I've finally got my new system up, using Håvard's '3.99.8' sets, 
mentioned in a prevous thread (thanks very much).

I had tried to floppy boot both 2.1-RC3 and 2.0.2 without much luck; 
that is, the system would boot and run sysinst, but couldn't talk to the 
  PCI network cards, either ex0 or tlp0. This works just fine in the 
3.99.8, so I'm suspicious that there is something about the PCI bridge 
software that isn't quite supported in the 2.x kernels. (A bit odd, 
since I'm using a PCI video card, too.)

Here's the dmesg:

Copyright (c) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2
004, 2005
     The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.  All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993
     The Regents of the University of California.  All rights reserved.

NetBSD 3.99.8 (GENERIC.MP) #55: Thu Sep 15 16:33:14 CEST 2005
 
he@quattro.urc.uninett.no:/u/build/HEAD/obj/amd64/sys/arch/amd64/compile
/GENERIC.MP
total memory = 12287 MB
avail memory = 11836 MB
mainbus0 (root)
mainbus0: Intel MP Specification (Version 1.1) (TEMPLATE ETEMPLATE   )
cpu0 at mainbus0: apid 0 (boot processor)
cpu0: AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 244, 1800.07 MHz
cpu0: features: e7dbfbff<FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR>
cpu0: features: e7dbfbff<PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,MPC,NOX,MMXX,MMX>
cpu0: features: e7dbfbff<FXSR,SSE,SSE2,LONG,3DNOW2,3DNOW>
cpu0: I-cache 64 KB 64B/line 2-way, D-cache 64 KB 64B/line 2-way
cpu0: L2 cache 1 MB 64B/line 16-way
cpu0: ITLB 32 4 KB entries fully associative, 8 4 MB entries fully 
associative
cpu0: DTLB 32 4 KB entries fully associative, 8 4 MB entries fully 
associative
cpu0: calibrating local timer
cpu0: apic clock running at 199 MHz
cpu0: 16 page colors
cpu1 at mainbus0: apid 1 (application processor)
cpu1: starting
cpu1: AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 244, 1800.00 MHz
cpu1: features: e7dbfbff<FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR>
cpu1: features: e7dbfbff<PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,MPC,NOX,MMXX,MMX>
cpu1: features: e7dbfbff<FXSR,SSE,SSE2,LONG,3DNOW2,3DNOW>
cpu1: I-cache 64 KB 64B/line 2-way, D-cache 64 KB 64B/line 2-way
cpu1: L2 cache 1 MB 64B/line 16-way
cpu1: ITLB 32 4 KB entries fully associative, 8 4 MB entries fully 
associative
cpu1: DTLB 32 4 KB entries fully associative, 8 4 MB entries fully 
associative
mpbios: bus 0 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 1 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 2 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 3 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 128 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 129 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 130 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 131 is type ISA
ioapic0 at mainbus0 apid 2 (I/O APIC)
ioapic0: pa 0xfec00000, version 11, 24 pins
ioapic1 at mainbus0 apid 3 (I/O APIC)
ioapic1: pa 0xdfefc000, version 11, 24 pins
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0: configuration mode 1
pci0: i/o space, memory space enabled, rd/line, rd/mult, wr/inv ok
Nvidia nForce4 Memory Controller (miscellaneous memory, revision 0xa3) 
at pci0 dev 0 function 0 not configured
pcib0 at pci0 dev 1 function 0
pcib0: Nvidia nForce4 PCI-ISA bridge (rev. 0xa3)
Nvidia nForce4 SMBus (SMBus serial bus, revision 0xa2) at pci0 dev 1 
function 1 not configured
ohci0 at pci0 dev 2 function 0: Nvidia nForce4 USB Host Controller (rev. 
0xa2)
ohci0: interrupting at ioapic0 pin 9 (irq 9)
ohci0: OHCI version 1.0, legacy support
usb0 at ohci0: USB revision 1.0
uhub0 at usb0
uhub0: Nvidia OHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 1.00/1.00, addr 1
uhub0: 10 ports with 10 removable, self powered
ehci0 at pci0 dev 2 function 1: Nvidia nForce4 USB2 Host Controller 
(rev. 0xa3)
ehci0: interrupting at ioapic0 pin 9 (irq 9)
ehci0: EHCI version 1.0
ehci0: companion controller, 4 ports each: ohci0
usb1 at ehci0: USB revision 2.0
uhub1 at usb1
uhub1: Nvidia EHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 2.00/1.00, addr 1
uhub1: 10 ports with 10 removable, self powered
auich0 at pci0 dev 4 function 0: nForce4 AC-97 Audio
auich0: interrupting at ioapic0 pin 5 (irq 5)
auich0: ac97: Avance Logic ALC650 codec; 20 bit DAC, 18 bit ADC, Realtek 3D
auich0: ac97: ext id 5c7<AC97_22,LDAC,SDAC,CDAC,SPDIF,DRA,VRA>
viaide0 at pci0 dev 6 function 0
viaide0: NVIDIA nForce4 IDE Controller (rev. 0xf2)
viaide0: bus-master DMA support present
viaide0: primary channel configured to compatibility mode
viaide0: primary channel interrupting at ioapic0 pin 14 (irq 14)
atabus0 at viaide0 channel 0
viaide0: secondary channel configured to compatibility mode
viaide0: secondary channel interrupting at ioapic0 pin 15 (irq 15)
atabus1 at viaide0 channel 1
viaide1 at pci0 dev 7 function 0
viaide1: NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller (rev. 0xf3)
viaide1: bus-master DMA support present
viaide1: primary channel wired to native-PCI mode
viaide1: using ioapic0 pin 9 (irq 9) for native-PCI interrupt
atabus2 at viaide1 channel 0
viaide1: secondary channel wired to native-PCI mode
atabus3 at viaide1 channel 1
viaide2 at pci0 dev 8 function 0
viaide2: NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller (rev. 0xf3)
viaide2: bus-master DMA support present
viaide2: primary channel wired to native-PCI mode
viaide2: using ioapic0 pin 11 (irq 11) for native-PCI interrupt
atabus4 at viaide2 channel 0
viaide2: secondary channel wired to native-PCI mode
atabus5 at viaide2 channel 1
ppb0 at pci0 dev 9 function 0: Nvidia nForce4 PCI Host Bridge (rev. 0xa2)
pci1 at ppb0 bus 3
pci1: i/o space, memory space enabled
ex0 at pci1 dev 1 function 0: 3Com 3c905C-TX 10/100 Ethernet with mngmt 
(rev. 0x30)
ex0: interrupting at ioapic0 pin 9 (irq 9)
ex0: MAC address 00:01:02:71:c8:61
ukphy0 at ex0 phy 24: Generic IEEE 802.3u media interface
ukphy0: OUI 0x0006b8, model 0x0035, rev. 0
ukphy0: 10baseT, 10baseT-FDX, 100baseTX, 100baseTX-FDX, auto
skc0 at pci1 dev 2 function 0: ioapic0 pin 9 (irq 9)
skc0: DGE-530T Gigabit Ethernet Adapter rev. (0x1)
sk0 at skc0 port A: Ethernet address 00:11:95:fd:c7:ff
makphy0 at sk0 phy 0: Marvell 88E1011 Gigabit PHY, rev. 3
makphy0: 10baseT, 10baseT-FDX, 100baseTX, 100baseTX-FDX, 1000baseT, 
1000baseT-FDX, auto
vga0 at pci1 dev 3 function 0: Silicon Integrated System product 0x0325 
(rev. 0x00)
wsdisplay0 at vga0 kbdmux 1: console (80x25, vt100 emulation)
wsmux1: connecting to wsdisplay0
Nvidia product 0x0057 (miscellaneous bridge, revision 0xa3) at pci0 dev 
10 function 0 not configured
ppb1 at pci0 dev 13 function 0: Nvidia nForce4 PCIe Host Bridge (rev. 0xa3)
pci2 at ppb1 bus 2
pci2: memory space enabled, rd/line, wr/inv ok
ppb2 at pci0 dev 14 function 0: Nvidia nForce4 PCIe Host Bridge (rev. 0xa3)
pci3 at ppb2 bus 1
pci3: memory space enabled, rd/line, wr/inv ok
pchb0 at pci0 dev 24 function 0
pchb0: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 HyperTransport configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb1 at pci0 dev 24 function 1
pchb1: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 Address Map configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb2 at pci0 dev 24 function 2
pchb2: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 DRAM configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb3 at pci0 dev 24 function 3
pchb3: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 Miscellaneous configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb4 at pci0 dev 25 function 0
pchb4: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 HyperTransport configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb5 at pci0 dev 25 function 1
pchb5: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 Address Map configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb6 at pci0 dev 25 function 2
pchb6: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 DRAM configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb7 at pci0 dev 25 function 3
pchb7: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 Miscellaneous configuration (rev. 0x00)
isa0 at pcib0
lpt0 at isa0 port 0x378-0x37b irq 7
com0 at isa0 port 0x3f8-0x3ff irq 4: ns16550a, working fifo
com1 at isa0 port 0x2f8-0x2ff irq 3: ns16550a, working fifo
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60-0x64
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
pckbc0: using irq 1 for kbd slot
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard, using wsdisplay0
attimer0 at isa0 port 0x40-0x43: AT Timer
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
midi0 at pcppi0: PC speaker
sysbeep0 at pcppi0
fdc0 at isa0 port 0x3f0-0x3f7 irq 6 drq 2
pcppi0: attached to attimer0
pci4 at mainbus0 bus 128
pci4: i/o space, memory space enabled, rd/line, rd/mult, wr/inv ok
Nvidia nForce4 Memory Controller (miscellaneous memory, revision 0xa3) 
at pci4 dev 0 function 0 not configured
Nvidia product 0x00d3 (miscellaneous memory, revision 0xa3) at pci4 dev 
1 function 0 not configured
viaide3 at pci4 dev 7 function 0
viaide3: NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller (rev. 0xf3)
viaide3: bus-master DMA support present
viaide3: primary channel wired to native-PCI mode
viaide3: using ioapic0 pin 9 (irq 9) for native-PCI interrupt
atabus6 at viaide3 channel 0
viaide3: secondary channel wired to native-PCI mode
atabus7 at viaide3 channel 1
viaide4 at pci4 dev 8 function 0
viaide4: NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller (rev. 0xf3)
viaide4: bus-master DMA support present
viaide4: primary channel wired to native-PCI mode
viaide4: using ioapic0 pin 9 (irq 9) for native-PCI interrupt
atabus8 at viaide4 channel 0
viaide4: secondary channel wired to native-PCI mode
atabus9 at viaide4 channel 1
Nvidia product 0x0057 (miscellaneous bridge, revision 0xa3) at pci4 dev 
10 funct
ion 0 not configured
ppb3 at pci4 dev 13 function 0: Nvidia nForce4 PCIe Host Bridge (rev. 0xa3)
pci5 at ppb3 bus 130
pci5: memory space enabled, rd/line, wr/inv ok
ppb4 at pci4 dev 14 function 0: Nvidia nForce4 PCIe Host Bridge (rev. 0xa3)
pci6 at ppb4 bus 129
pci6: memory space enabled, rd/line, wr/inv ok
ioapic0: enabling
ioapic1: enabling
auich0: measured ac97 link rate at 49459 Hz, will use 48000 Hz
audio0 at auich0: full duplex, mmap, independent
fd0 at fdc0 drive 0: 1.44MB, 80 cyl, 2 head, 18 sec
Kernelized RAIDframe activated
wd0 at atabus0 drive 0: <ST3200822A>
wd0: drive supports 16-sector PIO transfers, LBA48 addressing
wd0: 186 GB, 387621 cyl, 16 head, 63 sec, 512 bytes/sect x 390721968 sectors
wd0: 32-bit data port
wd0: drive supports PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2, Ultra-DMA mode 5 (Ultra/100)
wd0(viaide0:0:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 5 (Ultra/100) (using DMA)
wd1 at atabus4 drive 0: <WDC WD4000YR-01PLB0>
wd1: drive supports 16-sector PIO transfers, LBA48 addressing
wd1: 372 GB, 775221 cyl, 16 head, 63 sec, 512 bytes/sect x 781422768 sectors
wd1: 32-bit data port
wd1: drive supports PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2, Ultra-DMA mode 6 (Ultra/133)
wd1(viaide2:0:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 6 (Ultra/133) (using DMA)
boot device: wd0
root on wd0a dumps on wd0b
root file system type: ffs
cpu1: CPU 1 running
wsdisplay0: screen 1 added (80x25, vt100 emulation)
wsdisplay0: screen 2 added (80x25, vt100 emulation)
wsdisplay0: screen 3 added (80x25, vt100 emulation)
wsdisplay0: screen 4 added (80x25, vt100 emulation)


I also have a D-Link gigabit card that runs fine under GENERIC but isn't 
found by the boot floppy kernel (skc0). The motherboard has two onboard 
gigabit interfaces as part of the nvidia chipset that aren't noticed by 
any kernel.

I haven't tried the RAID support (and won't; I prefer RAIDframe).

I had a few install problems that are worth noting:

- the floppy dhcp client doesn't seem to properly catch the IP address; 
I had to set it by hand every time, even though the domain, DNS server 
and gateway were properly filled in.

- /etc/login.conf didn't get created at all.

- /home didn't get created (I am running on a single partition)

But I'm up and running, so I'm not complaining too much. I'm hoping that 
the 3.x kernel really is less VM resource hungry, so I won't have to 
reboot every other day as I do my Opteron machines that are running 
2.0.2 ...

chris