Dual Opteron Tyan K8SR work or not?

Andrew · #1 06-02-2008, 09:47 AM

I have a 1U server with the follow specs that I'd like to install OSX on:

2x AMD OPTERON 265 DC 1.8GHZ Processors
4GB DDR2 ECC
1x FAST IDE 7200RPM 80GB Hard Disk Drive
2x Broadcom NeXtreme 100/1000 Gigabit Adapters
OnBoard nForce Nvidia 4PORT SATAlink Controller (RAID 0,1,5,0+1)
1x ATI RAGE XL 8MB Onboard Video Card
TYAN THUNDER K8SR Dual Opteron Motherboard

Any chance that it will work? I don't need any sound / advanced graphics as I will be remoting into it from my real Mac, it's going to be a file server for my AppleTV and video converter. I mainly just need need the important stuff to work, so if anyone has had any luck and could let me know if they successfully got OSX installed on a machine similar to this one, i would appreciate it.

Thanks a lot,
Andrew

naquaada · #2 06-02-2008, 02:02 PM

The easiest way to find out is to DL an install image, I would recommend Leo4all V3. But if you can't connect a PCI-E gfx card you'll have no fun with that board. By the way, please expain better for what you want to use it. For using it as an file server the board is too special, I wouldn't use it for this. And if you want to use it as video converter, you need full graphics support.

If you want to use a cheap system as file server, I would recommend a nForce 4 system if you want to use AMD. The prices I list are from Germany.

Board: Asus A8N-E FM/S, <40 Euro on ebay.
Specifications: microATX size, 2x IDE, 4x SATA2, 1x PCI-Express 16x, 3x PCI, 6x USB 2.0, 2x Firewire, 1x Serial
Gfx: Gigabyte Radeon X1600 Silentpipe 2, about 35 Euro on ebay (I also have some in spare).
Specifications: passive cooled (quiet), PCI-Express, 256MB RAM, supported by ATIinject
CPU: Athlon 64 4000+ Socket 939, about 31 Euro new.
Specifications: 1 MB Level 2-Cache, 2.4 GHz, speed about 80% of a dual-G5 with 2 GHz
HD: Samsung HD501LJ, SATA2, about 52 Euro new.

With a eHome-compatible IR receiver (f.e. from a Windows Media Center remote control) and the software mira you can control EVERY program with the Apple Remote, not only FrontRow.

And if you need something for video converting, try the Elgato Turbo.264. It's an USB stick which converts H.264/Mpeg4 by hardware. Some 3rd-party software also support it, f.e. Toast 9.

Andrew · #3 06-02-2008, 06:24 PM

Quote:

[cite] naquaada:[/cite]The easiest way to find out is to DL an install image, I would recommend Leo4all V3. But if you can't connect a PCI-E gfx card you'll have no fun with that board. By the way, please expain better for what you want to use it. For using it as an file server the board is too special, I wouldn't use it for this. And if you want to use it as video converter, you need full graphics support.

If you want to use a cheap system as file server, I would recommend a nForce 4 system if you want to use AMD. The prices I list are from Germany.

Board: Asus A8N-E FM/S, <40 Euro on ebay.
Specifications: microATX size, 2x IDE, 4x SATA2, 1x PCI-Express 16x, 3x PCI, 6x USB 2.0, 2x Firewire, 1x Serial
Gfx: Gigabyte Radeon X1600 Silentpipe 2, about 35 Euro on ebay (I also have some in spare).
Specifications: passive cooled (quiet), PCI-Express, 256MB RAM, supported by ATIinject
CPU: Athlon 64 4000+ Socket 939, about 31 Euro new.
Specifications: 1 MB Level 2-Cache, 2.4 GHz, speed about 80% of a dual-G5 with 2 GHz
HD: Samsung HD501LJ, SATA2, about 52 Euro new.

With a eHome-compatible IR receiver (f.e. from a Windows Media Center remote control) and the software mira you can control EVERY program with the Apple Remote, not only FrontRow.

And if you need something for video converting, try the Elgato Turbo.264. It's an USB stick which converts H.264/Mpeg4 by hardware. Some 3rd-party software also support it, f.e. Toast 9.

Lets start from the top,

1. I'm deployed to Iraq right now, and the server is at home, I'll be going home relatively soon, so I was just trying to see if anyone has had any luck with a similar setup.

2. The whole reason I bought this exact computer was to be a file server / media provider for my AppleTV, and also to convert videos, seeing as how it's a dual processor board, I can do all the things I plan to be doing on Windows, but I like OSX more, as I have a real Mac, just not one I'm willing to use as a file server. (BTW I got it cheap @ $300)

3. As for needing a cheap file server, this is it, I bought this for the sole purpose of video converting / managing to my AppleTV, so I don't need another computer for it.

I was merely wondering if anyone has had any success on a similar setup, as I would *prefer* to use OSX but if it's not possible, it's no big deal, as I can do everything I want to do using server 2008.

I'm not a newbie when it comes to OSX as I use it everyday on my Mac, just not sure of the exact limitations for installing on a non-Mac computer.

Thanks,
Andrew