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Linux Hardware Guide: Case, CPU, Mobo, RamYou are encouraged to make links to this article from your website and tell your friends
The following article is based on years of experience. It is provided as a free service to our customers and visitors. However, Directron.com is not responsible for any damage as a result of following any of this advice.
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This Guide assumes that you know a bit about computers, and also assumes you know a bit about Linux.
The requirements for a computer running Linux are smaller than those running Windows, as Linux requires less system resources. But, as usual, you still want to get the best system you can. However, there are certain things that can trip up a PC user who is migrating to Linux.
We're going to assume that you are using this new computer as your primary workstation, but along the way we'll throw in bits about other uses, such as a webserver.
The first thing that a soon-to-be Linux user must account for is Hardware. Linux runs happily on most hardware, but it is to note that it generally needs drivers for it. Therefore it is important that you first check out the driver scene for your hardware before buying it. We'll go through all the hardware aspects of a computer, and point out missteps that you might take.
| Case/Power Supply
|
Nothing remarkable here, you could build a computer
out of legos, or even a Styrofoam person. I've seen both done. If
you want just a standard case however you want a microATX type. Other
than that, get the color and size you like. Get a Power Supply at
least 250 Watts.
|
| Processor
|
Minimum Required: 400 Mhz Pentium II
It has been said that Linux runs less happily on AMD or VIA Processors than it does on Intel, but that is a myth. Linux runs beautifully on AMD as well as Intel. So, as is generally the notion, you should
go with the best Processor you can afford. The first thing you should decide however, is if you're going to go Intel or AMD.
Intels are more expensive, but also slightly faster. AMD's are cheaper, and are usually the best choice for you.
Remember that if you're using this as a Server or just about anything other than your main computer, you do not need that much processing power. A 1GHz computer can run web apps and word processing just as happily as a 3.4Ghz P4 (although you will see performance increases when using GUI's such as XWindows). First determine your intended use for the computer, then you can decide on how fast a processor you need. As resedit said "when you get into server side technology, and mail servers with spam/virus filtering, cpu power can become extremely important." | | Motherboard | This is the most important part of your system, so we're going to detail a lot of it. The main factor of a motherboard, the things that make each successive one better than
the previous one is the chipset. Without newer chipsets, we have ancient motherboards that happened to have USB2.0 or IEEE1394 powered by our Pentium Pros.
We're going to separate it down into AMD and Intel categories, and they repeat each other a little bit.
Intel
The best chipset for Intel boards is, go figure, Intel chipsets. Although the 875 is out right now (and provides the best performance) the 865 is more than adequate for most people. It is beyond the scope of this article to tell you how to choose a motherboard, so we're just going to tell you how to choose a motherboard for Linux. First, compare the motherboards based on the features you want, and then when you have a short list of models, look at the following aspects:
- Have other users gotten it to work? Check with the community. I
suggest doing a short, rough search, and if nothing comes up, continue on,
then come back as a last resort.
- Does the kernel batively support the mother board components?
"You won't find whole motherboards listed as supported. Instead, you
find out if the individual components on a mobo are supported. So you'd look
at a mobo and see that it had IDE controller X, onboard nic Y, and onboard
sound chip Z, and then see if Linux has support for X, Y and Z. The motherboard
may also have components controlling USB, Firewire, video and so on; if so
you'd want to check for those, too." (slamtilt).
- Does it contain integrated solutions. Video? Sound?
Ethernet? According to the Motherboard
Page of TLDP "All recent motherboards should work fine, although certain
integrated controllers may or may not work well (or at all)." If
your board does contain these integrated solutions, know that you may need
to purchase ASP/PCI cards as necessary. In my own experience, my Ethernet
on my ePoX EP-8RDA+ has not worked out-of-box.
- Does it include legacy ports? PS/2 is an important feature with Linux. See what's the deal with USB
- Drivers: Does the Manufacturer provide drivers for Linux? nVidia has an All-In-One Driver for nForce1/2 Motherboards. Check the Support and Download Sections of the motherboard/chipset Manufacturer's Site. However, as resedit said "Many boards that are very well supported in the kernel have next to nothing at the manufacturers website related to Linux. Many that don't have good support have stuff at the website." Always check with the community and kernel support first. "You want the support to be native in the kernel, rather than a manufacturer's closed driver. Otherwise set up will be harder, and problems will be harder to diagnose and fix. If the manufacturer loses interest in supporting the hardware, you may be left high and dry. Open drivers get integrated into the kernel, will work better, and will be supported longer." (Slamtilt)
Resources:
AMD
Most top of the line AMD motherboards use the nForce2 chipset,
with slightly different varieties therein. The other recent chipset
is the KT400 and it's flavors by VIA. It is beyond the scope of
this article to tell you how to choose a motherboard (follow-up maybe?),
so we're just going to tell you how to choose a motherboard for Linux.
First, compare the motherboards based on the features you want,
and then when you have a short list of models, look at the following aspects:
- Have other users gotten it to work? Check with
the community. I suggest doing a short, rough search, and if nothing
comes up, continue on, then come back as a last resort.
- Does the kernel batively support the mother board components?
"You won't find whole motherboards listed as supported. Instead, you
find out if the individual components on a mobo are supported. So you'd look
at a mobo and see that it had IDE controller X, onboard nic Y, and onboard
sound chip Z, and then see if Linux has support for X, Y and Z. The motherboard
may also have components controlling USB, Firewire, video and so on; if so
you'd want to check for those, too." (slamtilt).
- Does it contain integrated solutions. Video? Sound?
Ethernet? According to the Motherboard
Page of TLDP "All recent motherboards should work fine, although certain
integrated controllers may or may not work well (or at all)." If
your board does contain these integrated solutions, know that you may need
to purchase ASP/PCI cards as necessary. In my own experience, my Ethernet
on my ePoX EP-8RDA+ has not worked out-of-box.
- Does it include legacy ports? PS/2 is an important
feature with Linux. See what's the deal
with USB
- Drivers: Does the Manufacturer provide drivers for
Linux? Asus has an All-In-One Driver for NForce2 Motherboards. Check
the Support and Download Sections of the Manufacturer's Site. However,
as resedit said "Many boards that are very well supported in the kernel have
next to nothing at the manufacturers website related to Linux. Many
that don't have good support have stuff at the website." Always check
with the community and kernel support first. "You want the support
to be native in the kernel, rather than a manufacturer's closed driver. Otherwise
set up will be harder, and problems will be harder to diagnose and fix. If
the manufacturer loses interest in supporting the hardware, you may be left
high and dry. Open drivers get integrated into the kernel, will work better,
and will be supported longer." (Slamtilt)
Resources:
- AMDBoard.com - An
excellent resource for AMD MotherBoards. Select a brand from the right
panel and you'll get reviews, specifications, pertinent links, articles,
and more.
- Motherboards.org
- A comprehensive database of motherboards including Rankings
- AMD3d.com
- A good site for browsing about AMD motherboards, but not as directly
useful as the first two.
|
| RAM
|
Minimum Required: 128 Mb
Minimum Reccomended: 192 Mb
Memory is very important with Linux, especially if you're going to be
running it as a webserver. A Linux server can get by with very little
processing power, but it does need the RAM.
Linux doesn't care what type of RAM you've got. RDRAM, SDRAM
and DDR are the same to it. However, for the best performance, when
using Intel, get RDRAM (if your motherboard supports it of course). For
AMD Boards, DDR SDRAM is the way to go. RDRAM also takes more power,
be sure to get at least a quality 300W Power Supply.
There is a possibility of getting bad RAM however, which Linux
is very sensitive too. You know you've got bad RAM when you get a "Signal
11" Error. You can find the root causes of your Signal 11 Error by checking
this site.
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