Linux and hardware

[deadhead_matt]

Help!!!

First I'm new to Linux and going to give it a try (sick of M$).

I'm going to build a new computer. And I am looking for some help on hardware that will support Linux. Or a list of hardware that will work under Linux would be cool.

As of now the CPU will be the Q6600. This is as far as I've gotten
Just to let everyone know I will be getting parts on July 23. So i have some time to get the ball rolling on this.
I'll be using this Rig for movies, mp3, surfing, and folding @ home.
As for gaming will have to stick with M$ I guess???? :?:

Feel like a BIG noob right now (if this was a M$ build I wouldn't be asking for any help at all. But that is not the case on this build)

Any and all help would be great to help me get away from the evil M$

Thanks for your time
Matt

 

[linux_0]

VGA: nVidia -- ATI makes good hardware but their Linux support is not going to improve for another 6-12months or so

Board: A Linux friendly motherboard http://www.phoronix.com/?page=phoronix_articles look under motherboards

RAID: 3Ware or LSI - non-hardware RAID not recommended

Ethernet: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5754 Gigabit Ethernet or RealTek RTL-8169

WiFi: do not use it but if you do anyway http://www.aircrack-ng.org/doku.php?id=compatible_cards#tutorialis_my_wireless_card_compatibile
http://madwifi.org/wiki/Compatibility

Sound: SB Live! or Augidy ( the X-Fi does not work ) or other compatible card


For games check out WINE and Cedega and this review:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=681&num=1

http://appdb.winehq.org/appbrowse.php?iCatId=2

http://games.cedega.com/gamesdb/

http://qemu.org/

http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/index.php


GL :-D

 

[deadhead_matt]

Thanks Linux_0

I have another ? what are some names of books you have read or would read on linux to help out going from M$ to linux

Thanks for your time

Deadhead_matt

 

[linux_0]

You don't need no stinkin books j/k :lol:

But here you go in case you do:

http://www.oreilly.com/pub/topic/linux


If you like online books, etc check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Linux
http://tldp.org/
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Linux_Guide/Getting_Help


Linux has extensive built-in help including:

man
info
help
/usr/share/doc
GUI help
etc


GL :-D

Thanks Linux_0

I have another ? what are some names of books you have read or would read on linux to help out going from M$ to linux

Thanks for your time

Deadhead_matt

 

[deadhead_matt]

You don't need no stinkin books j/k

LOL

about how long will it take for reveiws on new hardware (under linux)
to show up? I.E the P35 MB
being that it is an Intel chip set I wouldn't think to long???

OOOOOOO sorry if this post is in the wrong topic but didn't think I would get much help in the right topic spot

 

[jba6511]

Look at the linux forums of your particular distro you choose for help and HOWTOs. I just got into using linux a few weeks ago and I would suggest running Ubuntu. It is noob friendly, most hardware works right out of the box, and the ubuntu forums are a huge community that answers questions quickly. There is a book called the Linux Bible or Ubuntu Bible or something like that but you do not need it as the forums contain all the same info. Also, Ubuntu implements new releases quicker than most of the other distros so chances of new hardware being supported are better. Good luck with your build. I think you will find you can do everything in Linux that you can do with Ubuntu.

 

[linux_0]

If Intel didn't completely break compatibility in the P35 it should just work.

Unfortunately it is hard to predict how long it will take to see some good reviews.

 

[deadhead_matt]

Any body got any things I need to know (on or off topic)?
Things to do and not to do?
Any thing to look out for?
I'm the kind of person that likes to know a lot of what I'm getting in to befor doing it. Don't like going in half @$$ed if you will
Have been doing a lot of googling on this but, inside help is some times the best way!!

So any and all tips, help, would be welcomed

Thanks

 

[deadhead_matt]

Update 8)

Well after surfing all day (on sat) I found out that Asus is a big MB supporter of linux (there are drivers for the new P35 MBs).
I have own ATI and nVidia and on this build I will be going with nVidia.
I have read that geting a printer to run in Lunix can be a pain in the @$$. I have a Lexmark now but it is on its last legs. From what I have read is that HP is a safe bet (not a big fan of HP).

Picked up the book Linux Bible and a hand full of 1 cent out dated books from Amazon.

Ok so here is my game plan (if there is so thing wrong here PLEASE point it out).

Going to dule boot my computer (all ready own M$ XP).

So do i just load M$ on one drive and load MBs drivers run all system tests (prime 95 mem test) load anti vires software and all that good stuff.

Next in Bios change the boot order to 1 CD rom 2 to the a new harddrive
and load Linux and then the drivers for the MB (linux drivers). After seting up linux be off and running with a new OS.

And as for configuring Linux I will wait and ask you guys for some help when I get that far

Just wanted to make sure that this build will work under Linux. That way I can spend more time learning Linux and not on fighting hardware!

Well thanks again for all your guys help and time

Deadhead_matt

 

[deadhead_matt]

thanks geeky

keep all the good tips coming please

Thanks for your time and help

Deadhead

 

[deadhead_matt]

Vary nice

Thanks

 

[knightrous]

Best thing I found was to put Windows on a completely different drive to my Linux setup. I just use an 80GB SATA drive. They are so cheap these days it's not funny.

My windows drive for gaming just has the very basics No AV, No Firewall, No crap! Just games, drivers and utilities for gaming

 

[deadhead_matt]

thanks

I was planing on using two drives.

I had read some were that vista and linux on the same drive did not play

well together.

Thanks for all the help and keep it coming!!!!!

 

[MU_Engineer]

I have built several Linux computers and overall, hardware compatibility is pretty much there for common stuff.

VGA: nVidia -- ATI makes good hardware but their Linux support is not going to improve for another 6-12months or so[/q]

I run a Radeon x1900 GT and it works just fine with AMD's Linux drivers. The support is pretty good- the only thing that I know is messed up is the YUV overlay setup that MythTV and TVTime use. If you don't use those apps to watch TV on your computer, you're fine. The big gripe with most people and ATi Linux is that the cards don't perform nearly as fast as NVIDIA's. My x1900 GT is faster than an NVIDIA 7900GS in Windows but runs about even with a 6600 in Linux.

[q]Board: A Linux friendly motherboard http://www.phoronix.com/?page=phoronix_articles look under motherboards[/q]

Phoronix is a good source for Linux-specific information, so is linuxquestions.org. Just about any NVIDIA-based motherboard will be fully-functional under Linux. Intel boards work well, except that the 965 series chipsets have no native PATA support and older kernels don't support the commonly-used JMicron PATA chip. ATi boards work well too, with the exception of the Xpress 200M, whose integrated graphics give Linux users fits. The CrossFire boards have been reported to work well. I haven't used SiS or VIA boards in a long time and can't comment much on them, but most things (USB, SATA, PATA, PCI, PCIe) should still work because they are standard devices to all OSes and use generic drivers. Ethernet should be similar as well. It's generally just the sound on the uncommon boards that can sometimes have trouble working.

[q]RAID: 3Ware or LSI - non-hardware RAID not recommended[/q]

Not true. Linux has excellent software RAID support using md. It's usually much faster than all but the most expensive hardware RAID controllers. What's not recommended is running a RAID using just the motherboard's onboard SATA ports with md as the onboard ports can't handle the simultaneous accesses that an array will put on them. Getting an external PCI Express SATA controller will alleviate this. I use HighPoint's RocketRAID 23xx series PCIe controllers as they are much less expensive than 3ware/AMCC, Intel, and Areca hardware RAID controllers and the PCIe bus can handle boatloads of traffic. The 23xx series use Marvell SATA controller chips and HighPoint has released the driver as open-source. The 2.6.20 kernel has the 23xx driver rolled into the sata_mv module so no external driver is needed for newer kernels.

[q]Ethernet: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5754 Gigabit Ethernet or RealTek RTL-8169[/q]

I have a Realtek 8169 as sold as a Netgear unit (GA511 or something like that.) It works quite well. I'd also recommend Intel's PRO/1000 adapters as well as they work well and have good Linux support. But just about any Ethernet interface will work, including the onboard interfaces on most new motherboards. NVIDIA's integrated GbE is particularly good as it's PCIe based.

[q]WiFi: do not use it but if you do anyway http://www.aircrack-ng.org/doku.php?id=compatible_cards#tutorialis_my_wireless_card_compatibile
http://madwifi.org/wiki/Compatibility[/q]

Intel WLAN cards are particularly good but they're only sold for mPCI and mini-PCIe for notebooks IIRC. Atheros (some D-Link units) has the pretty decent madwifi drivers and Broadcom cards are pretty spotty as far as wireless goes. I use a wireless bridge for my desktop- Buffalo WLI-HP-TX4. I plug an Ethernet cable from my desktop into the back of it and the bridge will convert wireless into Ethernet. It is much more powerful than a PCI wireless card and saves the headaches of missing drivers for WLAN cards.

[q]Sound: SB Live! or Augidy ( the X-Fi does not work ) or other compatible card[/q]

Most onboard sound is an AC'97 derivative on older boards like my NForce4 or the Realtek or Intel HDA on newer boards. Both are supported in Linux.

[q]For games check out WINE and Cedega and this review:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=681&num=1

http://appdb.winehq.org/appbrowse.php?iCatId=2

http://games.cedega.com/gamesdb/

http://qemu.org/

http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/index.php


GL :-D

 

[linux_0]

I meant fakeRAID my statement was not meant to include software RAID.

 

[Zorak]

Well, I certainly wish I had seen this thread prior to making my own computer build thread, but I suppose that it is better to have a very similar thread than to hijack deadhead_matt's thread.

Anyways, deadhead, certainly listen to all that these guys have to say because they certainly know what they are talking about!

-Zorak