Compatibility check for Linux custom build

[Skygee]

I'm doing a build to run legacy Linux distros using kernels 2.4.31 (DSL) to 2.6.29.6, and wish to check compatibility of possible components.

My parts list still has some holes that need filling, such as the video capture card, so user recommendations are needed. Some other components (such as the NIC) I'm deadlocked between two or more models and welcome tiebreaker assistance. Also, warnings of incompatibilities are welcomed. So on to the list:


CONSOLE- Requirements:full-size tower;at least eight 5.25" external bays;seven expansion slots...ports:2eSATA, 2 firewire, 8 USB2.0, & headphones jack. Would like one 3.5 external bay. Prefer construction of steel frame & aluminum panels, but will settle for all steel or all aluminum. Would like to make PC quiet. Looking at:
Cooler master STC-TO1-UWK
" " RC-810-SKN1
Thermaltake VA8003BWS
Xigmatek CCC-HSA0DS-U01
Antec Twelve Hundred

CASE FANS-
Enermax Marathon Enlobal UC-12EB
Noctua NF-F12 120mm

*CPU-
Phenom II X6 1055T (95W)

CPU FAN-
Noctua NH-D14
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
Zalman CNPS1OX

PSU- Various power calculators say I need 650 to 675W, but I'm wanting a bit more. Choices are:
Seasonic 760W 80Plus Platinum SS-760XP2
Corsair TX750
Kingwin LZP-750
Corsair AX-760

MOTHERBOARD- in order of preference:
GA-MA770-UD3
GA-MA770T-UD3
GA-770T-UD3P
GA-770TA-UD3
GA-770T-USB3

MEMORY- Depends on board chosen, but I want the high end sort, and to fill all DIMM sockets...if anyone wants to recommend memory modules for the five boards above, please do!

NIC CARD- in order of preference:
DGE-528T
Intel EXPI9301CTBLK PRO/1000
Netgear GA302T
Startech ST1000BT32

*SOUND CARD-
Asus Xonar D2

*GRAPHICS CARD-
Either Geforce 6800GS or 6800GT (PCIe x16, 256 to 512MB)

VIDEO CAPTURE CARD- Must include 'framegrabber' function.
No idea! Suggestions welcomed for PCI or PCIe card type.

IDE/EIDE DVD BURNER- Would much prefer one I can easily make into 'all-formats' or 'region-free'.
No idea! Suggestions welcomed.

IDE/EIDE HARD DISC DRIVE- 500GB size required. Maybe:
WD5000JBRTL
WD5000AAJB
WD5000AAKB
WD5000KS
WD5000AAKB-OOH8AO

IDE/EIDE HDD MOBILE RACK- Maybe:
PCTek KF-201DF
Lian Li RH-32
" " RH-600

SATA DVD (3Gb/s) BURNER- I'm considering Plextor PX-880SA, but welcome suggestions, just no Sony brand.

SATA HARD DISC DRIVE- SATA 3Gb/s & 750GB required. Maybe:
WD7500AVCS
WD 7500AAKS-OOBA0

SATA HDD MOBILE RACKS- Maybe:
Kingwin KF-201-DF
" KF-1000-BK
SNT-SAS136B
Vantec MRK-300ST-BK
iStarUSA T5F-SS
iRack MRA300

5.25" BAY DEVICE-
Lian Li BZ-UO1

5.25" HDD COOLER- Want two to fit between the three HDDs.
Akust 5.25 PC Front Grill Cooler #FG00-0037-AKS
Lian Li 5.25" Triple 40mm Extreme Bay Cooler
Evercool 5.25 Cross Flow Fan

EXTERNAL HDD DOCKING STATION- For making backups. Prefer eSATA or firewire
Orico 6618SUS-BK
Rosewill RX-DUS100

FLOPPY DRIVE- For internal floppy drive connector.
Bytecc BT-145
NEC FD1231

PCI/PCIe EXPANSION CARDS- Depends on motherboard chosen, and which chips Linux rejects, but will likely need at least eSATA and Firewire cards that work with Linux:
LaCie eSATA PCI Card #130823
Startech PEX1394B3 Firewire PCIE Card

LCD MONITOR- Require 1024x768. No touchscreen.
ViewEra V151HV-B

MOUSE-
Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

KEYBOARD-
Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard

WIRED ROUTER- Require NAT & SPI;gigabit WAN.
TP Link TL-R600VPN
Netgear FVS336G
Trendnet TWG-BRF114
Cisco Linksys RVS-4000

UPS- It must cover minimum 675W, and have quiet operation.
Cyberpower CP1350PFCLCD
APC BR1500 LCD

MEMORY CARD READER-
Plugable Technologies Plugable 2.0

SCANNER-
Canon Canoscan LIDE 30

COLOR INKJET PRINTER- Require each color to have separately replaceable ink cartridge; above average color graphics & photo print quality, & easy Linux setup. Much prefer single-function printers.
HP Officejet Pro 800 Enterprise
" " 6000 Wireless Printer
Epson WF7010

MONOCHROME LASER PRINTER- Require double sided printing (auto-duplex), use reasonably priced toner, have above average text print quality. Single-function printers much preferred.
Brother HL-2040
" HL-5370DW
Dell 2350D
" 3330DN
HP Laserjet Pro 400 M401DN
" " " " M401DNE
" " " P1606DN
Xerox Phaser 3250


* These components are already decided on, so its very unlikely I'll change them.

 

[Wouter Termont]

Can't comment on all of it, but here are some ideas:

- first a question: why a full tower?
- for the cooler, you could take the Noctua, but check out the BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 2 if you want extra silence.
- psu: if your budget allows, take the seasonic for its efficiency guarantee and overal quality
- memory over 8gb isn't very usefull, and filling all slots is proven to be (a very slightl) decline in performance. Any 1600@1.5V will certainly do, pay attention to latencies.
- most peripherals won't cause any trouble, but I don't have any knowledge of printers/scanners

 

[skittle]

Choose the HP printer, its the only one that will work no problem

 

[ex_bubblehead]

First thing you need to do is bounce your hardware against the list of hardware supported by those OLD kernels. Kernel 2.4 is long past its use by date and most definitely doesn't support a great deal of the newest hardware.

 

[Alabalcho]

You've specified decent videocard with mediocre monitor. Remember, you're going to spend hours in front of that monitor!

I would load some of your chosen distros on any hardware, just to check that your peripherals (printers, scanners etc) are supported.

Last but not least: Check your UPS requirements - apart from 750W PSU in the PC, it would have to power at least your monitor, and probably the router, so I would go to something in 1KVA range.

 

[Skygee]

Choose the HP printer, its the only one that will work no problem

Which HP? There's two inkjets & three lasers.

 

[Skygee]

First thing you need to do is bounce your hardware against the list of hardware supported by those OLD kernels. Kernel 2.4 is long past its use by date and most definitely doesn't support a great deal of the newest hardware.

Okay, how do I find "list of hardware supported by those OLD kernels", and do I have to go through each kernel from 2.4 to 2.6.29, or is there way to shortcut it?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

There is no centralized list, you're going to have to look at change logs and .config files for every kernel revision you intend to run. I can say with a high degree of certainty that the 2.4 kernels won't support a good portion of the hardware you listed.

You can try here for sources: http://rpmfind.net/linux/rpm2html/search.php?query=kernel-source
I haven't verified that all those links actually work.

 

[nss000]

Looking at your components I think you are over-estimating power requirements. You aren't running a pair of **TITAN** gpus! If you can't use at least 2/3 of your 700W PSU then you're wasting money.

I'm doing a build to run legacy Linux distros using kernels 2.4.31 (DSL) to 2.6.29.6, and wish to check compatibility of possible components.

My parts list still has some holes that need filling, such as the video capture card, so user recommendations are needed. Some other components (such as the NIC) I'm deadlocked between two or more models and welcome tiebreaker assistance. Also, warnings of incompatibilities are welcomed. So on to the list:


CONSOLE- Requirements:full-size tower;at least eight 5.25" external bays;seven expansion slots...ports:2eSATA, 2 firewire, 8 USB2.0, & headphones jack. Would like one 3.5 external bay. Prefer construction of steel frame & aluminum panels, but will settle for all steel or all aluminum. Would like to make PC quiet. Looking at:
Cooler master STC-TO1-UWK
" " RC-810-SKN1
Thermaltake VA8003BWS
Xigmatek CCC-HSA0DS-U01
Antec Twelve Hundred

CASE FANS-
Enermax Marathon Enlobal UC-12EB
Noctua NF-F12 120mm

*CPU-
Phenom II X6 1055T (95W)

CPU FAN-
Noctua NH-D14
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
Zalman CNPS1OX

PSU- Various power calculators say I need 650 to 675W, but I'm wanting a bit more. Choices are:
Seasonic 760W 80Plus Platinum SS-760XP2
Corsair TX750
Kingwin LZP-750
Corsair AX-760

MOTHERBOARD- in order of preference:
GA-MA770-UD3
GA-MA770T-UD3
GA-770T-UD3P
GA-770TA-UD3
GA-770T-USB3

MEMORY- Depends on board chosen, but I want the high end sort, and to fill all DIMM sockets...if anyone wants to recommend memory modules for the five boards above, please do!

NIC CARD- in order of preference:
DGE-528T
Intel EXPI9301CTBLK PRO/1000
Netgear GA302T
Startech ST1000BT32

*SOUND CARD-
Asus Xonar D2

*GRAPHICS CARD-
Either Geforce 6800GS or 6800GT (PCIe x16, 256 to 512MB)

VIDEO CAPTURE CARD- Must include 'framegrabber' function.
No idea! Suggestions welcomed for PCI or PCIe card type.

IDE/EIDE DVD BURNER- Would much prefer one I can easily make into 'all-formats' or 'region-free'.
No idea! Suggestions welcomed.

IDE/EIDE HARD DISC DRIVE- 500GB size required. Maybe:
WD5000JBRTL
WD5000AAJB
WD5000AAKB
WD5000KS
WD5000AAKB-OOH8AO

IDE/EIDE HDD MOBILE RACK- Maybe:
PCTek KF-201DF
Lian Li RH-32
" " RH-600

SATA DVD (3Gb/s) BURNER- I'm considering Plextor PX-880SA, but welcome suggestions, just no Sony brand.

SATA HARD DISC DRIVE- SATA 3Gb/s & 750GB required. Maybe:
WD7500AVCS
WD 7500AAKS-OOBA0

SATA HDD MOBILE RACKS- Maybe:
Kingwin KF-201-DF
" KF-1000-BK
SNT-SAS136B
Vantec MRK-300ST-BK
iStarUSA T5F-SS
iRack MRA300

5.25" BAY DEVICE-
Lian Li BZ-UO1

5.25" HDD COOLER- Want two to fit between the three HDDs.
Akust 5.25 PC Front Grill Cooler #FG00-0037-AKS
Lian Li 5.25" Triple 40mm Extreme Bay Cooler
Evercool 5.25 Cross Flow Fan

EXTERNAL HDD DOCKING STATION- For making backups. Prefer eSATA or firewire
Orico 6618SUS-BK
Rosewill RX-DUS100

FLOPPY DRIVE- For internal floppy drive connector.
Bytecc BT-145
NEC FD1231

PCI/PCIe EXPANSION CARDS- Depends on motherboard chosen, and which chips Linux rejects, but will likely need at least eSATA and Firewire cards that work with Linux:
LaCie eSATA PCI Card #130823
Startech PEX1394B3 Firewire PCIE Card

LCD MONITOR- Require 1024x768. No touchscreen.
ViewEra V151HV-B

MOUSE-
Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

KEYBOARD-
Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard

WIRED ROUTER- Require NAT & SPI;gigabit WAN.
TP Link TL-R600VPN
Netgear FVS336G
Trendnet TWG-BRF114
Cisco Linksys RVS-4000

UPS- It must cover minimum 675W, and have quiet operation.
Cyberpower CP1350PFCLCD
APC BR1500 LCD

MEMORY CARD READER-
Plugable Technologies Plugable 2.0

SCANNER-
Canon Canoscan LIDE 30

COLOR INKJET PRINTER- Require each color to have separately replaceable ink cartridge; above average color graphics & photo print quality, & easy Linux setup. Much prefer single-function printers.
HP Officejet Pro 800 Enterprise
" " 6000 Wireless Printer
Epson WF7010

MONOCHROME LASER PRINTER- Require double sided printing (auto-duplex), use reasonably priced toner, have above average text print quality. Single-function printers much preferred.
Brother HL-2040
" HL-5370DW
Dell 2350D
" 3330DN
HP Laserjet Pro 400 M401DN
" " " " M401DNE
" " " P1606DN
Xerox Phaser 3250


* These components are already decided on, so its very unlikely I'll change them.

 

[Skygee]

I like the added room, and the better air flow. Plus who want to try to figure out if this or that will fit...not me! I figure a full size tower will give me the least irritations.

Overclockers review says there is a memory clearance problem with the Dark Rock...will it fit all the cases under consideration?

I need to find out about "latencies" you mentioned, as I know nothing about this. Any advice?

Thanks for all the tip. Much appreciated!

Can't comment on all of it, but here are some ideas:

- first a question: why a full tower?
- for the cooler, you could take the Noctua, but check out the BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 2 if you want extra silence.
- psu: if your budget allows, take the seasonic for its efficiency guarantee and overal quality
- memory over 8gb isn't very usefull, and filling all slots is proven to be (a very slightl) decline in performance. Any 1600@1.5V will certainly do, pay attention to latencies.
- most peripherals won't cause any trouble, but I don't have any knowledge of printers/scanners

 

[Skygee]

Most excellent link...looks to be a wealth of info here! Thanks.
I know how to find the change logs using Google, but how about the .config files...is there internet source for them?

There is no centralized list, you're going to have to look at change logs and .config files for every kernel revision you intend to run. I can say with a high degree of certainty that the 2.4 kernels won't support a good portion of the hardware you listed.

You can try here for sources: http://rpmfind.net/linux/rpm2html/search.php?query=kernel-source
I haven't verified that all those links actually work.

 

[Skygee]

I was under the impression that 1024x768 was the limit of what either of these two nvidia cards could handle. Not true?

Can you recommend specific UPS of 1KVA that is known to 'just work' with Linux?

You've specified decent videocard with mediocre monitor. Remember, you're going to spend hours in front of that monitor!


I would load some of your chosen distros on any hardware, just to check that your peripherals (printers, scanners etc) are supported.

Last but not least: Check your UPS requirements - apart from 750W PSU in the PC, it would have to power at least your monitor, and probably the router, so I would go to something in 1KVA range.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Most excellent link...looks to be a wealth of info here! Thanks.
I know how to find the change logs using Google, but how about the .config files...is there internet source for them?
....

Those are the actual kernel configuration files. They come with each kernel source.

 

[skittle]

Pretty much any HP printer will work with any linux due to HP fully supporting opensource drivers.
Look here for more information and specific models and fetures supported by the "HPLIP" driver:
http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/models/index.html

 

[Alabalcho]

I was under the impression that 1024x768 was the limit of what either of these two nvidia cards could handle. Not true?
Can you recommend specific UPS of 1KVA that is known to 'just work' with Linux?

I haven't dealt with UPSs since the time when they were controlled over simlpe RS232 connection. A search for "linux ups" shows that APC are supported under Linux, and for me APC is THE UPS company for more than 20 years. As for the brand / model - it depends whether you need your PC just to turn off on power outage, or you want fancy features as voltage / load monitoring.

I am still puzzled about your config. Why dual GPUs - what you are going to run there if you won't have good monitors attached?

 

[Skygee]

Pretty much any HP printer will work with any linux due to HP fully supporting opensource drivers.
Look here for more information and specific models and fetures supported by the "HPLIP" driver:
http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/models/index.html

Great link! Thanks. So no preference between the models listed?

 

[Skygee]

Not my estimate- came from the various power calculator sites. Feel free to estimate what you think my power requirements are, add 100w (I want wiggle room), and recommend platinum or gold rated power supply that is quiet, and Linux friendly. I'll look into it!

Looking at your components I think you are over-estimating power requirements. You aren't running a pair of **TITAN** gpus! If you can't use at least 2/3 of your 700W PSU then you're wasting money.

I'm doing a build to run legacy Linux distros using kernels 2.4.31 (DSL) to 2.6.29.6, and wish to check compatibility of possible components.

My parts list still has some holes that need filling, such as the video capture card, so user recommendations are needed. Some other components (such as the NIC) I'm deadlocked between two or more models and welcome tiebreaker assistance. Also, warnings of incompatibilities are welcomed. So on to the list:


CONSOLE- Requirements:full-size tower;at least eight 5.25" external bays;seven expansion slots...ports:2eSATA, 2 firewire, 8 USB2.0, & headphones jack. Would like one 3.5 external bay. Prefer construction of steel frame & aluminum panels, but will settle for all steel or all aluminum. Would like to make PC quiet. Looking at:
Cooler master STC-TO1-UWK
" " RC-810-SKN1
Thermaltake VA8003BWS
Xigmatek CCC-HSA0DS-U01
Antec Twelve Hundred

CASE FANS-
Enermax Marathon Enlobal UC-12EB
Noctua NF-F12 120mm

*CPU-
Phenom II X6 1055T (95W)

CPU FAN-
Noctua NH-D14
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
Zalman CNPS1OX

PSU- Various power calculators say I need 650 to 675W, but I'm wanting a bit more. Choices are:
Seasonic 760W 80Plus Platinum SS-760XP2
Corsair TX750
Kingwin LZP-750
Corsair AX-760

MOTHERBOARD- in order of preference:
GA-MA770-UD3
GA-MA770T-UD3
GA-770T-UD3P
GA-770TA-UD3
GA-770T-USB3

MEMORY- Depends on board chosen, but I want the high end sort, and to fill all DIMM sockets...if anyone wants to recommend memory modules for the five boards above, please do!

NIC CARD- in order of preference:
DGE-528T
Intel EXPI9301CTBLK PRO/1000
Netgear GA302T
Startech ST1000BT32

*SOUND CARD-
Asus Xonar D2

*GRAPHICS CARD-
Either Geforce 6800GS or 6800GT (PCIe x16, 256 to 512MB)

VIDEO CAPTURE CARD- Must include 'framegrabber' function.
No idea! Suggestions welcomed for PCI or PCIe card type.

IDE/EIDE DVD BURNER- Would much prefer one I can easily make into 'all-formats' or 'region-free'.
No idea! Suggestions welcomed.

IDE/EIDE HARD DISC DRIVE- 500GB size required. Maybe:
WD5000JBRTL
WD5000AAJB
WD5000AAKB
WD5000KS
WD5000AAKB-OOH8AO

IDE/EIDE HDD MOBILE RACK- Maybe:
PCTek KF-201DF
Lian Li RH-32
" " RH-600

SATA DVD (3Gb/s) BURNER- I'm considering Plextor PX-880SA, but welcome suggestions, just no Sony brand.

SATA HARD DISC DRIVE- SATA 3Gb/s & 750GB required. Maybe:
WD7500AVCS
WD 7500AAKS-OOBA0

SATA HDD MOBILE RACKS- Maybe:
Kingwin KF-201-DF
" KF-1000-BK
SNT-SAS136B
Vantec MRK-300ST-BK
iStarUSA T5F-SS
iRack MRA300

5.25" BAY DEVICE-
Lian Li BZ-UO1

5.25" HDD COOLER- Want two to fit between the three HDDs.
Akust 5.25 PC Front Grill Cooler #FG00-0037-AKS
Lian Li 5.25" Triple 40mm Extreme Bay Cooler
Evercool 5.25 Cross Flow Fan

EXTERNAL HDD DOCKING STATION- For making backups. Prefer eSATA or firewire
Orico 6618SUS-BK
Rosewill RX-DUS100

FLOPPY DRIVE- For internal floppy drive connector.
Bytecc BT-145
NEC FD1231

PCI/PCIe EXPANSION CARDS- Depends on motherboard chosen, and which chips Linux rejects, but will likely need at least eSATA and Firewire cards that work with Linux:
LaCie eSATA PCI Card #130823
Startech PEX1394B3 Firewire PCIE Card

LCD MONITOR- Require 1024x768. No touchscreen.
ViewEra V151HV-B

MOUSE-
Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

KEYBOARD-
Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard

WIRED ROUTER- Require NAT & SPI;gigabit WAN.
TP Link TL-R600VPN
Netgear FVS336G
Trendnet TWG-BRF114
Cisco Linksys RVS-4000

UPS- It must cover minimum 675W, and have quiet operation.
Cyberpower CP1350PFCLCD
APC BR1500 LCD

MEMORY CARD READER-
Plugable Technologies Plugable 2.0

SCANNER-
Canon Canoscan LIDE 30

COLOR INKJET PRINTER- Require each color to have separately replaceable ink cartridge; above average color graphics & photo print quality, & easy Linux setup. Much prefer single-function printers.
HP Officejet Pro 800 Enterprise
" " 6000 Wireless Printer
Epson WF7010

MONOCHROME LASER PRINTER- Require double sided printing (auto-duplex), use reasonably priced toner, have above average text print quality. Single-function printers much preferred.
Brother HL-2040
" HL-5370DW
Dell 2350D
" 3330DN
HP Laserjet Pro 400 M401DN
" " " " M401DNE
" " " P1606DN
Xerox Phaser 3250


* These components are already decided on, so its very unlikely I'll change them.

 

[Skygee]

I've no clue regarding the "fancy features"- what do you recommend? Not dual GPUs; it's first choice and second choice. Legacy components are getting harder to track down!

I was under the impression that 1024x768 was the limit of what either of these two nvidia cards could handle. Not true?
Can you recommend specific UPS of 1KVA that is known to 'just work' with Linux?

I haven't dealt with UPSs since the time when they were controlled over simlpe RS232 connection. A search for "linux ups" shows that APC are supported under Linux, and for me APC is THE UPS company for more than 20 years. As for the brand / model - it depends whether you need your PC just to turn off on power outage, or you want fancy features as voltage / load monitoring.

I am still puzzled about your config. Why dual GPUs - what you are going to run there if you won't have good monitors attached?

 

[Alabalcho]

"Fancy Features" - some UPSs provide information (either over standard serial port, or USB) about their current load, input / output voltage, frequency etc. Shutting down the controlling host is also done using different protocols. Usually these UPSs have something Smart in their name / description. Again - whatever unit you're going to choose, make sure it is supported by your chosen kernel (if you want your PC to shut down by itself when the power goes down).

Sorry about the limbo with dual GPUs - I don't know how it came to my mind that there'll be two GPUs in your setup.