<snip> > > Talking about onboard audio, you should not have much to choose from, either > > AC97 or Intel HD. Both should be okay (as long as you are not at least > > semi-professional). I've heard about trouble with Intel HD because they are > > not all the same but most offer AC97 compatibility as a fall back. > > The intel8x0 driver is s**t (that's not fault of the ALSA guys, it's > that there are no specs for that thing and it's all reverse engineered > -check the other thread).
Just as a note - the Intel HD audio driver is a different driver than the intel_8x0 driver (Which is more a generic AC97 driver that supports Intel 8x0 chipsets, SiS, nVidia, AMD, and ALi AC97 compliant sound chips) - from the sounds of your experiences, I wouldn't want to use the intel_8x0 driver on an intel chipset, but I've had no problems with it on Via, nVidia, and SiS chipsets. For my input into the fray, I can safely recommend the following component list - just built one for my son with these components, and it's running Gentoo with everything working... * MSI K9N6PGM-F Motherboard (Socket AM2, DDR2-800 Memory, PCI-E x16 slot, Onboard nVidia GeForce 6100) - note: Don't buy the MSI K9N6SGM motherboard, as the PCI-E x16 form factor slot only actually runs x8 channels - will seriously impact performance on a higher-end graphics card (if you decide to upgrade) Comes with video + sound onboard URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130067 Price: $62.99 * AMD Athlon 64 x2 4000+ (Brisbane, 65 nM) CPU Retail (w/ Heatsink/Fan) URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103774 Price: $65.99 * GeIL 1GB (2 x 512MB Dual Channel) DDR2 800 URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144020 Price: $48.99 Total price: $177.97 If the video performance is too slow for you due to sharing system memory, then you can add a separate PCI-E video card for fairly cheap - but you can do this after you buy the stock system. Ditto if the OEM fan is not quiet enough for you, you can buy a silent cooling model - but at a later date. A few things I didn't like about this setup (all with the motherboard): Only 2 Memory slots - if you want to upgrade past the 1GB, you have to replace memory instead of add on Only 2 SATA ports, and only 1 PATA (x2 devices) port - less HDDs and CD/DVD devices However, if you're willing to live with those limitations in order to cut costs (or if you just don't need the extra expansion capability, as is the case with my 2 1/2 year old), then it's a great setup - hardware rendering working fine with the nVidia binary drivers, sound is working fine with the Intel HD driver (and it's also AC97 compatible, so you have a fallback option), cpufreq scaling is working great to save power/heat when you don't need the processing power. Another option (if you need/want more memory slots and SATA ports) would be to go with: * MSI K9N Neo-F V.3 No onboard video, realtek ALC888 sound chipset (which, from what I'm reading online, *should* be supported by the intel-hda driver - some problems, but all problems I've seen seem to have gotten resolved) URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130123 Price: $72.99 I can't personally vouch for this MB - I haven't used it at all, but I've never had *bad* luck with MSI motherboards + nVidia chipsets... And for a video card either: 1: MSI NX7300LE-TD128EH GeForce 7300LE 128MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127273) -- or -- 2: CHAINTECH GSV72GS GeForce 7200GS 128MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814145147_ Price (for either): $34.99 Memory (on-board): 128MB Differences: Not a whole lot - Higher memory clock speeds on the 7200GS (800MHz vs. 650MHz), but the 7300LE is fanless... Again, can't vouch for either of these, but either should work fine. Anyways, hope some/any of the above helps. -James > > Aren't there nvidia chipsets? A box in my lab has one, I guess. > > > Concerning the fan, you could stick with the boxed cooler, it's better than > > the Intel. If you need a cheap silent thing, the Aerocool XFire is okay. > > I would stay away from the tower design (the ones blowing from the front to > > the back instead of blowing towards the chip). They are usually more > > efficient but they do not cooler the CPU's surrounding which can overheat. > > > > Thanks for the tips! > > m. > -- > [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list > > -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list
