• Welcome to OS2World OLD-STATIC-BACKUP Forum.
 

News:

This is an old OS2World backup forum for reference only. IT IS READ ONLY!!!

If you need help with OS/2 - eComStation visit http://www.os2world.com/forum

Main Menu

Building a new PC, need advice

Started by Floyd, 2012.01.24, 05:05:24

Previous topic - Next topic

Floyd

Hi! I am new here, but I have lurked for a while, I hope I am putting this in the right place

My current computer system is getting old and I am looking to build a new one. I have used eComStation 2.1 for a while, (with a few minor hardware problems) on my current system (dual-booting with WinXP).

I would like to dual boot eCS and Windows 7, so the system needs to meet at least the minimum requirements of win7. Assuming that is possible, what is the most modern hardware that eCS will run on without much trouble? Also has anyone been able to find a new motherboard anywhere without onboard video and sound? because I am guessing that would make things easier.

Thanks!

ivan

Hi Floyd,

The unit I built not so long ago would do what you want.  It is based on an Asus M4A78LT-M LE motherboard with built in ATI video.  It has a quad core processor, two SATA hard disks, DVD writer and DVD Rom.  The only thing on the motherboard that doesn't work is the Atheros AR8131 NIC - no OS/2 drivers - so I have an Intel GB NIC installed.

Have a look at http://www.os2world.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,63/topic,2789.30/ to see the picture of the insides.

Never having used win 7 or tried to install it with OS/2 I don't know what is required.  In the past, and if you were using win XP, I would say use BootManager but as I understand it win 7 is rather more picky in the way it wants to be installed and how it boots. 

ivan

Floyd

Thanks! I could go with XP on the desktop and just buy a cheap laptop with win7 if I had to. The only thing I would use it for is office 2010, which I need for school.

sXwamp

#3
Quote from: Floyd on 2012.01.24, 05:05:24
Hi! I am new here, but I have lurked for a while, I hope I am putting this in the right place

My current computer system is getting old and I am looking to build a new one. I have used eComStation 2.1 for a while, (with a few minor hardware problems) on my current system (dual-booting with WinXP).

Buy supported hardware check here, trust me this will save you from many headache or fights on forum post :)

http://en.ecomstation.ru/hardware.php


This is an easy question to answer once you have all the right hardware (for desktops).

1) Buy a new desktop system with Win 7 for your Office requirement.
2) Buy a SSD drive install the drive in first position (Win 7 drive will now be in second position).
3) Install eCS to the SSD drive
3) Use Airboot - WIN 7 HAS NO PROBLEMS BOOTING FROM SECOND POSITION, I just downloaded Win 8 and will report the results in a week or so.
4) In Windows, start Storage manager and remove the Drive letter for the eCS partition.
5) Ivan is correct about Win 7 being picky, but if you use a second drive no problems and is the recommended solution.


Here is some examples:

http://www.os2notes.com/os2dualboot.html

or

http://www.os2notes.com/os2tripleboot.html


I you need any help email me -  www.os2notes.com


Cheers,

Greggory


Floyd

#4
Thanks, I will check that site too! Like I said, the only thing I would actually use 7 for is Office 2010. If I had a system that ran eCS without any trouble or overheating  then I would probably use it as my primary system anyway.

jdeb

What is your budget? I can spec a build for you with links. Are you in the US?

The G41 chipset works well for me but you may want something a little newer. My signature is my eCS box. 
Foxconn P41A-P, Intel E7500, 2 GB DDR2 800, ATI X300, ADATA Sata II 64 GB SSD, 160GB WD Sata II HD, Intel Pro 100/1000, Antec Basiq 350W PS, Antec 300 Case, ECS 2.1

jdeb

Quote from: Floyd on 2012.01.24, 05:05:24
Hi! I am new here, but I have lurked for a while, I hope I am putting this in the right place

My current computer system is getting old and I am looking to build a new one. I have used eComStation 2.1 for a while, (with a few minor hardware problems) on my current system (dual-booting with WinXP).

I would like to dual boot eCS and Windows 7, so the system needs to meet at least the minimum requirements of win7. Assuming that is possible, what is the most modern hardware that eCS will run on without much trouble? Also has anyone been able to find a new motherboard anywhere without onboard video and sound? because I am guessing that would make things easier.

Thanks!

There are a few motherboards out there without video but all of them come with sound. The sound quality on today's boards are actually very nice and non problematic. Even if you decide to buy a board with on-board video and add a card (Ati X300 or X800 series are good for eCS) the BIOS will default to where the monitor is plugged into. That used to be more of an issue years ago. Windows 7 runs much better with a discrete graphics card in my opinion... however,  the new Sandy Bridge CPU's have stunning graphics built into the CPU. Additionally,  Blonde Guy has some nice pre-built eCS systems if money is not an issue.
http://www.blondeguy.com/products.html
Foxconn P41A-P, Intel E7500, 2 GB DDR2 800, ATI X300, ADATA Sata II 64 GB SSD, 160GB WD Sata II HD, Intel Pro 100/1000, Antec Basiq 350W PS, Antec 300 Case, ECS 2.1

djcaetano

Quote from: jdeb on 2012.01.26, 15:45:17
There are a few motherboards out there without video but all of them come with sound. The sound quality on today's boards are actually very nice and non problematic. Even if you decide to buy a board with on-board video and add a card (Ati X300 or X800 series are good for eCS) the BIOS will default to where the monitor is plugged into. That used to be more of an issue years ago. Windows 7 runs much better with a discrete graphics card in my opinion... however,  the new Sandy Bridge CPU's have stunning graphics built into the CPU. Additionally,  Blonde Guy has some nice pre-built eCS systems if money is not an issue.
http://www.blondeguy.com/products.html

  I´ve not tested it on eCS (this specific computer doesn´t boot eCS), but when running Windows 7 the Sandy Bridge integrated video produce very good graphics for desktop (not sure it is a good chip for 3D games) but makes the CPU/Chipset as hot as hell. I´ve bought a PCIe ATI X850 and I am very happy with it on that computer. I hope soon I can install eCS there.

jdeb

Quote from: djcaetano on 2012.01.26, 15:59:10
Quote from: jdeb on 2012.01.26, 15:45:17
There are a few motherboards out there without video but all of them come with sound. The sound quality on today's boards are actually very nice and non problematic. Even if you decide to buy a board with on-board video and add a card (Ati X300 or X800 series are good for eCS) the BIOS will default to where the monitor is plugged into. That used to be more of an issue years ago. Windows 7 runs much better with a discrete graphics card in my opinion... however,  the new Sandy Bridge CPU's have stunning graphics built into the CPU. Additionally,  Blonde Guy has some nice pre-built eCS systems if money is not an issue.
http://www.blondeguy.com/products.html

  I´ve not tested it on eCS (this specific computer doesn´t boot eCS), but when running Windows 7 the Sandy Bridge integrated video produce very good graphics for desktop (not sure it is a good chip for 3D games) but makes the CPU/Chipset as hot as hell. I´ve bought a PCIe ATI X850 and I am very happy with it on that computer. I hope soon I can install eCS there.

So true on the CPU temps with the Sandy Bridge. The HD3000 produce very nice graphics and work well with Lucid Virtu, Intel hit a home-run. It can play most games but the true gamers are going to want a discrete video card.  In terms of eCS and the architecture, Linux recently got it working stable with their kernel so I can only imagine the length of time for eCS to follow. I have not tried to boot off my cd1 yet but I have found the Demo does not but I did not try real hard either. Might try it on a build this weekend if I have time, I am putting together three Z68 builds. SRT is pretty impressive as well. Doing a IVY build next week, it will be my first one.
Foxconn P41A-P, Intel E7500, 2 GB DDR2 800, ATI X300, ADATA Sata II 64 GB SSD, 160GB WD Sata II HD, Intel Pro 100/1000, Antec Basiq 350W PS, Antec 300 Case, ECS 2.1

Floyd

Quote from: jdeb on 2012.01.26, 15:33:49
What is your budget? I can spec a build for you with links. Are you in the US?

The G41 chipset works well for me but you may want something a little newer. My signature is my eCS box. 

I am in the US, Georgia, in fact. I have not put much thought into a budget so far, I have mostly just been trying to figure out what my options are.

Also, will eCS install on a 64-bit CPU? I know it is a 32-bit OS, but I'm just wondering if anyone has had any luck with that so I could go ahead and get 64-bit Win7.

ivan

Floyd, all but one of our computers are using AMD 64 bit processors - up to 4 cores.  Likewise, almost all of the motherboards are by ASUS because everything on them works 99% of the time - biggest problem is usually the built in network interface.

Therefore to answer your question OS/2 will install on 64 bit processors - at least AMD ones - so eCS should as well.

ivan

jdeb

#11
Quote from: Floyd on 2012.01.27, 20:52:02
Quote from: jdeb on 2012.01.26, 15:33:49
What is your budget? I can spec a build for you with links. Are you in the US?

The G41 chipset works well for me but you may want something a little newer. My signature is my eCS box. 

I am in the US, Georgia, in fact. I have not put much thought into a budget so far, I have mostly just been trying to figure out what my options are.

Also, will eCS install on a 64-bit CPU? I know it is a 32-bit OS, but I'm just wondering if anyone has had any luck with that so I could go ahead and get 64-bit Win7.

Yes it will, like Ivan said, most of the CPU's within the last 3 years are 64bit. If you want to be able to address more than 3.25 GB of RAM in Windows 7, then get the 64bit version. 32 bit will only address 3 to 3.25gb of RAM. So if you are buying 4GB of memory, go with the Windows 7 64 bit. The installation instructions for dual booting with Windows 7 are in the Quick installation guide found on CD1. I have not done it but I did read through it, if I recall correctly. Check out Blonde Guys website, he has built several pre-loaded eCS systems and you can see his configurations.

From an Intel stand point, you can still get the G41 (chipset) DDR3 motherboard's, Asus are my preferred brand. You can get Socket 775 Core 2 or Quads all over the place as well. Verify the onboard video if you plan on not using a discrete card.

The build in my signature was stuff I had laying around so it was real easy for me. I can not comment to much on AMD because I do not do a lot of builds with them.
Foxconn P41A-P, Intel E7500, 2 GB DDR2 800, ATI X300, ADATA Sata II 64 GB SSD, 160GB WD Sata II HD, Intel Pro 100/1000, Antec Basiq 350W PS, Antec 300 Case, ECS 2.1

Floyd

I was wondering about on-board video and sound because I thought that it may be easier to find an ecs compatible card separately but if people have had good luck with them then it's really no big deal. I am probably not going to do anything more graphics-intensive than watching videos, I would like dual-monitor support if possible though but not having it would not be a deal-breaker. It is also nice to know that I will be able to install 64-bit windows 7 and still use eCS.

Thank you all a lot, you have all been really helpful!

jdeb

#13
Quote from: Floyd on 2012.01.28, 03:35:45
I was wondering about on-board video and sound because I thought that it may be easier to find an ecs compatible card separately but if people have had good luck with them then it's really no big deal. I am probably not going to do anything more graphics-intensive than watching videos, I would like dual-monitor support if possible though but not having it would not be a deal-breaker. It is also nice to know that I will be able to install 64-bit windows 7 and still use eCS.

Thank you all a lot, you have all been really helpful!

Intel GMA X4500 on-board video works with both Snap and Panorama, snap is faster. I can not speak for ATI onboard video. I have not tried multiple monitors, maybe someone else can shed some light on that using SNAP. I may play around with it this weekend if I have time... You got me curious.  ;D

I know the ATI X300 and 800 series support multiple monitors using Hydravison through the ATI's Catalyst Software Suite (Windows).
http://tinyurl.com/84wgoo8

My motherboard on-board sound is 5.1 Channel Realtek and it works great out of the box using the OS/2 Universal Audio Driver

Foxconn P41A-P, Intel E7500, 2 GB DDR2 800, ATI X300, ADATA Sata II 64 GB SSD, 160GB WD Sata II HD, Intel Pro 100/1000, Antec Basiq 350W PS, Antec 300 Case, ECS 2.1

ivan

With reference to on board video most of our boards have ATI graphics which works well with SNAP even in 16 x 10 wide screen on large monitors 27" to 30".

As I don't have panorama - it appears to be exclusive to eCS - I was wondering how it stacked up against snap on wide screen monitors and other than ATI chip sets i.e. nVida?

So far, the information I have seen is rather sparse with little information on what chip sets  are supported in, up to 16 x 10 wide screen (1920 x 1200) - is it even possible?

ivan