motherboard/processor upgrade

choco · n00b Joined: 10 Jun 2003 Posts: 49 Location: Jackson, MI

I decided it was time for a long-overdue motherboard/processor upgrade to my computer system, but I don't know for sure how this will affect my Gentoo. Right now I have a 600 Mhz Celeron (Coppermine) with the cpu flags that go with that (like sse, mmx). In my make.conf I have a CHOST of i686 and -march=i686. I have an okay video card that suits my purposes fine (ATI rage128). Basically, I want to be more up-to-date, but not at the expense of torpedoing my existing Gentoo (which is of course many hours of work). I would prefer to keep it cheap. I figure any mobo/CPU currently on the market would be an improvement.

I would like to have as effortless a transition as possible, but if this is an unrealistic expectation just tell me. I would prefer not to have to recompile everything, make a new kernel, etc. Well...I guess a new kernel is unavoidable if I want to use the new motherboard's audio. Anyhow, does anyone have any recommendations?
_________________
Who would win in a fight between Sandman and Clayface?

petu · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2003 5:35 pm Post subject:

If you don't want to recompile everything then you should select athlon xp or pentium 4. I would recommend athlon xp since it's i686-compatible and cheaper than pentium4.
_________________
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the
ark; professionals built the Titanic. -- Anonymous

BradN · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2003 6:57 pm Post subject:

You'll almost certainly want to compile a new kernel... not only could the audio be different, but also any built in NIC, the hard drive controller, AGP chipset, etc. However, if the only thing you change is the motherboard (any CPU these days can handle -march=i686), you should only have to recompile a kernel. A new video card would mean changing XF86Config, however you choose to do that.

paulisdead · Guru Joined: 10 Apr 2002 Posts: 510 Location: Seattle, WA

I'd really recommend you stay away from Nforce2 chipsets in linux ATM. I've still got problems with my Abit NF7-s rev2, that I can't figure out. Everyday I'm still searching through here and other forums, and I see a lot of problems with this chipset.

If you decide to go AMD, go for a Via KT400A, or a KT333 if you want to save some cash. Avoid the original KT400 (non A) like the plague, it performs worse than the KT333. I've got an Epox 8k3ae (KT333) that was very good to me, and worked great in Linux, and can be had for about $60 now in stores. It's also a pretty decent overclocker, if you're into that. For around $50 you can get an Athlon XP 1700 thoroughbred core, and those are supposed to be great overclockers. As it is, I'm actually contemplating selling my Barton 2500 and getting a Tbred 1700, since they're supposed to do 2.1ghz or higher easy, whereas this Barton can only get up to 2.1ghz with a 2.1 vcore which really makes some heat.

choco · n00b Joined: 10 Jun 2003 Posts: 49 Location: Jackson, MI

Just thought I should give everyone an update. After reading the helpful replies and poking around the forum (as well as taking a look at http://www.arstechnica.com and http://www.extremetech.com) I've decided to go with an Athlon XP 2500 Barton and a newer motherboard without nForce2.
Overclocking doesn't interest me, as it seems like the benefits don't outweigh the risks (and I'm too lazy to bother). Oh, and some of the recommendations at those websites don't take Linux users into account, so keep that in mind.

Soon after getting it going I'll compile a new kernel:

1. Because apparently only the newest kernels properly recognize that athlon XP can do sse (see https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=42459)

2. The new motherboard must have on-board Ethernet, since my existing Ethernet card is ISA

. Therefore I'll have to make the kernel work with the on-board Ethernet. As it turns out, I have a sound card to put in, so I wouldn't have needed to make a new kernel for that reason (duh, I have a gamepad plugged in to it for snes9x).

I'll also be upgrading my gcc to a version that better supports athlon-xp, so I'll be doing a world recompile with the new gcc.

So basically I'll be doing everything short of actually reinstalling :roll:

.
I think I still prefer this to wiping my drive clean and starting over from scratch, though, because this way I won't have to do my configuration over again. Nice to have a system whose software at least is never out of date.
_________________
Who would win in a fight between Sandman and Clayface?

paulisdead · Guru Joined: 10 Apr 2002 Posts: 510 Location: Seattle, WA

I wouldn't get too hung up on finding a mobo with an onboard NIC, since you can get OK NICs for $10.

With overclocking, there's really not much risk involved if you go up in small increments. Worst that should happen is the computer will crash, or it won't boot and you have to reset the CMOS. For a little time tweaking the system, I'll take the extra performance boost. 215 front side bus (430DDR) is nice.

What kind of RAM are you looking at? Obviously, PC2700 will be the fastest you'll be able to take advantage of, since the front side bus on the 2500 is 166mhz, and you won't be overclocking it. I really recommend paying a bit extra for some good RAM that can do decent timings. I like Corsair XMS, but I've heard Kingston HyperX, and Geil are supposed to be pretty decent.

choco · n00b Joined: 10 Jun 2003 Posts: 49 Location: Jackson, MI

Pardon my ignorance on overclocking and hardware stuff in general (as you can tell I'm behind the times) :oops:

. I have to say, DIY sure teaches you a lot, sort of how running Gentoo teaches you a lot about Linux.

Ah, so the FSB for the 2500 is not actually 333Mhz as I have read, but about half that. And by overclocking it could get up to 215. And by not overclocking, the fastest variety of memory I can use is PC2700. But even if memory is PC2700, not all memory is the same. Okay. I'll make sure to look at the modules you mention, up to my limit of $200 for total upgrade cost. I appreciate the tips.
_________________
Who would win in a fight between Sandman and Clayface?

paulisdead · Guru Joined: 10 Apr 2002 Posts: 510 Location: Seattle, WA

I totally recant the stuff I said about Nforce2 boards

Nvidia just released some new drivers for the NIC and sound today, and they're working great... finally. I still have to have ACPI disabled to get X to start with the nvidia graphics driver, so that means no hardware sensors.

I can finally get an IP with the NIC, and my games work with their OSS sound driver, those were the problems I was having. So now my only gripes are no hardware sensors working for me, and I have to have the CPU fan plugged directly into the power supply or the board will sometimes freak out (known NF7-s issue) and think the fans off, even when shutdown CPU fan off is disabled and then shutdown.

Take a look at how others fair with the newer drivers, once more people have been able to install them. Might not even be bad to consider an nforce2 with onboard video to get off that old ATI rage.

choco · n00b Joined: 10 Jun 2003 Posts: 49 Location: Jackson, MI

Breaking news right here!

But seriously, now that you mention it, I would like to have better video so I could buy new games again. Curse my self-imposed money limits :evil:

. No Radeon for me...but on-board video is definitely worth taking a look at, especially since I'll have the RageTM to fall back on.
_________________
Who would win in a fight between Sandman and Clayface?