Hardware recommendations for a newbie.
in [Linux Hardware]
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From: David R Brooks on 19 Apr 2008 05:28 Andy wrote: > Hi all. > > Just a quick query about hardware compatibility with Linux > distros...apologies if this has been done to death already, but googling > provided links primarily to *.advocacy groups... > > Basically I'm looking at buying a new PC to run both Linux (likely > OpenSUSE) and WinXP. I've just enrolled to do a whole bunch of > certifications - mostly MS based, but also the CompTIA Linux+ cert. I'm > just not sure how to go about things. There's a monthly 'Computer fair' > local to me where several vendors can build a box to specs, depending on > what the customer wants (and obviously, what the budget allows) who can > build what seems like a decently fast machine for around $500AUD. > > What I'm not up to speed on is processors - AMD? Intel? Pentium? I'm > only familiar with the Intel stuff from being a Mac user. Is there any > consensus as to which components are best suited to running Linux with > minimal hassles? > > What I really don't want to run into is incompatibility problems with > things like video cards etc - I need this to work with a 24" Acer LCD > screen at 1920x1200. Neither wireless networking or printing will be > required though. > > My only prior experience with Linux is running a dual boot setup with > Ubuntu/Mac OS 10.4 on my current computer - a G4 PowerMac. The display > was never quite 'right' when booting into Ubuntu. If I can get a new, > much faster system running reasonably cheaply I'll likely retire the Mac > altogether. > > Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. > Methinks one quick guide is to avoid anything but plain-vanilla hardware. The fancy stuff (ie all-in-one motherboards, USB dongles to create printer ports, etc.) all come with vendor supplied drivers. Usually, these are for Windows only (no doubt they'll soon be Vista only). Without said drivers, the hardware doesn't usually work too well on Linux. The Linux distro people do a grand job putting up drivers where they can, but there's just too much proprietary hardware out there for them to cover it all.
From: ray on 19 Apr 2008 10:33 On Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:39:11 +1000, Andy wrote: > Hi all. > > Just a quick query about hardware compatibility with Linux > distros...apologies if this has been done to death already, but googling > provided links primarily to *.advocacy groups... > > Basically I'm looking at buying a new PC to run both Linux (likely > OpenSUSE) and WinXP. I've just enrolled to do a whole bunch of > certifications - mostly MS based, but also the CompTIA Linux+ cert. I'm > just not sure how to go about things. There's a monthly 'Computer fair' > local to me where several vendors can build a box to specs, depending on > what the customer wants (and obviously, what the budget allows) who can > build what seems like a decently fast machine for around $500AUD. > > What I'm not up to speed on is processors - AMD? Intel? Pentium? I'm > only familiar with the Intel stuff from being a Mac user. Is there any > consensus as to which components are best suited to running Linux with > minimal hassles? Yes. All three plus VIA. Linux runs on virtually every major CPU platform. You may not know, but there were versions which ran on the PPC platform as well. > > What I really don't want to run into is incompatibility problems with > things like video cards etc - I need this to work with a 24" Acer LCD > screen at 1920x1200. Neither wireless networking or printing will be > required though. None. > > My only prior experience with Linux is running a dual boot setup with > Ubuntu/Mac OS 10.4 on my current computer - a G4 PowerMac. The display > was never quite 'right' when booting into Ubuntu. If I can get a new, > much faster system running reasonably cheaply I'll likely retire the Mac > altogether. > > Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. Boot a Live CD on a system like what you want, if there is any question.
From: General Schvantzkopf on 20 Apr 2008 01:24 On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:59:23 +1000, Andy wrote: > In article <66ue56F2l3ft8U2(a)mid.individual.net>, ray <ray(a)zianet.com> > wrote: > >> On Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:39:11 +1000, Andy wrote: > >> > What I'm not up to speed on is processors - AMD? Intel? Pentium? >> > I'm only familiar with the Intel stuff from being a Mac user. Is >> > there any consensus as to which components are best suited to running >> > Linux with minimal hassles? >> >> Yes. All three plus VIA. Linux runs on virtually every major CPU >> platform. You may not know, but there were versions which ran on the >> PPC platform as well. > > Yes, I am aware - I ran one of them on a G4 PowerMac, and was fairly > disappointed. It seemed that it had been half-finished, then abandoned. > > It sounds like compatibility problems have been addressed in the last > few years (certainly with up-to-date hardware), which is excellent news. Mainstream hardware has been well supported for a very long time. I've been using Linux since the PII days and I've never run into a desktop system that wouldn't run Linux. When there is a major generational change in hardware you might have to compile your own kernel until your distro catches up, but eventually it will. The PPC Mac versions had a limited audience so they didn't get the same level of effort that PC versions got. Think about it, Mac users buy their systems because they love the Mac so they don't have a big incentive to run Linux. Also OS-X is based on BSD so it's a *nix anyway. The people that I knew who ran Linux on Mac hardware did it because they needed a PPC development platform for the embedded PPC systems they were developing code for. As long as they could run GCC and Xemacs they were happy, they didn't all the bells and whistles that a full Linux distro comes with.
From: Mark Hobley on 20 Apr 2008 09:08 Andy <no(a)spam.no> wrote: > I'll look towards an Intel machine (dual core will be sufficient) and > Nvidia graphics. I would go with ATI graphics cards. The specifications are available for many of the cards, and open source drivers can be developed, if they are not already available. I am using older Radeon cards with open source 3D, but I think many of the newer cards work fine now. Technical specifications are available for ATI Radeon HT2000 chipset and Radeon X1000 and newer graphics processors, so open source drivers can be developed, if they are not already available. Nvidia graphics ties you to vendor supplied binaries, with no public source code or technical specifications currently available. Regards, Mark. -- Mark Hobley, 393 Quinton Road West, Quinton, BIRMINGHAM. B32 1QE.
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