Re: [tlug] hardware

["Jim O'Connell" <oconnell@example.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Evans" <peter@example.com>
To: "Tokyo Linux Users Group" <tlug-digest@example.com>
Cc: <peter@example.com>
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 8:10 PM
Subject: [tlug] hardware


> Righty-ho, I'm all ready to go to Akihabara and buy a motherboard, CPU,
> memory card, hard drive, video card and other odds and sods to put them
> in a computer on which I shall attempt to install Linux.
>
> (No I'm not going to buy a ready-made computer. Yes, that would cost
> less; but I would have to pay for it, whereas my employer will reimburse
> me for components, within reason.)
>
> Any names to look out for when selecting components for Joe Schmoe's
> little workstation? (My requirements are humble.) I'm intending to use
> SuSE, but nevertheless am alarmed to read an apparently able and
> knowledgable person writing (on
> http://www.linuxworld.com/site-stories/2003/0516.petreley_p.html ) about
> hardware issues in installing Gentoo:
>
> > I encountered a number of problems that were the fault of my
> > hardware and motherboard BIOS. . . . I had enough problems with
> > the Biostar motherboard that I finally swapped it out for an
> > older but more workable Asus. . . .  I had a problem with the
> > custom Nvidia kernel module for XFree86, as it would frequently
> > hang. I have the same problem with Debian, so the issue is
> > probably related to the card itself or to the kernel module.
> > The nasty thing about the custom Nvidia driver is that it
> > replaces all your OpenGL libraries with custom Nvidia versions
>
> I just don't have time for this kind of pissing around.
Ah, yes, pissing around. I know it well lately...
(Posting this from my new workstation, which is sadly running Win2K...)
I went to Akihabara two weeks ago and picked up a barebones AMD/Asus box and
a 2200+ chip to go with it and absolutely could not get the onboard
components, all Sis, to get recognized in Linux.  Even when I got the video
running at 800x600 using a very generic driver, I tried recompiling the
kernel to support the onboard sound, LAN, USB and video. Simply a no-go
using RH 9.0, since the drivers on the disc that came with the box seemed to
be writen for Slackware 0.2 or something.

It was the worst experience I've had out of probably 50+ linux installs, due
completely to the Sis crap on the motherboard.  (Maybe I've just gotten too
used to having Linux installs go easier than Windows.)
Of course, I was buying the absolute cheapest stuff I could find and I
should have known better, but I needed to replace a machine quickly. YMMV.
(The box+MB was 18000y and the Chip was ~9000.)
I can say with a fair amount of certainty though, if you want to toss
together a quick box on a Saturday, avoid Sis.
As to some of the other comments, I agree with the comment on memory - buy a
good name and then test it. (not just POST - see
http://www.wirefarm.com/archives/000132.html#000132 ) Buggy memory seems to
be the norm in the typical DIY-Street former-OEM bubblewrap pack.  Pay a bit
more and get something you can trust, or at least easily return.
Video cards, on the other hand - I've had no problems with the N'Vidia
stuff, using the non-open-source drivers.  My primary interest in having a
decent video card has been for video, not games, though.
>
> I can easily imagine that I don't need to bug anybody here, and that I'd
> be better off talking to somebody in a shop. OK, which shop (and perhaps
> also which person in that shop)? Or of course, an URL or three would be
> welcome.
Com/3 on DIY street is where I wind up going back to - they usually have a
decent selection of interesting stuff.

Good luck,
Jim
PS - as I said, YMMV - I'm sure others here have had great experiences with
integrated Sis components, but I will never buy them for a Linux box again.
Running Win2K, it is a decent little workstation though... Ugh. Nvidia may
indeed be crap, but it did what I needed it to do.

>
> --
> Peter Evans <peter@example.com>
>
>
>
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