FC3 an a new system

[Jonathan Berry]

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 10:13:59 -0600, apjaworski at mmm.com
<apjaworski at mmm.com> wrote:
> Hello there,
> 
> I am about to get a new system and I have a couple of simple questions
> about hardware compatibility.
> 
> 1.  I am thinking about getting an ASUS K8N board with Athlon 64 processor.
> Do I have to install FC3 x86_64 or can I install 32bit FC3.  If I can do
> both, which one is better, especially if I want to compile and run some
> 32bit applications.

You can install either or even dual boot both if you want :).  I run
x86_64, and it runs quite well on an nForce3 based laptop.  The 64-bit
OS can run 32-bit programs just fine.  If you want to compile
programs, you can probably compile them just fine in 64-bit.  If you
really want 32-bit programs, you can do that.  I think just pass -m32
to gcc, or specify a 32-bit arch, or use the 32-bit compiler.  You
have to be careful about mixing 32-bit plugins and 64-bit programs as
it won't work.  As Rob said, you need a 32-bit browser to use Java VM
or Flash plugin at the moment.  64-bit versions will be out in due
time, though.  In summary, go with x86_64, and if you really want a
32-bit only environment, dual boot with the i386 version.  You should
have plenty of disk space, right?

> 2.  I am thinking about getting just two SATA HDs.  The motherboard has
> Sil3114 controller.  Will FC3 installer recognize the disks and let me
> install the system?

Sorry, no clue.  There is some chatter on the list about SATA, but I
don't have such hardware so I don't pay much attention to it.

> 3.  Will I be able to use the Realtek ALC850 audio controller or should I
> buy a separate sound card (I was thinking about getting an Audigy card).

This should probably work, though Audigy cards are very nice.  Built
in audio works fine on my laptop.  It has an nForce3 150 motherboard,
so I don't know if it is the same sound or not.  You can always see if
it works, and if not get the Audigy later.  Most modern hardware that
isn't too exotic seems to work just fine.

> 4. Similar things with the built-in gigabit LAN.  I am not even sure what
> that is - it says "Chipset built-in Gigabit MAC with external Marvell PHY
> supporting 10/100/1000 BASE-T Ethernet" in the specs.

I think the PHY is just a name Marvell has come up with.  As I said
above, probably works, especially given Rob's comments.

> Any thoughts and other recommendations are welcome.

Looks like a nice setup.  I really like my Athlon 64 and FC3 has some
of the best support for x86_64 from what I have heard.  You might
check out the AMD64 list.  It has less trafic and you might get some
better responses there:
https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/amd64-list

What kind of graphics card are you going with?  If you want 3D, you
probably ought to go with an nVidia card.  I've been very pleased with
the Linux support for my GeForce MX 440s.  Of course, if you want
something more current, go for the later FX series (5600 or 5700 or
more).  I have a 5200 at work and my MX 440 does better in the
benchmarks (except for the fact that the 5200 supports some of the
newer features).  ATI just does not have good linux support for their
3D cards at the moment from what I hear.

> Thanks in advance for your time,
> 
> Andy

Jonathan