On 09/29/2011 08:18 AM, Dale wrote: > Nilesh Govindarajan wrote: >> On Thu 29 Sep 2011 06:42:42 AM IST, Nilesh Govindarajan wrote: >>> >>> That's debian HCL, what about Gentoo? We compile the kernel ourselves >>> man. >>> It would be better if we don't use debian/Ubuntu HCL to decide HW for >>> other distros, they're most popular ones and have lot of support from >>> hardware manufacturers, hence good support for hardware using >>> propreitary drivers which is seldom present in other distros. >>> >> I just checked that HCL: >> http://kmuto.jp/debian/hcl/Giga-byte/GA-880GM-USB3 >> It seems things are supported since linux-2.6.25, we're now using 3.0.4 >> and above. Should be OK right? >> > > As a general rule, hardware support is in the kernel. It shouldn't > matter much whether it is Gentoo, Redhat, Debian or any other distro. > It just matters that the kernel supports the hardware. I would imagine > that anything listed there as working is supported by Linux with a up to > date kernel. It all comes down to the kernel. By the way, the kernel > tested against is listed in the top right hand corner if I recall > correctly. You seem to have noticed that too. If the mobo is a new > design or new chipset, try to get at least that version of kernel. >
I know that it is actually in the kernel, but some companies like Nvidia package propreitary drivers only for Ubuntu/Debian, so it at times makes sense to check it out in detail. I have had lot of fights over this point on twitter with friends, in fact it resulted in myself getting blocked (and unblocked later hehe). > If it shows things are working for the mobo you are checking on, it > should work fine. I think the 880 chipset has been out a while so it > should be really stable by now. I seem to recall it was out when I > bought my new setup but was still getting worked on for drivers. > > By the way, it is always somewhat wise to buy things that have been out > for a while. If you are building a spare or something to play with, > then newer stuff is fine. I say this because some very new hardware may > not have all the kinks worked out. Unless you really really need the > latest and greatest, pick a slightly older setup. When I picked mine, > it was about a year old. That is usually plenty of time to let the > drivers stabilize. It can also save you some money too. > > Now to be nosy, how many cores and how much ram you planning to put in > this new rig? I have a 4 core 3.2Ghz CPU with 16Gbs of ram. Compared > to my older AMD 2500+ with 2Gbs of ram, the new rig is super fast. My > old rig was named smoker because at the time it was built, it was > smoking. My new rig is named fireball. I guess lightening will be > next. After that, someone will just have to bury me. Not much is > faster than lightening. lol > > Dale > > :-) :-) > > P. S. If you get your things selected and want someone to double check, > I'd be glad too. I posted mine on here to make sure I hadn't missed > anything. The mobo, CPU and ram are the most essential things that have > to be right. You have some wobble room on the rest. Also, Gigabyte has > a list of supported ram and CPUs on their website. That comes in handy. > Quad Core 3.2 Ghz with 16 GB of RAM that's big piece man. Well as I said earlier, I'm thinking of that 1075T thing and may be 4-8 GB of RAM (depends on cost, because I've to get myself a 22 or 24 inch LCD as well), but since bulldozers are going to be launched on 12th October, I'll prefer to wait, they have tons of new virtualization-related features. Will save me from installing windows directly onto the machine to play games (I usually don't, but after getting such a powerful machine, may be) and troubling it for no reason with that piece of bullshit. -- Nilesh Govindarajan http://nileshgr.com
