Dear L-M crew: I'm putting together a computer based very much around the recommendations from the Thompsan's over at www.hardwareguys.com. I've built several computer before, but have come to trust their picks a lot over the last few months and I'm generally confident that anything they suggest would be Linux-ready, but I wanted to check with you all first to see if there was anything I should be worried about before I go busting out my debit card. Here's the system (all prices include shipping):
Initial System: (~September 2002) $128 Antec SX840 Workstation Tower $56 AMD Duron ~1.2 MHz processor (maybe faster if prices drop) $54 ECS K7S5A 1.x or 3.x motherboard - SiS 735 Chipset - AC '97 Audio - Onboard ethernet $127 516 MB PC2100 CL2.5 DDR-SDRAM DIMM (single stick) $65 ATI Radeon 7500 64MB video card (with DVI support for my FSB) $78 Seagate Barracuda ATA IV 7200 RPM 40.0 GB IDE hard drive $45 Toshiba SD-M1612 DVD/CD-ROM drive $10 TEAC FD-235F floppy drive $102 APC Back-UPS Office 500 $84 Logitech Cordless Keyboard & Mouse (optical) $620 Hitachi CMLSXWB700+ 17" FPD Monitor Total Cost: ~$1350 (and all on newegg.com... all the best prices in one place, it was crazy... let me know if there are better deals but this is what pricewatch & pricescan yielded) First Upgrade: (~January 2003) ~$140 Plextor 16/10/40A CD-RW drive ~$70 Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card (up to 5.1 compatible) ~$150 Altec Lansing ATP4 speakers (4.1 system) Upgrade Cost #1: ~$370 Second Upgrade: (~Summer 2004) $??? AMD Athlon XP ~2.2 GHz processor $??? 516 MB PC2100 CL2.5 DDR-SDRAM DIMM Upgrade Cost #2: <$150 (I'll buy whatever speed XP keeps the cost in that range) Total System Cost: $1750-$2000 So that's what I'm looking at, a middle-term system that's highly upgradable and that should tide me over for about four years. Okay, my first and most obvious question is: are there any configuration nightmares / all-out compatibility conflicts here? For example, AC '97 audio was (is) an absolute MONSTER to configure on my ABIT VH6-II P3 system, and while I'm all about participating in the learning curve sometimes just for the sake of learning the hard way, I absolutely refuse to put up with that whole mess again. I'll be upgrading to a decent soundcard pretty soon so the AC '97 isn't so much of an issue to me, but that's the kind of feedback I'm looking for. Of course I'd also appreciate it if you let me in on personal experiences like if your power supply exploded and killed your pet hampster. My biggest compatibility concerns are the FPD monitor (is DVI output even supported in Linux?), the wireless input devices (my IBM wireless works fine, but it's slow waking up and it has to be pointed right directly at the base station-- not Mandrake's fault of course but I'm equally concerned about the hardware itself so feel free to share your rants. Last but certainly not least I'm a little uncomfortable with the Duron. It won't be in there for long, I figure once AMD drops the "Hammer" series this December Athlon prices will crash and I can upgrade this to a high-end XP and double the RAM for under $150 within 18 months. Still, how do Duron's perform? Do they hold up in Linux? It's going to be a Linux-only system so that's all that matters to me. Alright, I've wasted enough of your time for one evening. I'll give a quick synopsis of what kind of feedback I'm looking for then I'm out. Peace. 1. Are there any items that are patently incompatible with Linux, and L-M in particular? 2. Are there any items that are a hassle to negotiate with Linux, and L-M in particular? 3. Is my 17" flat panel display DVI-connector monitor supported by Linux, and L-M in particular? 4. Does the Duron run okay, particulary under Linux & L-M? 5. Can I get these parts cheaper by shopping around? Literally every single component was cheaper on newegg.com than on any other site, and I scanned half a dozen personal favorites as well as priceline and pricewatch with no reliable competition. Let me know if I'm missing something. I have links to product information and specs for every single item, but I couldn't find a way to do it without either using html or just making the email look (even more) hideous and jumbled. Thanks for any help you can provide, and if you're interested in product links let me know. Thanks much, Isaac
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