Re: [gentoo-user] Motherboard support?

[Nilesh Govindarajan <contact@nileshgr.com>]

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