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Is Gentoo a good package for performance and video encoding?
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Zelt
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 6:36 pm    Post subject: Is Gentoo a good package for performance and video encoding? Reply with quote

Hello

I have 32GB 2600Mhz Ram, 4.6Ghz 4770k CPU and I would like to get the most out of it.

I am planning to use packages like FFMPEG, mplayer, PHP, C++ and some other editing/rogramming suites.

I also would like a build that doesn't come cluttered with useless stuff I don't want but is installed with a wide user base in mind.

If you don't believe Gentoo is the correct distro for this, please can you recommend others? Or perhaps a diff alternative altogether - BSD for example.

Looking forward to hear some thoughts on this.

Thanks in advance.
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djdunn
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It wont install everything you are going to want by default, the actual default gentoo install is rather quite small, on the other hand its one of the most cruftfree distros out there.

you could check out http://en.znurt.org/ to see if any or all of the programming suites you prefer are in the tree
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The Doctor
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think it is best to explain that Gentoo is a meta distribution. There is no such thing as a 'default install.' In order to use Gentoo you have to enjoy getting into the particulars of how your OS works.

That being said, if you follow the handbook, the end result of an install is a minimal command line OS that you can then customize to your needs by installing the packages you want (and excluding the ones you don't.) At the end of the day (or week, as the case may be), Gentoo should be able to handle everything you listed. The specifics of exactly what editing and programing suites may vary.
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NeddySeagoon
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Zelt,

Gentoo is a toolkit you use to make your own distro. If you know what you want, it can do what you want.
If you don't know waht you want, it will take a bit longer to get there as you find out along the way.

After you have installed a system that can boot and install more software, what you install is up to you.
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Zelt
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 2:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

djdunn wrote:
It wont install everything you are going to want by default, the actual default gentoo install is rather quite small, on the other hand its one of the most cruftfree distros out there.

you could check out http://en.znurt.org/ to see if any or all of the programming suites you prefer are in the tree


Thats great to hear, Windows doesnt support everything most ppl want by default, but is completely the opposite of cruftfree.


The Doctor wrote:
I think it is best to explain that Gentoo is a meta distribution. There is no such thing as a 'default install.' In order to use Gentoo you have to enjoy getting into the particulars of how your OS works.

That being said, if you follow the handbook, the end result of an install is a minimal command line OS that you can then customize to your needs by installing the packages you want (and excluding the ones you don't.) At the end of the day (or week, as the case may be), Gentoo should be able to handle everything you listed. The specifics of exactly what editing and programing suites may vary.



NeddySeagoon wrote:
Zelt,

Gentoo is a toolkit you use to make your own distro. If you know what you want, it can do what you want.
If you don't know waht you want, it will take a bit longer to get there as you find out along the way.

After you have installed a system that can boot and install more software, what you install is up to you.


Re Doctor and NeddySeagoon.

From reading your posts and elsewhere, I believe my understanding of Distro, OS, installation packages and so on is wrong. Or some terms are being used interchangeably online when they are actually different.

Neddy when you say
1) "Gentoo is a toolkit you use to make your own distro. If you know what you want, it can do what you want."
2) "After you have installed a system that can boot and install more software, what you install is up to you"

In 1), "if you know what you want" are you referring to the "more software" in 2)? That I can tell the distro I want software a,b,c,d? Or is the distro work a higher level?

If I dont know what I want at the distro level, cant I just wait for 2) where you say I can install what I want at that stage there? Rather than deciding in 1) distro level?


I am coming direct from windows with no Linux experience, so sorry if what I am saying sounds daft.
On the other hand I don't mind hard work.(As I have read multiple times Gentoo can be a long learning curve)

Thanks All
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krinn
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 3:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Zelt wrote:

Neddy when you say
1) "Gentoo is a toolkit you use to make your own distro. If you know what you want, it can do what you want."
2) "After you have installed a system that can boot and install more software, what you install is up to you"

Using Windows analogy to make it easier to catch it.
Installing Gentoo is like having a DOS install. You endup with nothing but a basic system with core components to install other tools.

Some people will not even use a window manager and keep the "dos" interface as they use it on a server (no need to waste resources to handle a mouse or graphic if your computer will never use them).
Some other will install a window manager, so you somehow endup with Windows like, but still no mediaplayer, no notepad, no internet explorer... Just the graphic interface. There's no need to install internet explorer if you computer cannot connect to internet.
Some will install everything possible, all navigators that exists, all media players...

So installing Gentoo you endup with a linux that works, what will you do with it next is upto you. It's not like Windows that comes with paint or internet explorer or mediaplayer. If you want a mediaplayer you will install one or more...

Unlike other linux distro, that are offering like windows some default software, ubuntu and friends comes with a firefox and/or google chrome... In gentoo if you want firefox, you will first need a graphic interface to choose, then firefox if you want, or google chrome... The same programs as with all linux, just you won't get them per default, you choose what you want and install it. Even the graphic interface choice is upto you, it makes no sense in Windows when you have no choice, but in linux, you have xfce, gnome, kde to name a few...
http://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Complete_Handbook/Making_a_choice

That's why you cannot tell anyone Gentoo is this or that, it depend what you do with it.
What is difficult from Windows to linux is naming a software, it's easy to install vlc, it's less easy if you don't even know "vlc" is a mediaplayer. (picking vlc as i think it's popular in Windows too)
And when you ask "what is mediaplayer name", you endup with people telling you vlc, xine, mplayer... Gentoo offer so many it would be hard to pickup the one for you that would be the best.
Here's a list that will help you a lot : http://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Recommended_applications
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szatox
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Stage 3 contains default system. A bunch of basing programs that prepare your initial environment. Nobody is going to force you to change those if you don't want, so you can consider it a default "install" - one that still requires you do pick your bootloader of choice, partition disks, and set time zone manually. And perform quite a few other steps before you can actually use it.
The point is, all of those pieces of software can be replaced with other that provide reasonably similar functionality. And gentoo is made in way that makes those changes not require much labor.
There is no one-true-way to make gentoo work, it depends on you, your wants, and your purpose. It's your task, as user, administrator and maintainer to know what direction you want YOUR gentoo to go.

Unfortunately, there is still a downside to this. You say you don't have any linux experience, so here's a hint for you: Gentoo is far from the best distros to start with. You would need a lot of patience and it would still be a pain. Ubuntu and mandriva are trying to match beginer's needs. Start with one of those, with next -> next -> next installer and neat GUI. Then poke around in text terminal. Install/remove software from command line. Write some scripts that would organize your photos (dunno, move them into year/month/day directory tree). Make friends with file permissions, and have a look at /etc.
You will eventually get bored. That's a good time to move along.
If you started with gentoo, you would either learn a lot of things in a very short time, or - more likely to happen - conclude it's shit and go back to windows.
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NeddySeagoon
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 5:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Zelt,

Lets define Gentoo first. Gentoo is the portage package manager and the portage tree. Everything else is $UPSTREAM.
The ebuilds in the portage tree are recipies to install the packages you ask for with the options that you choose.

Gentoo (portage package manager and the portage tree) depend on some $UPSTREAM packages. To get you started Gentoo provides a stage3 tarball of the binaries of the required $UPSTREAM packages. You do the rest.

This collection of bits won't even boot. You must add a kernel and a boot loader ... that's where your choices start.
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djdunn
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 1:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also you can use most other linux distros for 10-15 years, and not really learn anything about how or why the different parts of linux work. you pop a disk in, hit install to disk, and it dumps you in some desktop environment until it tells you its time to upgrade and you start everything over again.

The best part of gentoo is not anything you find installed on your computer, but the documentation you find here in the form of the "handbook" wiki.gentoo.org and many other places, just by reading the entire handbook once you will end up with more experience than someone with years of Ubuntu experience.

The handbook isn't just instructions about how to install gentoo, but a text that teaches you about gentoo, and the hows and whys of maintaining gentoo.
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dcljr
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

djdunn wrote:
The handbook isn't just instructions about how to install gentoo, but a text that teaches you about gentoo, and the hows and whys of maintaining gentoo.

Well..... ideally. :wink:

I find that the Handbook starts pretty strong, but gradually becomes less and less "helpful" as you go through the sections. By the time you get to "8.c. System Information" (AMD64 version, anyway), it has the nerve to say:
Code:
Gentoo uses /etc/rc.conf to configure the services, startup, and shutdown of your system. Open up /etc/rc.conf and enjoy all the comments in the file.

Believe me, when I was struggling through my first Gentoo install, I did not find that funny. (I still don't, actually -- I still don't understand what I should use for the "dumpkeys_charset" option, and why. For the record, I've always left it an empty string, and haven't had any problems.)
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dcljr
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 8:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just said:
dcljr wrote:
I still don't understand what I should use for the "dumpkeys_charset" option, and why. For the record, I've always left it an empty string, and haven't had any problems.)

Oops. Apparently not! :)

Well, anyway, for the past 4 years or so I have left it empty.
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hansmaa
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 3:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gentoo is a great choice for your needs.

Use
Code:
equery u ffmpeg
and
Code:
equery u mplayer
to see which USE-flags you will need for your video-encoding/viewing.

Because you can define your cpu type/family and gpu type/family in the kernel and in the config-file '/etc/make.conf' as well as setting the USE-flags you find you'll need for your type work, you'll end up with a system that will encode video quite fast.

I get about 25fps when encoding bluray/dvd to .mkv for my multimedia-server using
Code:
ffmpeg -i dvd/bluray-source -c:v libx264 -x264opts opencl=1:bluray-compat=1 -preset slow -tune film -profile:v high -level 4.1 -crf 18 -c:a copy -c:s copy outfile.mkv

The results works for me... and I got a i5-4670 and a Nvidia gtx 770
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