Re: beginners question about building a desktop
- From: Aragorn <aragorn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 09:44:20 +0200
Rico wrote:
I am thinking of assembling a computer for debian linux. I was going
to use it for music composing, and coding, and various things. I was
hoping to load a 64bit system on it. I have not assembled a computer
before, though I have replaced drives, etc. I have installed linux
(debian, RedHat, ubuntu) many times before. I was thinking of buying the
following.:
Shuttle SG31G2
I can't make up the exact details of the chipsets used in that particular
barebone, but why don't you opt for one of their GNU/Linux-certified
barebones instead?
The */SD30G2/* is fully supported by Shuttle for use with GNU/Linux and can
even be bought pre-assembled with SuSE Enterprise Linux pre-installed.
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
That should be good enough for a 64-bit distribution.
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3320613AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $70
Seagate is good stuff.
Intel Q6600 Processor
LG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-
RAM 16X
DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache ATAPI / E-IDE Super
Multi DVD
Burner
I would personally recommend an SATA unit over an E-IDE unit. In addition
to SATA having a faster bus, you could then also disable the IDE controller
in the BIOS and free up some IRQs. ;-)
After I assemble this I hoping to hook up a floppy disk to it, and
then start the debian install from the floppy disks (I have the debian
floppy disks required).
You /could/ do that, but why not use a bootable CD/DVD? Just download
the /.iso/ file, check the /md5sums/ or /sha1sums/ - so that you can rule
out download corruption - burn it to a quality brand blank CD/DVD at low
speed - so that you can rule out burning errors - and then boot up from it.
I was hoping to get feedback on what people felt about the above,
especially people's criticisms as to my (beginners) choice of hardware.
Also:
Will this model of Shuttle work, will debian recognize all the
hardware?
As I wrote higher up, this is very difficult to ascertain without having
tested this myself. The type of barebone you are listing is not advertised
on Shuttle's website as validated for GNU/Linux, while they _do_ offer
barebones that are, as I've mentioned higher up as well.
Yet, there is a great chance that most if not all of the hardware will work.
Things that /could/ be problematic - again, I don't have all the data on
this configuration - would in that case be the wireless networking chipset
- if it's an Intel, Orinoco or Atheros chipset, it'll most certainly work.
I also don't know what kind of video chipset is used in these barebones. As
such, there might be a chance that you need to separately download a
proprietary videodriver in order to get hardware 3D support, but 2D will
never be a problem.
If all else fails and if you can live without the 3D acceleration, you can
get any video adapter to work in VESA mode.
Is the cooling sufficient?
That's pretty hard to say, but I reckon it will be, or they wouldn't be
selling it. :-)
As an extra precaution, you can always scout for a Zalman, CoolerMaster or
Thermaltake heatsink and extra fans, but of course, the more fans you have,
the higher the noise level will be. I don't like noisy fans either, but if
I have to choose between adequate cooling and lower noise, I always go for
adequate cooling.
Will I need any BIOS updates before the thing will work?
I don't think so. Most motherboards come with a recent-enough BIOS version.
Is the choice of IDE vs SATA for the DVD burner a wise one?
In my humble opinion, I would go for SATA, for the reasons I've stated
higher up.
Can it boot off of an IDE drive?
Yes, of course. They can all do that. :-)
Any sort of gotchas would help.
The only real /gotcha/ I see is that there is no way of knowing in advance
as to whether everything on the motherboard is fully supported for use with
the Linux kernel (while a certified Linux-compatible model does exist). It
would have been easier if you could have told us what chipsets the
motherboard uses. :-/
Another possible /gotcha/ is that you have to be careful not to zap the
motherboard, so make sure that you've earthed yourself while installing the
stuff inside that little chassis.
When applying heat-conductive contact paste on the processor before mounting
the heatsink, don't use too much of it and spread it out evenly with your
finger. Then make sure that you mount the heatsink tightly to the
processor, but without using too much force - you will bend the motherboard
and possibly rupture some of the solder or the thin electric pathways if
you do.
Lastly, a 64-bit distribution usually requires installing some libraries in
a 32-bit version (alongside their 64-bit siblings) in order to get some
plugins or codecs to work properly, mainly from proprietary software
developers who refuse to either open up the source code or develop 64-bit
versions of their software.
Normally however, your distribution should take care of this for you, but it
may be handy to remember that when upgrading certain parts of your
installation with newer packages.
Hope this was helpful... ;-)
--
*Aragorn*
(registered GNU/Linux user #223157)
.
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