# First time bsd user



## Robin werkman (Sep 18, 2016)

I just registered now, so i can ask this question here.
I have always used linux, but im curious about bsd, since my intended use would be to build a media server conected to my 40" lcd tv and my 7.1 channel amp.
And the reason i would like to use bsd is mainly because many argue that bsd has somewhat older, but more tested software and is thus more stable.
So my question is does bsd work with intel graphics and broadcom wifi cards?
And what are the minimal ram required? (i have currently 4 gigs, but waiting for my order of 2 aditional 4gigs sticks to arive.)
All i neet is a simple openbox setup with kodi vlc and some audio processing software.
Thank you, and please feel free to move this post if i posted it in the wrong section.


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## scottro (Sep 18, 2016)

4 GB of RAM is fine.   I'm not sure about the Broadcom wireless, having always managed to avoid it so far.  A quick google  of something lke broadcom freebsd should give you answers.

Newer Intel cards are not yet well supported. wblock@ has had some success, it will probably depend upon which Intel card. 

Whether it's more stable or not depends upon what version of Linux you are comparing.  The media stuff is handled by 3rd party ports which may or may not have issues.  Generally they don't.   The install CD gives you a live shell so you can see if your wireless card is supported--a very cursory google indicates that there is a Broadcom driver, you can look at man (4) bwi.

TL;DR, if it's a newer intel card, it may be problematic, but not necessarily.


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## shepper (Sep 18, 2016)

To add to scottro some of the high end sound cards (Creative-X) are not currently supported in FreeBSD.

 Stability is also somewhat relative - there are linux implementations that are on the cutting edge (Arch, Debian Unstable, Fedora) and others that target stability (Slackware, Debian Stable, Centos).  It is the same in the BSD's.  There are going to be some differences in stability between FreeBSD10.3 and the upcoming 11.0 release.


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## DiscmanDaemon (Sep 22, 2016)

Welcome to BSD!

As scottro said, broadcom wireless can be tricky, although bwi has worked for me in the past. To determine specifically what chip is on board and if the required driver exists, `pciconf -lv` is very helpful.

Your RAM is more than adequate as scottro mentioned. I run a media server on an old laptop with 2 GB of RAM and have never had any slowness or lag.

As for stability, I can attest to the remarkable stability of freeBSD. I frequently leave stuff running for months on end, only rebooting to update the kernel, and never had a problem. One of my colleagues encountered a BSD server with an uptime of more than five years. I think very few linuxes can claim that.


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