Depends on your needs. If you can take your time getting the computer set up, then going with a Stage 1 install will give you the most bang for your buck, seeing as EVERYTHING will be compiled from source, and optimized for your hardware.
On the other hand, if you only have a day or so to get a server up and running, then doing the GRP install would be your best choice, as a precompiled system will be installed. This would give you the server, but it might run a little slower than a stage 1 install. The speed difference might be a matter of micro-seconds or minutes, but may not be noticeable either. If by older hardware you mean a 486 or earlier, then I would guess you'll need about a week or so to get the base system installed, so the GRP install would probably be the recommended approach, or maybe even just an RPM based distro. >From what I've seen (and maybe other Gentoo users have input on this?), you likely >won't get the system you want until your third install of Gentoo. On the first >install, you wrap your head around the "Gentoo Way" and make a few mistakes in the >process. On the second install, you do much better and don't make as many mistakes >and can correct them much easier. On the third install, you've decided to set the >USE flags properly (now that you understand them a little better), and build your >system from scratch for the cleanest install possible. At this point you have a lean >mean server machine. In my own experience, it's averaging around 3 days to do a stage 1 install and get to the base system. Then add on another day or two for installing the core components I need (qmail, Postgresql, Apache, Samba, etc.), and getting them configured. So, roughly a week to build my server. But, since I've gone through the exercise, my server has been rock solid (except for stupid user errors - me being the stupid user), and performs very well. I guess it comes down to you either do it or you don't. I think you'll be happy with Gentoo if you take the plunge, and stay with it until you have the base system installed. But I'm also a realist - most people don't have the time or inclination to spend so much time up front to get a basic system, especially when they can build a full desktop/server system in about an hour with one of the main stream distros. If you have the time, and/or want to learn much more about Linux, then I'd suggest Gentoo. My thoughts... Shawn -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Curtis Sloan Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 12:27 AM To: CLUG General Subject: Considering Gentoo (was: Re: [clug-talk] Gentoo & linux-2.6.x/ALSA) On Sun April 11 2004 23:56, Shawn wrote: > Hi Curtis. > <snip> > > Yes, the compile times can be a little long, but I find they're pretty > reasonable for most things, once you have the core system and the usual > dependancies set up. Would you (or anyone else) recommend a Stage 3/GRP install for slower machines, or does that compromise the benefits of compiling all from source? To contrast, I naturally tend to be overly-thorough and detail-oriented as well as needing to know how everything works under the hood, so I personally would be tempted to do a Minimal LiveCD/Stage 1 compile. So, on the other side of the coin, would you _not_ recommend this approach for a slower computer? Thanks, Curtis _______________________________________________ clug-talk mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://clug.ca/mailman/listinfo/clug-talk_clug.ca _______________________________________________ clug-talk mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://clug.ca/mailman/listinfo/clug-talk_clug.ca
