[geeks] Surprised

[Brian Hechinger]

On Sat, Apr 20, 2002 at 10:40:09AM -0400, Kurt Huhn wrote:
> 
> Now I'm interested.  What OS will a Power2 run?  What should one look
> for in these systems?

AIX.  there is no NetBSD port to MCA based RS/6000 boxes, and i'm not sure about
linux since i'd run AIX before i ran linux.

look for POWER2SC or higher CPU.  a POWER2 or POWER machine would still kick a
large amount of ass, but prices are low enough that the newer cpu (POWER2 vs
POWER) with the secondary cache is a wise investment.  the higher the clock
the better of course, but keep in mind the relativity of it all.  my POWER2SC
is 77Mhz, and i think they range from 60-180 (maybe even as high as 200? donno)
so a 60Mhz or 70Mhz isn't a slow machine.

also, don't get tempted into buying a PowerPC RS/6000, cause even if they can
go 300Mhz+ they are only 604e CPUs, and a low clockspeed POWER will kick their
asses.  PowerPC is a severly watered down POWER cpu.

one thing to note.  100Mbit MCA ethernet is harder to come by, but DOES exist.
also, MCA FDDI shows up on ePay every once in a while.

sridhar can probably give better advice.

-brian
-- 
>  Of course...a PeeCee is useless after it's four months old, remember?
No, no. It's *valueless* after it's four months old.
It's useless the moment it's made.                   -- David Fischer --