Best chipset and socket a mobo for Slackware
 

I put this in the hardware forum but I wanted to know what Slackware users in particular though so I'm putting it here as well. I thought I would ask folks whether they thought one should be primarly considering via or nvidia chipsets when buying a new board and what socket A board is best for Linux.

I noticed on the via sight that they are making the sorce code for some drivers fully availible which is certianly a plus in their direction.

I have been using an MSI k7n2 wich does not have all the best best Linux driver availability and performance. But of course I was just using Widows when I bought that. This time I'm buying with Linux in mind.

What do you all think out there?

I'm sure my hardware is out-of-date by today's standards, but it works great, is affordable... and with Slackware it's super fast. I bought it all with Linux in mind. Haven't tried an nvidia chipset, but have used many boards with via chipsets and they all work great. Made the mistake of using an ASRock mobo with an integrated sis chipset and hated it. Ended up adding my own video card and soundcard to make it work decently, then noticed it didn't even have a serial port for an external modem.

In my limited experience, Shuttle and PC-chips make high-quality products.

HTH,
Siri Amrit

ahyup; check tyan mobo site. they support linux (some what). while there(tyan) inquire with ur needs to them for they may help complete ur quest. have
found always best to ask for help straight from the horses mouth. can not
get better advice than that! FROM MFG.

JW; thank you for xfer of thread. you are best!

Thanks, I've heard many general reccomendations to Tyan. I'm going to take a look.

Well that must be very limited. . .

While Shuttle is ok. . . infact, better then the average. . .

To say PC-chips is 'high-quality' is very odd. . . PC-chips is a 'value' company, and to be quite honest: As a computer tech for a small company, the only board failures I have had to deal with were made by ECS, ASRock, and PC-chips. . . all three of which, I would never build a system with for my personal use.

Mind you, some of their offerings are ok. . . but they are 'value' companys and their boards really show that sometimes.

I stick with MSI for general computing. .. office apps, and such. . . (and only with via chipsets)
Tyan for workstations. .. a bit costly, but well worth it in the end.

One good word of advice I can give you is stay away from SiS chipsets. . . even if the motherboard producer is a good make.

Oh and if you are into games.. get an nVidia based card. ..
I love ATi, I really do, I own a few ATi cards... but their linux drivers are lacking. . .

If you are looking for absolute QUALITY, start your motherboard search here:

http://www.intel.com/products/browse..._motherboards&

I had a feeling that ATI video drivers were not up to snuff.

So why do you say only VIA chipsets slackMeUp? I was shying away from MSI a bit but only Lyan, from what I can see, only offers any real Linux support. SO it probably doesn't make a difference. And most of my issues with the MSI boards have seemed to be around the nforce chipset.

Now as for Tyan and Intel, I want to stick with AMD socket A processors. I'm building on a budget, it all has to stay under $500, and the XP line really seems to give the most performance for the money. Tyan doesn't seem to make any regular boards for them.

I have an nForce2 chipset motherboard from EPoX, and I couldn't be happier with it. nVidia drivers for Linux seem to be well developed. I know some people have problems, but that's how it goes with everything. If you're into games, I recommend an nForce chipset with an accompanying AMD processor. I know the AMD and Intel camps are divided hardcore, but almost all reviews turn out that AMD chips are simply faster, and the nForce chipset is superb for gaming.\\

EDIT - EPoX also has excellent BIOS on their boards, and highly support overclocking features.

slackmeup & makaelin; thank you both with that heads-up advice. even though research everything before planning a rebuild/build(new)
any information is premium value. Again Thank
You!

tigerflag; careful with that cat`s fur on kybd, it may cause an ESD. take time to clean it out. wipe with damp cloth to remove fur then air dust.

asus has always been good to me

Asus IMO are one of the high end quality motherboards. Mine works like a charm now, took a while to figure out how to set it up though.

Very good for overclocking too.

My recommendation? Asus A7N8X Delux (or X, or the higher end model with digital sound). Make sure to use 2 sticks or ram, and sync them with the CPU to get the best performance.

I have owned 2 Asus mobos in my life and that will be it. I had problems with the first one, sent it back and got the second one and the problems were worse. No thanks. I have 3 boxes at home. Two of which are running linux only and one dual booting Win2000 and FC1. The 2 with linux on em are running on Abit mobos and the one dual booting is on a Soyo. I have had absolutely no issues with both boards and would highly recommend either company.

I've had good success with MSI boards, both Via and Nforce chipsets. I had bad luck with an Aopen board - leaking capacitors, which was fairly common a few years ago.