
Intel 82801CA/CAM SMBus Controller (SMBus serial bus, revision 0x02) at pci0 dev 31 function 3 not configured
auich0 at pci0 dev 31 function 5: i82801CA AC-97 Audio
auich0: interrupting at irq 11
auich0: ADS114 codec; headphone, 20 bit DAC, no 3D stereo
audio0 at auich0: full duplex, mmap, independent
Intel 82801CA/CAM Modem (modem communications, revision 0x02) at pci0 dev 31 function 6 not configured
isa0 at pcib0
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60-0x64
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
pckbc0: using irq 1 for kbd slot
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard, using wsdisplay0
pms0 at pckbc0 (aux slot)
pckbc0: using irq 12 for aux slot
wsmouse0 at pms0 mux 0
lpt2 at isa0 port 0x3bc-0x3bf irq : polled
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
midi0 at pcppi0: PC speaker
spkr0 at pcppi0
sysbeep0 at pcppi0
isapnp0 at isa0 port 0x279: ISA Plug 'n Play device support
npx0 at isa0 port 0xf0-0xff: using exception 16
isapnp0: no ISA Plug 'n Play devices found
apm0 at mainbus0: Power Management spec V1.2
biomask effd netmask effd ttymask ffff
boot device: wd0
root on wd0a dumps on wd0b
root file system type: ffs
wsdisplay0: screen 1 added (80x50, vt100 emulation)
wsdisplay0: screen 2 added (80x50, vt100 emulation)
wsdisplay0: screen 3 added (80x50, vt100 emulation)
wsdisplay0: screen 4 added (80x50, vt100 emulation)

--

-- 
Gilbert Fernandes