despite keybd issue on first board, and keybd light issue on second mb, the mb was quite stable, and loaded most distros w/ o a problem, realtek 8100C lan used 8139 driver ok, no audio. used mostly as a distributed computing platform, and works quite well in that respect- though i wouldn't feel right in recommending it, as there are too many problems that reflect a poor QC program. what do you expect from a mb that is basically used in e- machines (keeps the e- machines rep going strong?). no overclocking w/ fsb jumper setting.

good linux compatability, except for sound, keybd issues are the reason to drop it's rating, as the mb really should be avoided (unless they'll take $10/mb for a dc farm- has an integrated boot rom that is selectable in bios- haven't used it yet).

NOTE: seeing that my motherboard entry/ description is more of a review than a list of features- i apologize. rear connectors are: 4X usb2.0, integrated video connector (km266m), serial, and parallel connectors, realtek 8100BL integrated lan connector, audio connectors-
specs:
http://www.fica.com/site/html/products/mb/detail.asp?cat_id=240000049&C_ID=240000484

Compaq Presario SW4020WM. This ships with the FIC AM37 motherboard, an Agere Winmodem, and a CD +/-RW. I did not test the modem or the CD burner. The motherboard is reviewed elsewhere on this forum.

Tested only Knoppix 3.6 using kernels 2.4.27 and 2.6.7.

Did not test sound, USB, LPT1, floppy, modem.

Knoppix booted in both kernels, however the video autodetection was flakey and I had to force it to use 75Hz if I wanted 1024x768 mode. Knoppix's framebuffer option also worked well. See the Knoppix cheatcodes document on the CD for instructions on setting video modes.

The network chipset, presumably a Realtek RTL8100BL according to the motherboard documentation, automatically loads the 8139too kernel driver. This driver DOES NOT WORK on my computer. I will investigate using the older 8139 driver later.

The bottom line:
With a replacement network card and manual tweaking for video, this machine should work fine. Again though, audio and peripherals were NOTE tested.

Web sites:
Compaq/HP: http://www.hp.com
FIC: http://www.fic.com.tw