Hi. This is my first message here so I would like to say hello to everyone
On 2013-08-22 12:38, Pete wrote:
> On 22/08/13 13:00, hampshire-request@??? wrote:
> > Re: [Hampshire] Recommendations sought for system upgrade
>
> On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 05:34:04PM +0100, Peter Alefounder wrote:
>
> > ?
>
> snip!
> ?
>
> > Is there a web site that lists boards that are good for Linux? Or,
> > can someone make a recommendation? So far, searching with Google has
> > done nothing but make me think that getting/building a computer that
> > runs Linux is becoming more difficult.
>
I will go to Intel Sandy/Ivy Bridge platform rather than AMD because of
AMD graphics driver issues (see below) and my private - good -
experience with Intel (not only processors, but also cheapsets). You can
wait until new Haswell processors (cheaper than currently available top
models) will be released on 1st of September.
NVIDIA for now (still, unfortunately) have much better support for their
graphics products for Linux than AMD. I have old GeForce in my private
laptop which is still supported in newest drivers while Radeon inside
work machine has lot of problems with modern distros. Same with desktop
cards, AFAIR Radeon 3000 series are already moved to legacy so you can
expect that newest 6000/7000 will not be supported too long. It seems
that NVIDIA card or Intel integrated solution (not very bad in modern
CPUs) will be more "future proof".
>
> There's an HCL on Linux Questions - that's probably where I'd start if I
> was looking for that kind of info.
>
> http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/
>
> Hi,
>
> In my (limited) experience the slightly older hardware should work
pretty much out-the-box, the problems occur when trying to use the
latest latest & greatest hardware! Graphics cards for example I have
found that they will work >(perhaps not at he highest possible
resolution) before installing the specific driver (then the resolution
is sorted out) so if you fear installing a system and having no monitor
output to work from, this has never happened to me (yet)!
It is not always true, great example are ATI/AMD graphics cards. For
many of old cards proprietary driver is not supported anymore while open
source driver is not always working as it should. But - yes - some of
very new hardware also have issues, fortunately solved quickly in many
cases.
> Checking the HCL (Hardware Compatibility List) is a good idea, but as
with most linux documentation, it is community driven, and we are all
bad at updating the docs, the fun is in the software and problem
solving! Not re-writing docs, so it may be a bit out of date!
It is true, it is better to check all family (motherboard chipset, GPU
etc) and - when you decided what to buy - check if there are any known
problems.
> I am in the middle of moving house at the mo, but I am almost certain
I have a old PCI graphics card (not sure about s-video) just dont ask me
to lay my hands on it now When I am sorted out I will look and if it
meets your needs you can have it!
>
> I can also recommend Novatech over the years they have been very
helpful, and although they do not officially support Linux (too many
distros to keep track of I was told once) they are very knowledgeable
and have never given me duff advise!
>
>That Portswood Computers price seems a bit on the high side to me, but
if you like the local aspect of having them on your doorstep might be
worth the few pounds extra! (smaller companies will always struggle to
match larger ones for price, but tend to be better on the service front)
Novatech can be considered local as well and seems to be much much
cheaper than Portswood Computers. I can also recommend Novatech although
I don't have too much experience with them, but lot of friend see them
as professionals.
--
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