looking to make the jump from linux to unix (freebsd) need to know if xps m1330n is supported?

[Macy, Ryan W PV2 NG NG NGB]

----- Original Message -----
From: Jeremy Chadwick <koitsu at FreeBSD.org>
Date: Friday, August 22, 2008 20:27
Subject: Re: looking to make the jump from linux to unix (freebsd) need to	know if xps m1330n is supported?
To: "Macy, Ryan W PV2 NG NG NGB" <ryan.macy at us.army.mil>
Cc: freebsd-hardware at freebsd.org

> On Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 06:21:59PM -0500, Macy, Ryan W PV2 NG NG 
> NGB wrote:
> > Hey guys, first mailing list post... ever!
> > 
> > Anyways I spent the last 15 minutes running around on google to 
> find out if my dell xps m1330n is supported or not.
> > 
> > the machine was built for linux (and works fine, nearly right out of the box) 
> so it should pretty much work right?
> 
> http://linux.dell.com/wiki/index.php/Clients/Products/XPS_M1330n/lspci
> 
> I believe all of these devices are supported under FreeBSD.  Ones 
> worthbeing concerned about:
> 
> 1) Broadcom BCM5906M Ethernet NIC -- this NIC probably will not work
> with FreeBSD unless you install one of the snapshot versions.  I
> see someone has recently committed support for the BCM5906 series
> to RELENG_6, RELENG_7, and HEAD/CURRENT, but that was 8 weeks ago,
> which is why you'll need a snapshot and not 7.0-RELEASE, etc...
> 
> http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/src/sys/dev/bge/if_bge.c
> 
> Further proof older versions did not have support for this card:
> 
> http://unix.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/FreeBSD/questions/2008-
> 04/msg01343.html
> 2) Intel 3945ABG wireless card -- appears there is a wpi(4) driver
> which is specific to this card model, but I believe some people have
> reported problems with it (not sure what their issues were, just
> going off of memory of things I'd seen in the past).
> 
> 3) nVidia 8400M GS video card -- if you plan on using X on this
> machine[1], I recommend you install the i386 version of FreeBSD and 
> notamd64.  The nVidia driver for FreeBSD is known to not work on 
> amd64[2].If you have large amounts of memory in the machine, i386 
> will require
> you use PAE mode, which will probably cause you some pain; yep, the
> situation isn't user-friendly.  Linux wins out here.
> 
> Based on all of the above, I'd recommend you install one of the 
> FreeBSD7.0 snapshots, which are newer than 7.0-RELEASE, just to 
> ensure you pick
> up any wireless card modifications or other fix-ups for stuff that has
> since been addressed since the release of 7.0:
> 
> ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/snapshots/200807/
> 
> Also, if/when you reply, please remember to keep the mailing list CC'd
> so people can see your responses.  Just a FYI since this is your first
> time posting.
> 
> [1]: I don't use X myself, but I base this comment on what I've read
> time and time again on the mailing lists.  Others can correct me if
> I'm wrong.
> 
> [2]: If you're not familiar with FreeBSD, know that amd64 is the 
> name of
> the 64-bit version of FreeBSD, and does not require an AMD processor.
> Do not confuse this with ia64, which is something *completely* 
> differentand you do not want it.
> 
> -- 
> | Jeremy Chadwick                                jdc at 
> parodius.com |
> | Parodius Networking                       
> http://www.parodius.com/ |
> | UNIX Systems Administrator                  Mountain View, CA, 
> USA |
> | Making life hard for others since 1977.              PGP: 
> 4BD6C0CB |
> 

Thanks jeremy I appreciate the reply.

Well it looks like the only hardware problems I should run into is the intel 3945 wifi card and some sound issues, i've heard that the intel hda has problems with unix and that only the front two outputs (on the m1330n) work?

any chance that there is a iwl3945-ucode driver on freebsd?

I'm planning to take the dive this upcoming monday after some reading, so I'm crossing my fingers and praying that everything works out of the box.