Re: ideas

[Adonijah <adonijah@xxxxxxxxx>]

Matthew Dillon wrote:
> :..................................................................
> :
> :4) If I'm not wrong DMA for CD drives is disabled by default. This means that 
> :the installation from the CD takes more time than it could. I think that 
> :setting somewhere in the installer sysctl hw.ata.atapi_dma="1" could improve 
> :the CD drive throughput and reduce the time needed.
>
>     As Joerg indicates, ATAPI DMA is fraught with compatibility issues and,
>     besides, I really doubt that that turning on DMA would make the CD go
>     any faster.  CD transfer rates (even on 50x drives) are quite slow and
>     the real bottleneck is track seeking, which is ultra slow on any CD
>     drive.

I wish I could agree, but when one does CD burning, DMA is extremely 
helpful in keeping the system reponsive and can dramatically increase 
performance. I think you'll hear the same thing echoed by many who do CD 
burning.