"Linux" motherboard

[Anton Markov]

phil wrote:
> I've been trying to research Linux compatibility with respect to parts 
> for a new machine I want to buy.  I discovered the following story from 
> the past July about Asus wanting nothing to do with open source systems 

I wonder if that's why they provide their own open-source drivers for 
the sound and network chipsets for many of their motherobard. :)

> <http://www.mozillaquest.com/Linux04/Asus_Sucks_Story-01.html> even 
> though *most* of their features do work on Linux...and the ones with 
> problems can be worked around fairly cheaply.
All the real features of my board work correctly, except for custom boot 
logos, "Instant Music" and other crap. I find that Asus boards do a lot 
of things in hardware, including detecting USB storage devices and 
(optionally) emulating them as floppies (but I've never had a problem 
with the Linux usb-storage driver).

The only thing I could complain about is lack of ACPI suspend (S1, S3), 
but that is really a kernel, not an Asus problem (I did get it working 
once with a -mm kernel).

The chipset is very important too. Intel and VIA -based boards are 
well-supported under Linux. I've heard problems about Promise 
(pseudo-)hardware RAID controllers (who needs them anyways?).

STAY AWAY from ATI chipsets, especially if you hope to use the on-board 
video; I hear they are nothing but trouble.

I haven't had experience with the AMD/NVidia combos from Asus, but I'll 
get a chance to play with one soon, so I'll add to this thread.

> 
> Since it would be nice to support those who respect the community, does 
> anyone know if any of the motherboard manufacturers *do* support Linux 
> explicitly?

That's a matter of principle I guess. I would look first at the quality 
of their components and their reputation, and then at the testimony of 
some third-party OEM vendor who are looking for someone to blame for 
their problems. I would like to know if _any other_ motherboard 
manufacturer "supports" GNU/Linux according to the definition in that 
article.

For more general info, look in the archives for a thread about a month 
ago on hardware compatability and stuff.

-- 
Anton Markov <("anton" + "@" + "truxtar" + "." + "com")>

GnuPG Key fingerprint =
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*** LINUX - MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU! ***
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