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Hi,

I like to buy a new computer. I will use OpenBSD 4.1. Machine will
include as much as possible SATA disks in raid + encryption. Server
will be used as secure storage for my files. Next to this I like to
run some video encoding (mencoder) for videos (DV -> ogg + x264 in
matroska) there too. So I like to try firstly a dual-core processor.
>From some reading, I have feeling, that OpenBSD developers prefer for
64bits AMD. Is that correct? Could you kindly recommend , if amd64 is
really prefered for 64-bit, and which dual.core processor is good
(fully utilised in OpenBSD/amd64 4.1), from Athlon 64 / Opteron /
Turion 64 and Sempron models? Thank you.

PS: I expect, that I have to install bsd.mp file set?

Jiri

plavcik@gmail.com <plavcik@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I like to buy a new computer. I will use OpenBSD 4.1. Machine will
> include as much as possible SATA disks in raid + encryption. Server
> will be used as secure storage for my files. Next to this I like to
> run some video encoding (mencoder) for videos (DV -> ogg + x264 in
> matroska) there too. So I like to try firstly a dual-core processor.
>>From some reading, I have feeling, that OpenBSD developers prefer for
> 64bits AMD. Is that correct? Could you kindly recommend , if amd64 is
> really prefered for 64-bit, and which dual.core processor is good
> (fully utilised in OpenBSD/amd64 4.1), from Athlon 64 / Opteron /
> Turion 64 and Sempron models? Thank you.
>
> PS: I expect, that I have to install bsd.mp file set?

I understand secure storage, and I understand video editing, but do
those really make sense to do on the same box? You might want to
occasionally recode a video in storage, of course, but that hardly
qualifies as heavy CPU load.

If this is correct, go with a good storage subsystem in the most basic
box you can find (you don't need dualcore 64-bit just to recode the
occasional video!). For storage, mpi(4) and arc(4) are supposed to be
nice. arc(4) is nicer and faster, but quite a bit newer - so likely to
be more expensive, too.
For a cheaper solution, take a look at raidframe (or softraid, if you
are feeling very brave).

Layering an encrypting vnd(4) on top of that is not particularly
difficult.

As to the processor: if you don't go with the `cheapest possible' option
hinted at above, some things to keep in mind:
- n-core processors, for n > 1, require bsd.mp to make use of
all cores
- 64-bit processor require a 64-bit architecture to actually make use of
the 64-bit features (that is, the only way to get 64-bit OpenBSD
programs is to run OpenBSD/amd64, even on systems like the AMD64 where
the processor supports mixing 32- and 64-bit code - OpenBSD doesn't).
- all sensible (post-386, 386-based) Intel or AMD processors are
supported, but...
- do look up Theo's message to misc@ about the new Intel chips, and form
your own opinion

If this is just a home project, though, all this sounds overkill. Just
use your desktop box and some backup solution, and you'll be fine.

Joachim

Thank you Joachim, for the fast and extensive answer.

It's a home project, so I will use try raid(4) (RAIDframe disk driver)

The 2-pass encondig I'm using now on my notebook take until a day, so
I prefer to move this task to the new machine.

Regarding 64bit AMD models, can I pick any one from Athlon 64 /
Opteron / Turion 64 and Sempron models, or exist a reasons to prefer
one/some of them?

Thank you,
Jiri

plavcik@gmail.com <plavcik@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thank you Joachim, for the fast and extensive answer.
>
> It's a home project, so I will use try raid(4) (RAIDframe disk driver)
>
> The 2-pass encondig I'm using now on my notebook take until a day, so
> I prefer to move this task to the new machine.
>
> Regarding 64bit AMD models, can I pick any one from Athlon 64 /
> Opteron / Turion 64 and Sempron models, or exist a reasons to prefer
> one/some of them?

Pick whichever you want, OpenBSD will work fine. Of course, faster
models are still faster...

Do do some research on whether or not your preferred video encoding
application will use more than one core on OpenBSD; most won't,
especially as OpenBSD's current threading implementation does not permit
a threaded program to use more than one core. (Whereas e.g. Linux would
permit using one core per thread - this is not usually a problem, as
such workloads are not very common, but video encoding just might be one
of them.)

It's your own choice to either run two in parallel, or settle for the
fastest single-core processor you can find.

Joachim