ReactOS Forum

Ok, so I decided that virtualbox just doesn't cut it when it comes to testing builds anymore (I want to test games/programs that don't work on virtualbox guest systems). So I did a quick inventory check, and I would like your opinion on which of these old parts of mine would be most relevant for testing (basically: what is the closest hardware specification to the ReactOS target audience)?

1) AMD Athlon II x3 2.9ghz + ECS 740M motherboard + 4GB DDR2
This is my current 'extra' computer, with the best specs of the lot. I'm not sure about the XP driver availability.

2) Intel Pentium 4 (aka D) x2 3.4Ghz + 945gm Motherboard + 4GB DDR2
I think I'm going to use this one for another purpose, but the others could suite that purpose as well. I have a spare 3Ghz P4 processor for this one as well.

3) AMD Athlon64 3500+ AM2 & some random Gigabyte board + DDR2 donated from one of the above (I might have a 512mb DDR2 stick lying around as another option).
I'm not sure about the reliability of this one, as I have never used the board before

4) AMD Athlon64 3000+ 939 + Biostar 6100 motherboard + 4 x 512mb DDR Ram
The ram is problematic on this one. If you find the faulty stick, the next one starts giving problems about 30 min later. I think a bios update and ram timing adjustment might fix this one though.

5) AMD AthlonXP 2000+ + Nforce(1) motherboard + 700-1024mb DDR Ram
This one loves overheating. I have to set the jumper to 200 fsb(instead of 266) just to get it booting. So it basically runs at 1.2Ghz

6) AMD Athlon 1333 + Gigabyte 7VMM motherboard + 512mb/1gb SDram
This CPU has outlived it's counterparts, but also overheats like mad. I also changed the fsb to underclock it (1Ghz), in order to get a 'decent' temperature between 50 and 70 C

7) AMD K6-2 300Mhz + AT/ATX hybrid board + 224mb SDram
Slow and steady wins the race. I have re-wired a rear USB panel to match the wiring on the board, so it has two functioning usb ports

8) Intel Pentium 200Mhz w. MMX + AT motherboard + SIMM(EDO) Ram or SDRAM
It has passive cooling for the cpu, so you only hear the faint buzz of the PSU's fan. XP was slow at best on the K6, so I think it is safe to assume it would be pointless to try installing ROS over here.


Systems 1, 4 and 7 are all actually assembled and need minimal work. I think number 4 is probably the best option, as it has a dvdrw that works, but the memory issues drive me nuts. System 1 just needs a DVD/CDROM drive (I used a flash drive to install the current OS). The options for GFX/HDD are multiple.

The test system must be stable and reliable. If ROS fails on unreliable machine, it will be hard to find out whether the issue started in HW or in OS.
That's the most important thing that comes to mind when testing. Based on this I'd probably vote for 1.

I have voted 1 as well

kolle_hond wrote:1) AMD Athlon II x3 2.9ghz + ECS 740M motherboard + 4GB DDR2
This is my current 'extra' computer, with the best specs of the lot. I'm not sure about the XP driver availability.

I did a very short search and so far it seems there are some drivers for XP 32-bit, didn't check 64-bit.

I voted #6. It's old, but not too old. ROS should be able to work on that just fine, ideally.

Although, honestly, unless you need the computers for something else, I'd test ROS on all of them. Yeah, that's more work, but it gives way more feedback too.

milon wrote:I voted #6. It's old, but not too old. ROS should be able to work on that just fine, ideally.

Although, honestly, unless you need the computers for something else, I'd test ROS on all of them. Yeah, that's more work, but it gives way more feedback too.

I think that is a good idea, testing on all of them. I think it will show if it is the hardware or the software that is having problems.

Thanks for all the feedback!
I agree that I need to test as many as possible, so I now just need to assemble a few. I'm actually scared of turning nr.6 on, as I wanted to build a 'extremely portable' diy system (until I figured out it cannot natively boot from usb), so it's currently the insides of a PSU, a 12 or 14cm fan, some plastic vents from an old projector( and a hard drive socket cover from a xb360 arcade), as well as a plastic handle from an old portable radio, all tied together on the motherboard. I wanted to make it smaller (and improve airflow) compared to my previous 'cardboard box' solution. The problem is now I don't have anything covering the electric bits on the circuit boards. I think I just need to 'man up', stick a piece of cardboard (or clear plastic, if I can find some) to the bottom of the thing and pray it doesn't all go up in smoke. Who knows, it might just work. And using the 160gb drive I was using on it, it was actually pretty fast for it's age, considering it was my very first computer. I have two more unoccupied cases, though I think I only have one more ATX psu. I'll try the 2000+ and use the other to figure out if a p4 board I have still works (I suspected a fried CPU, but never got round to testing). Then number 3 needs to come out of the closet (literally), and I need to free up some space to put all of these machines (at the moment, I have Magic: The Gathering cards scattered all over the place, as I was 'sorting' them). If I get this all together, I'll probably be needing an old KVM switch or two, which shouldn't be too hard to find in the classifieds (I only need vga and PS/2 ports, and most places have already upgraded to usb).

P.S.
I just realized, I might have a hoarding problem

Awesome post!

Yeah, I'd be afraid of firing up #6 as well. Sounds ... terrifying. The static potential alone could pose an actual threat to your components and maybe to you too. Be careful, whatever you do!