Ratdude's Main rig V2

[mariushm]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

No, it won't help you. It's not a Windows license, just a certificate for multiple clients.

It's also not 100% legal even if you buy it, so if you're going to be illegal, you might as well pirate windows 7.

[shovenose]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

I think that caring about a legal copy of XP is a waste of time and effort at this point.
Find some old computer with the right key just take a picture of it and print it out.
I personally don't see this as piracy if the old computer is not used anymore. Most computers that came with XP are headed off to the junkyards now, or just aren't used anymore, so the key(s) would go to waste anyway.

Anyway, on to the reason I'm posting this:
Try DisplayFusion, it will allow you to span wallpaper across both of your displays.

[TELVM]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

... For now I'm using Xp pro, which even after forcing PAE won't see my 8GB off ECC DDR goodness ... ... if anybody has a suggestion for a low cost legit (no pirate cracking) x86 Windows OS with real PAE support, post it here ...

WinXP & WinXP SP1 both can handle more than 4GB RAM as they come (so much for 'the 32bit physical impossibility' ).

From WinXP SP2 onwards if you want to race you'll have to remove the artificial speed governor hidden inside the engine, so to speak .


I suggest a focused reading of the following extremely heretical documents, but beware, by getting exposed to them you risk eternal damnation of your inmmortal soul ...

http://www.geoffchappell.com/notes/w...nse/memory.htm

http://translate.google.de/translate...er-machen.html





Here's a more canonical alternative:

http://www.jensscheffler.de/using-ga...k-in-windows-7

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

So far I'm running Ubuntu 12.04 W/ Gnome shell... so far so good. In the mean time, I'll keep my eyes open for a cheap copy of server 2008 (or 2003 if the price is good).

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

So far I'm running Ubuntu 12.04 W/ Gnome shell... so far so good. In the mean time, I'll keep my eyes open for a cheap copy of server 2008 (or 2003 if the price is good).

If you get 2008, don't get the "R2" variant. Because it appears that Microsoft axed 32-bit support with "R2".

"R2" actually appears to have been released along with Windows 7. It was another version that Microsoft put out after Windows Server 2008, but before Windows Server 2012.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

If you get 2008, don't get the "R2" variant. Because it appears that Microsoft axed 32-bit support with "R2".

"R2" actually appears to have been released along with Windows 7. It was another version that Microsoft put out after Windows Server 2008, but before Windows Server 2012.

Noted.

Dang, If only only apple didn't axe x86... otherwise I'd hackintosh it (I know, I could use snow leopard... but nah).

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

So far I'm running Ubuntu 12.04 W/ Gnome shell... so far so good. In the mean time, I'll keep my eyes open for a cheap copy of server 2008 (or 2003 if the price is good).

No dice. Took a shit after updates... my guess is that somehow the newer xserver got backported and anybody with a GPU like mine got pigfucked.

What sucks is that Server 2003 and 2008 are still $$$... The cheapest I saw 2003 was $50, and 2008 $150. 2008 I can understand... but 2003? Seriously?

A middle finger goes to AMD for essentially killing off my GPU (even though they are still sold in stores) and to microshaft for not fully embracing PAE in x32 Vista/7... It's horseshit!

edit: I'm an idiot... bidded on this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Wi...torefresh=true

but I then found out that version is capped at 4gb RAM.

Damn it.

[TELVM]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

... and to microshaft for not fully embracing PAE in x32 Vista/7...

But they did! 32bit Vista & Se7en enable PAE by default when the hardware supports it:

... Windows automatically enables PAE if DEP is enabled on a computer that supports hardware-enabled DEP, or if the computer is configured for hot-add memory devices in memory ranges beyond 4 GB ...

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...=vs.85%29.aspx

PAE is not the problem, the problem lies elsewhere:

... the BIOS remaps the conflicting RAM to physical addresses above the 4 GB point, but x86 Windows client editions refuse to use physical addresses higher than that, even though they are running with PAE enabled ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_GB_ba...n_dependencies

... It's horseshit!

Wholly agreed. But we don't have to eat it if we don't like it.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

^ By fully embrace, I meant "allow more than 4gb of RAM". Having PAE but limiting yourself to 4gb RAM is a bit on the pointless side. Yeah, I don't have to eat it, but I don't have a lot of choices here.

---

Soldered a BBU header onto my RAID card today... it detected the BBU just fine.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

I tried looking into the RAMdisk pagefile routine... no dice. The issue is making one that will exist every bootup and can have the pagefile present on bootup. edit- It's hopeless since RAMdisks can only be created from RAM visible to the OS.

Looks like I'll have to run linux and be stuck with the crappy open source radeon driver.

[mariushm]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

Is there a reason you don't want to use Windows 7 Home 64 bit? You don't like it, you don't have drivers for it or what?

Or is it because you hope to get a cheap version of 2003... well, some datacenters request original media and packaging from people who want to colocate servers there which are running Windows, and that's why 2003 licenses are still expensive.
It's cheaper to pay 100-150$ once compared to paying 10-15$ (for 2003 Web) or 25-30$ a month for 2003 Standard to datacenter on top of colocation fees.

Windows 7 64bit is about 90$ on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premiu...d_sim_sbs_sw_1

But you should be able to find it cheaper.. if I can buy it here for 78 euros you really should find it cheap in us somewhere.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

I tried looking into the RAMdisk pagefile routine... no dice. The issue is making one that will exist every bootup and can have the pagefile present on bootup. edit- It's hopeless since RAMdisks can only be created from RAM visible to the OS.

Looks like I'll have to run linux and be stuck with the crappy open source radeon driver.

Should of gotten a Nvidia. Maybe you should get a GeForce 7600 GS or better and recap it. GeForce 7s are notorious for getting FZ'd!

[lti]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

I never thought Nvidia would have better drivers than AMD.

[TELVM]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

... It's hopeless since RAMdisks can only be created from RAM visible to the OS ...

Do not give up hope my friend, because you are just being deceived by the established orthodoxy.

It's perfectly possible to create a ramdisk in the 'non usable', 'invisible to the 32bit OS' grey area between 3.25~4GB:

767MB ramdisk nested inside the grey 770MB 'hardware reserved' area
'Invisible', 'non-usable', 'reserved for hardware', MY ASS!

Then of course we can create a ramdisk from 3.25 up to 8 or 16 or 64GB:

Uncle Tom's - Up To 16 GB Of RAM On A 32-Bit System!



Just make sure that PAE is enabled in Win XP:

One easy way to do is executing the ram4g.reg file that comes with the Gavotte:


You'll know when Gavotte installs in 'The Forbidden Zone' over 3.25GB because its label will switch to "RamDisk-PAE" :

Good hunt.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

Do not give up hope my friend, because you are just being deceived by the established orthodoxy.

It's perfectly possible to create a ramdisk in the 'non usable', 'invisible to the 32bit OS' grey area between 3.25~4GB:

767MB ramdisk nested inside the grey 770MB 'hardware reserved' area
'Invisible', 'non-usable', 'reserved for hardware', MY ASS!

Then of course we can create a ramdisk from 3.25 up to 8 or 16 or 64GB:

Uncle Tom's - Up To 16 GB Of RAM On A 32-Bit System!



Just make sure that PAE is enabled in Win XP:

One easy way to do is executing the ram4g.reg file that comes with the Gavotte:


You'll know when Gavotte installs in 'The Forbidden Zone' over 3.25GB because its label will switch to "RamDisk-PAE" :

Good hunt.

Noted.

Good news... I just tested my 12.04 install w/o the legacy driver (open source radeon instead)... and the performance is about identical. It appears that the fglrx-legacy driver was never in use. Not blazing fast... but nothing I couldn't live with.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

I never thought Nvidia would have better drivers than AMD.

Nvidia's drivers are good in Linux. And in the past, ATI seemed to have more direct rendering breakage than Nvidia.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

I'm going to try the xp memory trick... since the 12.10 graphics are FUBAR. Just like nvidia fx series and intel i855... Useless.

Dang, you KNOW it's bad when only one's LAPTOP has good linux support...and that's because it has an nvidia GPU.

Edit: My classmate suggested I use xp x64... even though I have a non x64 CPU. He claims he's installed it on PII/PIII boxes.

[TELVM]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

... My classmate suggested I use xp x64... even though I have a non x64 CPU. He claims he's installed it on PII/PIII boxes.

Now THAT would be some ghetto-mod!




Forgot to mention above, before venturing into The Forbidden Zone be sure to also enable mem remapping in BIOS.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

Now THAT would be some ghetto-mod!




Forgot to mention above, before venturing into The Forbidden Zone be sure to also enable mem remapping in BIOS.

Huh? I don't recall my bios having that.

[TELVM]

Re: Ratdude's Main rig V2

=> EXPAND