Hardware recommendations for YDL 6.x for newbie

[RedZone908]

Hey all,

First off, I'm not a newbie to Linux, though not an expert either. I've been using Linux Mint on my two x64 desktop machines for about the past half a year. However, one of those machines is dying, and rather than just get another x64 machine, I decided I'd like to try something new. After learning what I have in my computer science classes it's starting to seem like maybe PPC is a superior architecture to the aged x86 model.

However, I know pretty much nothing about PowerPC. I have never even had any PPC Macs (only 68k and Intel). Rather than getting a Mac and hijacking it to run YDL, I'd kind of like to build my own machine. I've seen a nice Freescale PPC G4 ATX-style board on eBay, and I think I'm going to purchase it. However I want to know, can a board designed for a G4 take a G5 or would that not work? Also, are their any PPCs newer than the G5 that aren't uber-expensive? If not, will a G4 or G5 still provide good performance?

What kind of RAM, graphics cards and such are recommended for a YDL machine?

Really any other recommendations, even for a different motherboard or a completely different setup from what I have in mind? I need all the advice I can get. Sorry for my questions being so newbish.

[aguilarojo]

Hey all,

First off, I'm not a newbie to Linux, though not an expert either. I've been using Linux Mint on my two x64 desktop machines for about the past half a year. However, one of those machines is dying, and rather than just get another x64 machine, I decided I'd like to try something new. After learning what I have in my computer science classes it's starting to seem like maybe PPC is a superior architecture to the aged x86 model.

Some people believe this remains true. I'm one of them.

However, I know pretty much nothing about PowerPC. I have never even had any PPC Macs (only 68k and Intel). Rather than getting a Mac and hijacking it to run YDL, I'd kind of like to build my own machine. I've seen a nice Freescale PPC G4 ATX-style board on eBay, and I think I'm going to purchase it. However I want to know, can a board designed for a G4 take a G5 or would that not work?

No, it wouldn't. YDL up to YDL 6.2 were designed to work with traditional and standard Apple components which means that every aspect of the hardware had to be created by Apple. Also if you wanted to find if what you are attempting to build will work with a particular version of YDL you would have to examine the Hardware compatability pages for that version of YDL. As the only current variant of the PowerPC family remaining in the market place is the Cell or Cell variants such as the SpursEngine, YDL will work with that and what remaining Apple machines which exist which have maintained original Apple parts.

The reason YDL is rather picky as far as Apple parts is concerned is because TSS, the original designers of YDL, had a special contractual relationship with Apple which allowed them exclusive permission to sell Apple computers and servers with YDL installed. It was a kick-ass combination as YDL was faster and more reliable than Apple's operating system in that era.

In that era there were Apple clones which existed because Apple allowed them to exist. YDL ran on those boxes as well, you may be lucky to be able to run an early version of YDL on them.

Also, are their any PPCs newer than the G5 that aren't uber-expensive?

The old PS3 prior to the Slim, was your best chance. I'm sure that it is sold somewhere still, but it is getting harder to find. However you may be better off holding out for a variant of the Cell, known as the SpursEngine which believe it or not is accessible not from PowerPC based YDL or YDEL but x86 based YDEL offered via Fixstars no less!! If you are serious regarding getting on the ground floor of serious and advanced development you should send your queries to Fixstars after you read this
this and refer to this page.

If not, will a G4 or G5 still provide good performance?

The trick in that evaluation is dependent upon what you consider acceptable performance. I'm running YDL 6.2 on a G4 Powerbook running at 1.25 GHz. The current iPad runs less than 1GHz. I use YDL for all work (coding, compiling, network traffic analysis,etc.) and use OS X to watch pictures, movies and play games. This is possible because the hard drive is partitioned on one side for Apple and the other for YDL (which uses the standard ext3 format).

What kind of RAM, graphics cards and such are recommended for a YDL machine?

This depends on what you intend to do. If you are engaged in advanced graduate level science and programming work, take a look at the LR1A01 seriously especially because the WinFast PxVC1100 is included. Query Fixstars regarding the price. If you can accept not dealing with the "latest and must have greatest" then considering looking for an older Mac to run YDL 6.2 or earlier on is not a bad idea, in my view.

Really any other recommendations, even for a different motherboard or a completely different setup from what I have in mind? I need all the advice I can get. Sorry for my questions being so newbish.

Given the reality of what is going on with the PS3, or rather what is not going on -- review discussions/threads on the PS3 on other threads of the YDL Board, it may be a smart move to consider getting either the LR1A01 or the Toshiba Qosimo laptop with the SpursEngine.