Kinetiz 7E QDI mainboard - compatibility

[obokos 0]

Hi

 

I have a spare PC which I am in the process of installing linux on. I have a choice of SuSE 6.3 (full 6 cd set) or Debian (burned 2 cd set off the web - latest version). My PC is standard except for a Kinetiz 7E mainboard (QDI)

 

I notice on the box of my of SuSE linux (christmas present from a pal who couldn't be bothered) that it does not acknowledge support of the QDI mainboard. Is it actually possible to use SuSE with this mainboard? Is this version of SuSE now outdated or is it still worth the effort? - I ask this because I am a novice to linux and it comes with a reassuring looking manual which I feel might be a good thing.

 

Alternatively, Is it OK to use Debian with this mainboard?

 

Or - option 3 - should I buy a new mainboard.

 

I don't expect to be using the PC for anything serious just yet, I just want experience with the UNIX style environment. Obviously, I am hoping this will change with experience.

 

Any advice would be appreciated

 

Thanks for reading...

 

Cheers

[danleff 0]

Never saw this board before, but I use VIA based boards without any problem.

 

How about giving us an idea about some of the system specs...processor type and speed, amount of RAM, hard drive size, modem make and model and what other hardware that you have on the system.

 

Debian is fine, if you have some knowledge of linux.

 

I would skip the SuSe version that you have and if possible, either download (if you have broadband) the newer version to install off the net...

 

Or you may want to try Mandrake 9.0, if you have enough ram, say ideally 128 mb or more.

 

Its not crucial to have 128, but the system will run better.

 

But, let's see what you have first.

 

Also, will you be using linux exclusively, or a dual boot with Win 98 or Win XP?

[Maillion 0]

I checked out the board online:

 

Chipset

 

North bridge:VIA KT-133A

South bridge:VIA VT82C686B Bus Type 5 PCI + 1 AMR+ 1 AGP+ 1 ISA

 

CPU

 

Support Socket A AMD Athlon , AthlonXP and Duron Processors

AMD AthlonXP 1500+/1600+/1700+/1800+/1900+

AMD Athlon 650/700/750/800/850/900/950/1000/1000-266/1100/1133-266/1400/1400-266

AMD Duron 600/650/700/750/800/850/900/950/1000/1100/1200/1300

 

System Memory

 

Three 168 pin 3.3V PC133 DIMM sockets

Supports up to 1.5G SDRAM

Supports 66/100/133 MHz Synchronous DRAM and VCM SDRAM

And 66MHz EDO DRAM

 

USB

 

1.1 specification compliant

 

Bus Speed

 

200/266MHz FSB

 

BIOS

 

2 Mbit Flash ROM

Licensed advanced AWARD BIOS

Supports Plug and Play

Supports ACPI and OS directed power management

 

In other words it has everything you need as far as I can tell, and nowhere did I find anything that would make it anti-linux... 8)

[danleff 0]

OK, let me try again. I saw this page also.

 

What would be nice to know, is what CPU and hardware obokos currently has, so that he can choose the right distro to fit the system and his/her needs.

 

Also, this would make sure that he does not have any incompatible hardware, like a video card, or insufficient RAM, so that he can have a positive experience during his install.

 

I find that many problems are caused by funky motherboards that are not Linux friendly, things like insufficient RAM for a distro, or a piece of hardware that is known not to work in Linux.

 

Example, a Win Modem. It's better to know this up front, so he can be prepared for any potential issues.

[obokos 0]

Cheers people

 

Current machine spec: (cribbed from BIOS)

 

Kinetiz 7E series mainboard (QDI)

AMD duron 1000Mhz processor

256 meg RAM

Maxtor 2B020H1 20 gig hard drive

Standard 54x CD rom

CW038D Atapi CDR/RW

NVidia TNT model 64 32 meg graphics card

 

No sound card (using mainboard)

 

FaxTalk CTR21 modem card - I am told this is likely not to work (not bothered)

 

I also have broadband (linked to my windows PC via a cable modem) and a perle 24 port 10/100 switch that I might be able to use to link the linux pc to the web with (if I can figure it out).

 

Is there any more info you need?

 

Cheers

 

John

[danleff 0]

Good! You know about the possibility of a modem problem.

 

Everything else looks OK.

 

I would suggest the following, since you have access to broadband and a burner.

 

I don't think you would have the best experience with the version of SuSe that you have. It is too old.

 

You can try a few things. If you want to try out a CD based live version of linux to see how it works with your system, get Mepis or Knoppix. Burn the iso image and make sure that the system is set to boot from CDROM first. Give it a test drive and see how it goes. make sure that you burn the image with your writing software, not just the file to a CD-R. They both run off the CDROM drive, so you get a good feel for things. Also, this will telll you if your board is functional in Linux.

 

I just have to say, that some boards, depending on the brand, even with the same chipset, run Linux better that others.

 

Secondly, I would suggest, if you are daring, to try Debian. it's a good distro and Knooppix and Mepis are based on it. Since you have the latest version, you should enjoy the graphical interface. Sometimes, Debian requires a little work to get it the way that you want it. But, it is very stable.

 

If you want to get the system up and running easily, Try Mandrake 9.0 or Redhat 9.

 

Given the hardware that you have, I think that you would like the newer graphical KDE or gome interface in Mandrake 9.0 or RedHat much better than the SuSe version that you have. These newer versions should support the hardware that you have much better.

 

Dapper Dan suggests this all the time, if you have access to broadband - buy a NIC card, such as a Realtek ($10-15) and hook it up via a CAT5 cable to your router. Each distro should pick up the internet connection easily.

 

Good luck and let us know how you make out!

[Maillion 0]

Danleff - I love your sig! It has been a while since I saw that show... 8)