2001-04-27 21:28:02 +00:00
|
|
|
<!--
|
|
|
|
|
$FreeBSD$
|
|
|
|
|
-->
|
|
|
|
|
<sect1>
|
|
|
|
|
<title>Supported Processors and Motherboards</title>
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002-01-11 23:27:46 +00:00
|
|
|
<para>&os;/i386 runs on a wide variety of
|
|
|
|
|
<quote>IBM PC compatible</quote> machines. Due to the wide range of
|
|
|
|
|
hardware available for this architecture, it is impossible to
|
|
|
|
|
exhaustively list all combinations of equipment supported by &os;.
|
|
|
|
|
Nevertheless, some general guidelines are presented here.</para>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<para>Almost all i386-compatible processors are supported. All
|
|
|
|
|
Intel processors beginning with the 80386 are supported, including
|
|
|
|
|
the 80386, 80486, Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium III,
|
|
|
|
|
Pentium 4, and variants thereof, such as the Xeon and Celeron
|
|
|
|
|
processors. (While technically supported, the use of the 80386SX is
|
|
|
|
|
specifically not recommended.) All i386-compatible AMD processors
|
|
|
|
|
are also supported, including the Am486, Am5x86, K5, K6,
|
|
|
|
|
Athlon, and Duron processors. The Transmeta Crusoe is recognized
|
|
|
|
|
and supported, as are i386-compatible processors from Cyrix and
|
|
|
|
|
NexGen.</para>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<para>There is a wide variety of motherboards available for this
|
|
|
|
|
architecture. Motherboards using the ISA, VLB, EISA, AGP, and PCI
|
|
|
|
|
expansion busses are well-supported. There is some limited support
|
|
|
|
|
for the MCA (<quote>MicroChannel</quote>) expansion bus used in the
|
|
|
|
|
IBM PS/2 line of PCs.</para>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<para>Symmetric multi-processor (SMP) systems are generally
|
|
|
|
|
supported by &os;, although in some cases, BIOS or motherboard bugs
|
|
|
|
|
may generate some problems. Perusal of the archives of the &a.smp;
|
|
|
|
|
may yield some clues.</para>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<para>&os; will generally run on i386-based laptops, albeit with
|
|
|
|
|
varying levels of support for certain hardware features such as
|
|
|
|
|
sound, graphics, power management, and PCCARD expansion slots.
|
|
|
|
|
These features tend to vary in idiosyncratic ways between machines,
|
|
|
|
|
and frequently require special-case support in &os; to work around
|
|
|
|
|
hardware bugs or other oddities. When in doubt, a search of the
|
|
|
|
|
archives of the &a.mobile; may be useful.</para>
|
2001-04-27 21:28:02 +00:00
|
|
|
</sect1>
|
