On Thursday 30 July 2009, Frank D. wrote: > > On Wednesday 29 July 2009, Frank D. wrote: > >> Onboard video also doesn't stop you from getting > >> another video card. > > > > I've had motherboards in which it wasn't possible to disable the > > onboard video. It still allowed adding another videocard, but > > then created IRQ conflicts. > > IRQ conflicts? Can you please explain how and what the effects of > that were? I've also never seen a motherboard where it was > impossible to disable the onboard video.. regardless, I fail to see > how you could even have an IRQ conflict on a system that isn't 15 > years old.
You can. On some hardware there are particular slots that are locked to share an IRQ with onboard resources. Sometimes IRQ sharing works okay, sometimes it doesn't. Video is one area where that's definitely undesired. I've run into boards where there was only one slot available for adding a videocard that had to share an IRQ with onboard resources. > >> In what way is an nVidia 8 series GPU "troublesome," to support > >> under Linux? > > > > At the time Joe got the board that blew up the default kernel > > that came with Ubuntu didn't contain a driver necessary to get > > the board working under Linux. To install it, he would have had > > to know how to build an custom kernel [that contained the driver > > for it] using a *another* system and then how to either build a > > boot disk or a custom Ubuntu install CD. I consider neither of > > these things to be common knowledge. > > What driver? It was a chipset driver -- I believe for the northbridge. > The nVidia driver doesn't require a custom kernel, > only that you have agpgart if it's an AGP system. IIRC the missing driver wasn't for video. Remember that motherboard chipsets are also used for SATA, network support, etc, and driver support in the kernel for it is required. Even if driver support for the chip is available, the driver still needs updating for new hardware IDs for the driver to recognize the hardware. [For an example, have a look at the "alias" list from the output of '/sbin/modinfo e1000'] > AFAIK Ubuntu > kernels already export the needed symbols and have the pci_find > functions. Regardless, if he asked in the mailing list I know I'd > help him out with a config, even to the point of sending him a > configured or even built kernel/modules in a tarball.. I'm also > sure that I'm not the only one who would do it. Is that really that > troublesome? Yes. These problems still happen today -- yet name the last time someone asked for help with them on the mailing list. > Even if Ubuntu did lack the required kernel options I > hardly blame that on Linux in general. Right. This happens because the pipeline for new hardware support to show up in distros is about six months (at best). > >> What qualifies as a hefty CPU? Is an X2 5200+ Brisbane "hefty"? > > > > When I try to play 1080p on a single 2.8 GHz core it cannot keep > > up. > > A 2.8GHz AMD, or Pentium 4, or something else? It obvously doesn't matter -- regardless of what it was you'd tell me to replace it with something with more cores. > >> How old are the nVidia cards? I don't have any problem with the > >> 7-series, 185.14 is the newest driver IIRC, I just installed it. > > > > Tell me that again a couple of years from now. > > I seriously doubt I'll still be running an AGP board in a couple > years, won't be worth the power. That machine is DEFINITELY getting > a new motherboard sometime soon. Besides, the 6150 is HOW old > already anyway?? C'mon! It's 3 generations of nVidia tech old! There are boxes I support that are old enough that they cannot support newer Nvidia cards, but the people using them don't feel any need to replace the hardware. Based on your earlier comments, your answer to this is would be "throw it all away and buy new". There does come a point where that might be the best option, but that's for the owners of the hardware to decide. There's no need to preach that -- owners will replace hardware (if they're able) when they run into its limitations. When they do, that's when I _suggest_ replacing the hardware. I don't try to make other people's decisions for them. > I don't mean to sound excessively argumentative, I actually am at a > loss as to what you mean by some of your comments. Beyond that, I > do disagree on a few points. I hope this is coming across as a > friendly (and constructive?) conversation. It isn't -- in either sense. It's coming across as an attitude of hardware elitism. -- Chris -- Chris Knadle [email protected] _______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium Jul 1 - Linux High Performance Computing Aug 5 - TBD Sept 2 - Linux and HDTV
