sud_crow Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 (edited) HI all, Im thinking in assembling a _really_ low budget PC... so im looking at several integrated mainboards, the problem is that with all the generic stuff out in the open, is hard to know if it will work ok with Linux... do you have any experience or recommendations on this?? This is in what ive been thinking... I already searched google with no success so ***, please input something if you have had any expirience with any of this two motherboard or chipsets in Linux: * Mother ASUS A7V8X-MX http://www.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A7V8X-MX&langs=01 * Mother ASUS A7N8X-VM/400 http://www.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A7N8X-VM/400&langs=01 The two include audio/video/lan/sound and a 8x agp slot. So, what do you think? Is nForce2 up to VIAs KM400 compatibility? *** Here is a link to a totally FAKE compatibility test... http://www.linuxtested.com/results/asus_a7n8x-vm.html To name a few things: 1)The NorthBridge of this mobo is nForce2 IGP _not_ SPP 2) It has TWO Dimm sockets, _not_ three 3) It has THREE PCI slots, _not_ five... And you are supposed to pay :deal: to this people so they review the requested product... Anyway, we will leave this issue for another thread! Edited June 14, 2004 by sud_crow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mousematt Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 I've been using PC Chips Integrated boards for a few years. They are one of my favourite cheap and cheerful hardware suppliers. I have built a half dozen PCs with these boards and run Linux on them exclusively. The only thing that I have never got to work is the serial port on one older mainoard. It was a Socket 370 but on the same SiS 620 - PC CHIPS LMRT 810 chipset. I like them. I'd use them... although they are really small and can be a bit fiddly to work with, ie. cards fit but cover CD-Audio connector etc... I'd still buy one though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sud_crow Posted June 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2004 Thanks for the reply! So, no one else is using an integrated mainboard?? Come on, its not embarrassing or anything to say you have a chip mobo :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland Posted June 9, 2004 Report Share Posted June 9, 2004 You should get the chipset for all the integrated part: Northbridge, Southbridge, video, audio, and else, everything, and search on http://www.google.com/linux what is said about those components. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowator Posted June 9, 2004 Report Share Posted June 9, 2004 Thanks for the reply! So, no one else is using an integrated mainboard?? Come on, its not embarrassing or anything to say you have a chip mobo :) Yep it is.....(embnarssing) I got one fully integrated except NIC... Its just an old Celeron 266 tho.... The shuttles all more or less work but are not cheap and not without some messing on nforce. Also remember they might work for 10.0 but 10.1 and they might need rebuilding... Im not saying they will but for instance nfoce chipsets seem to have 'inverted' from 9.2 to 10.. that is those that did work well/easily no longer do and those that didnt now usually do! A previous shuttle now with someone else had problems with the serial ... UNTIL 10.0 and kernel 2.6 it wasnt fatal becuase I didnt need it.. but it mysteriously fixed itself ,....and even then the realtek NIC had a boot ROM that when enabled screwed up USB2 (only 2 not 1.1) ... no amount of messing in bios would let me fix that! My main hassle is sometimes its difficult to turn off the onboard stuff completely... you can disable it in bios but it can be reactivated by the kernel... All the machines Im really really happy with are not integrated.... I get annoyed having to rebuild kernels and apply patches etc. EVERY time I upgrade a version! If your building lots identical then it might be worth it but you probably dont save much... perhaps intergrated sound might be OK... but NIC's etc can be really annoying when they keep reactivating themselves or respond to being probed and a seperate NIC is only $10-15 so your potentially getitng a lot of pain for $10-15 Id rather find an old 2nd hand graphics card than use a built-in shared memory one. Even old MGA200's etc. ... 8MB cards .... Id prefer to spend $250 and have something upgradable than $200 and something that your stuck with... if you add the cost of keyb/mous and monitor/speakers etc. even the most budget its not a big difference. The only time I do use integrated is on the shuttles where its a question of size not cost .. Ive found over the years being cheap on intergrated componenets can often cost more in the long run as you buy things that are incompatible with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sud_crow Posted June 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 hi! Thanks for the input... I should comment on some facts: Ive been reading some comments i found in Google, but i wanted to see if there were any from people around the board. now some details: 1st, I already have a monitor. keyboard and mice, ohh and case. So there is no extra cost. Thats a good thing coz i might be able to extend the limit a bit. 2nd, Ive found that having something _upgradeable_ its not worth it (at least not for that particular "feature"), technology advances much more faster than my savings for new components, and i always end with an un-upgradable PC due to older hardware being expensive or unavailable (actual one: P3 500@733mhz, 256mb, 15+20gb HDDs, geforce2mx)... 3rd, Ive no prior experience with integrated mainboards and Linux, but i do with Windows and i really didnt had such a bad one, although it were other times and the only integrated feature was Sound and Video... 4th, Today integrated mainboard are _a lot more integrated_ than before, they include from modems, video, ethernet, sound and maybe something else im forgeting... so i dont think i can find one without an integrated ethernet or modem unless i go with an nForce mobo, which are pretty expensive i should add, as they include geForce4mx as video... but this is good inexpensive video card, so i might prefer this to buying a $80 Radeon 9200 and spend a little extra on a modem or ethernet card ( i should add that i have Dial-Up and a LAN with a P133 windows pc) Well, i guess that all the points i wanted to make clear... anyway, it seems there arent much people using cheap mobos with Linux around here... i will post any good info i find googling... Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowator Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 points to consider... my servers are OLD PCs ... recycled and sometimes you find stuff might stop being supported. My laptop video has never been supported with 3D or v4l for instance (i know its a laptop but its the same principle) so on your 2nd point... if you get these integrated boards with video etc you might find that in 5 years when you wanna use it as an email server a component is no longer supported. also as opposed to upgrading the actual mainboard which i agree is becoming less useful what Ive done is reuse the cards more. I still have a old MGA400 which is still a great card today for anything but games... its almost a reverse upgrade situation for me now where I buy a new board and often use older components 100Mbit NICs are still 100Mbit etc. anything built into the board is thrown away when you get a new board whereas if you can take stuff off it can be reused, traded, swapped etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 All in ones are a nightmare. I no longer warrant them if someone wants me to use one. I have had good recent experience with Asrock. Shuttle would be a close second. Pcchips....AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! B) (Me running from the room, screaming!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sud_crow Posted June 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 Hi, well i found ZERO googling... all the cheap mobos links lead to useless information... im asking at LinuxQuestions to see if someone there can provide some info, i also chequed the compatibility list there, and its pretty new so there is not much. Im in a hurry right now, so i will reply Ixthusdan now and leave place gowators reply on hold! Ixthusdan your answer was... "Enlightening" :) :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonMage Posted June 13, 2004 Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 Well.. I have to agree with Ix that All in ones are nightmares. But they make good office computers if you have good quality all in one motherboards. Anyway, I used to have a shuttle all in one motherboard (forgot the name, MS21N I think) that has a SIS 730s chipset in it (built in video, nic, sound, and AMR slot for modem). With enough RAM (256 MB SDRAM), I was able to run Mandrake 9.1 perfectly on that board. The only problem I have is finding a modem for that is linux compatible but using the AMR slot instead of the PCI slot. I was able to use PCTEL AMR modem and have it running in linux, but I guess I was lucky. I gave that computer away to my brother before going home to Indonesia and last I heard, he installed Windows XP in that computer. Oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sud_crow Posted June 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 (edited) [..] he installed Windows XP in that computer. Oh well. ! yeah i always thought they where a nightmare, but well... like everything, when thats the way to go, then... the faster the better :) Anyway, i have updated the first post to reflect my current situation, so i wont say it twice writing it here. Breafly, the thing is between two motherboards, Asus A7N8X-VM/400 which costs 105 bucks and Asus A7V8X-MX at 77 bucks, the first with AMDs nForce2 and the later with VIAs KM400 chipsets. Lets hear what people have to say about this two... hopefully it will bring some comments on compatibility, being this whats more important to me. Edited June 14, 2004 by sud_crow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoXP Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 I have a nForce MoBo, the magnificent Abit NF7-SL (with integrated Sound and Lan). I have ran ML from 9.0 - 10.1 cooker with it, as of ML 10.0 Community everything workes out of the box (only the APIC-thing). If you prefer ML 9.0 - 9.2, check this board for some guidelines on how to get the onboard NIC to work. I would go for the nForce-chipset! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 (edited) for the cheap ASUS A7V8X-MX, the keywords to search are: try A7V8X-MX then try VIA KM400 VIA VT8235 CE VIA UniChrome Graphics ADI AD1980 VIA VT6103 you must find them on Google/Linux, it may give you a good idea of the potential problems trying just to find "VT8235" I found that http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/history/179103 there is many other that must reply your questions. good luck Edited June 15, 2004 by roland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowator Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Hi, well i found ZERO googling... all the cheap mobos links lead to useless information... im asking at LinuxQuestions to see if someone there can provide some info, i also chequed the compatibility list there, and its pretty new so there is not much. Im in a hurry right now, so i will reply Ixthusdan now and leave place gowators reply on hold! Ixthusdan your answer was... "Enlightening" :) :lol: Im waiting :D Im sure you have your reasons, just remember things like if the graphics is onboard and gets damaged (like the cable pulls on it) then you end up adding an extra board. Ive had bad experiences with the all-in-ones becuase often they are super-budget and things like the mouse/keyb connectors (PS2) or the video connector (DSUB 15) are soldered directly onto the board..... this means they get stressed easily and the time you acidentally pull the monitor cable or something ends up damaging the connecter. I also had problems turning stuff off in bios, that is you turn it off but its still reported on a lspci. My email server is an old P266 and it hasnt got much RAM to start off but the minimum i can get the onboard graphics to use is 8MB and I cant actually switch it off! even if I add a PCI card I still have to manually write the XF86config and specify the busid of the card! There are a couple of posts on here right now with people with that problem! dragonmage says it well i think, if you were buying 100 for an office its worth it but just a single your not saving that much. Its funny but like I said in my last post the upgrade situation seems to have completely changed... now I view the mobo as disposable and the other parts are recycled..... As it happens i have 2 all-in-ones both shuttles but as opposed to the price this is for the space saving... good quality all-in-ones are not really much cheaper IMHO.... I found the nforce stuff completely switched from 9.2(2.4) to 10(2.6) ...so spending a lot of time now might not be valid in the future ?? anyway good luck! Im sure youll report your success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 The enlightenment is gone!!!! Gowator has listed many valid reasons why all in ones are poor hardware. Even if you leave the computer alone on the inside, simply connecting a mouse and keyboard can lead you to problems termed "abuse" by the various manufacturers. I have found that a low cost board with low cost cards is actually more reliable than saving a few bucks on an all in one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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