Which motherboard should I buy (or AVOID) for 11.2?

English Hardware
#1

I want to build a new desktop computer, specifically for OpenSuse. I have the 11.2 DVD from the latest Linux Mag (I bought it for the DVD). I will use my current 500GB and DVD drives.

I want to use an AMD processor. Beyond that, I just want to build the fastest system that I can afford. That may or may not be the top, but maybe a tier below that.

Looking at the compatibility list, it seems that the only mainboards proven to work are older and slower ones.

Here is everyone’s chance to tell me what I need to buy (and suggest vendors). I don’t need it for games, but want to run video, etc., and I intend to use it for several years (my current HP is from 2006).

Once I have the new system working, my current machine will then revert to Windoze for the couple of those apps that I still need to use.

#2

Many ATI chipsets are affected by the black screen syndrom at the moment. Also you should avoid AMD mb with Nvidia GF8200 graphic chip onboard. This one is NOT supported at all by the nv driver. It should work however as soon as you install the nvidia driver.

#3

I bought a Gigabyte mobo with an NVidia chipset and an onboard NVidia GeForce 6100 graphics. I use an AMD Athlon 64x2 dual-core processor and couldn’t be happier. Onboard sound works fine, too, as does the onboard NIC. I have 4 Gig of RAM and run Windows XP in VirtualBox without problems (I can run Opensuse 11.1 and XP simultaneously with no noticeable loss of performance.)

(Of course, performance on XP is entirely subjective, so YMMV.)

:slight_smile:

I threw away the box (heh), so I can’t give you the exact model number of the mobo, but if you need the info, I can dig for it.

#4

You’re right, we’ve seen a LOT of problems with ATI here in the forum lately. I’d recommend that the orginal poster stay clear of ATI as well.

#5

Nonsense.
I have an Ati 790FX mainboard with a Radeon 4870 and Phenom X4, and it’s working perfectly fine :slight_smile:

#6

WHICH mainboard, make and model?

#7

Ah, but that’s because the Shogun is known to be both thoughtful and bold, calculating and subtle. A mere motherboard couldn’t possibly thwart you. :slight_smile:

You’re one of the few who’ve had no trouble with ATI. I wish you nothing but happiness, but post back here after a few kernel updates …

#8

Any EFI Motherboard :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

For the rest should be ok, even ATI, as their drivers work perfectly (maybe not with KDE, but that’s a KDE problem, not ATI).

#9

Dfi LanParty DK 790 fx-b.

#10

This one seems a bit hard to find (out of stock issues), but I’ll try.

I’m trying to stay under $300, $250 if possible. I’m thinking of the AMD Phenom™ II X2 550 for a CPU.

What about any of the boards found at this link?

Fry’s Electronics |

#11

On Thu February 11 2010 09:56 pm, WantOS2Back wrote:

>
> I want to build a new desktop computer, specifically for OpenSuse. I
> have the 11.2 DVD from the latest Linux Mag (I bought it for the DVD).
> I will use my current 500GB and DVD drives.
>
> I want to use an AMD processor. Beyond that, I just want to build the
> fastest system that I can afford. That may or may not be the top, but
> maybe a tier below that.
>
> Looking at the compatibility list, it seems that the only mainboards
> proven to work are older and slower ones.
>
> Here is everyone’s chance to tell me what I need to buy (and suggest
> vendors). I don’t need it for games, but want to run video, etc., and I
> intend to use it for several years (my current HP is from 2006).
>
> Once I have the new system working, my current machine will then revert
> to Windoze for the couple of those apps that I still need to use.
>
>
WantOS2Back;

Last November I built a OpenSuSE 11.2 system based on the ASRock GXH/128M
(AM2+). It claims to be AM3 ready, but I used an AM2+ CPU. It is running as
a headless server so I can not give you much information on the built in AMD
Radeon HD3200 graphics card, except it did work with the the default drivers.
Never even tried sound. It was cheap (circa $70 US)and so far is running
well.

P. V.
“We’re all in this together, I’m pulling for you.” Red Green

#12

What about a ATI Radeon HD 4200 chipset?
Gigabyte MA785GMT-US2H Motherboard

#13

Problem with ATI is, that they might declare your card as a “legacy” one without you knowing. I have 2 PC’s with older ATI cards, no 3D, black screens etc. Since I had a couple of NVIDIA GT8400’s around I replaced the ATI’s.

#14

Do not advice people to buy G86 based chipsets. G86’s have been known to have overheating problems, specially on the low end versions such as 8400.

Nvidia allocated already over 300 million $US for this situation (you can check this info on their quarterly reports). As if you search for Google “G86 overheating” or in Dell/HP sites for instance, there is a lot of information regarding this issue, including copper pan mods, etc etc etc…

I don’t really know what is all the hate towards ATI, it outperforms nvidia, their drivers work great, and so far they have some of the finest thermal designs I’ve seen… What could you want more from a GPU ?!

#15

I’ve bought an Intel DG43GT Motherboard and it runs perfectly with OS 11.2 64-Bit.
Even a serial and an parallel port is available, together with 6 USB, 4 Sata, Ide, Firewire and Intel Graphic.

#16

The custom built PC I purchased in late spring last year has an Asus P6T Deluxe V2 motherboard, and it works well with openSUSE Linux thus far. I put an Intel Core i7 920 CPU, 6GB of RAM and a nVidia GTX 260 graphic card in it. I find it works well for editing videos with KDEnlive, and also works fast when rendering videos (both of which I do a lot).

The Asus P6T Deluxe V2 motherboard actually has a version of Linux on the motherboard, in part in firmware. While I do not use that capability, it did give me confidence of good Linux compatibility in this motherboard, and thus far that has proved to be true.

Despite my being a nVidia fan, I take the observations about poor quality/reliability in some nVidia cards very serious. So much that the last laptop I purchased was selected by me to have ATI graphic hardware. But for a desktop PC, if one has an extra video card lying around, one can IMHO take a bit more of a risk with a nVidia graphic card, with the philosophy that if the card fails, one can swap it out with the functional backup, and then return the broken card to the shop for a replacement.

#17

Yes, that overheating issue was certainly nasty, and even more nasty was how nVidia dealt with it, claiming that the Oems and even the customers were solely to blame for it, even if the fault was all theirs:
Nvidia plays the meltdown blame game - The Inquirer

The reason for for the heat problems (among other things) is nVidia’s seriously messed-up chip design:
Why nvidia’s chips are defective - The Inquirer

Straight to the point on all of it. Plus Ati isn’t an arrogant, backstabbing company like nVidia whose whole marketing is based on impudent lies and fake cards for presentations, even if they have nothing in their hands.
Yet still some seriously biased hardcore fans continue to slam Ati without any good reason.

#18

Note that for my recently purchased laptop (Dell Studio 1537 - purchased 15 months ago) I deliberately purchased ATI hardware (because of concerns wrt nVidia graphic card quality) … but having typed that, I think the main reason many Linux users are unhappy with ATI is their graphic drivers are either typically lagging nVidia drivers when a new Linux release comes out, or in some cases ATI drivers are simply bad (note I say some, but NOT all cases).

Case in point … it was only last week that the ATI drivers were formally updated for openSUSE-11.2 … and I am now finally going to give serious consideration to updating our family laptop from openSUSE-11.1 to 11.2. This is about 4 months after 11.2 was released, and many many more months after the 11.2 milestone cycle was in process. Many Linux users (and indeed many openSUSE users) find that “lag” from when a change is made to Linux (where it be a new kernel, new xorg, or new distribution version), to when a new ATI driver comes out, to be upsetting and for them unacceptable.

Somehow, nVidia appear to be able to put their drivers out quicker.

Another nice thing about nVidia, is they have implemented VDPAU for Linux, which is the equivalent of pure video in MS-Windows. This gives some old hardware some great capabilities with nVidia graphics (in terms of playing back High Definition Videos).

ATI have not implemented (and supported) an AVIVO equivalent for Linux. In fact, speaking of older hardware and graphic manufacturer support, ATI have dropped support for older hardware that they call “legacy hardware”. I think it fair to say that vVidia are still doing a substantially better job of supporting such “legacy hardware” than ATI. So if one is going to purchase new graphic hardware, it sends a message that one will get better longer term support from nVidia (for drivers) than one will get from ATI.

Still, the poor quality of nVidia hardware, with the hardware failures that have “bitten” a number of people that I know, is not something to be underestimated, nor under stated, … nVidia have had SERIOUS quality problems.

… and hence from my perspective, there are PROS and CONS on both sides of the ATI vs nVidia question, and I think users on both sides have some very good points.