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Re: Need hardware recommendations



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A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far way, someone said...

> (1) Motherboard
>
> I intend to get a P-III CPU (probably 800EB). One store from where I got
> a quote recommended the ASUS CUSL2 i815e mobo. My current system has a
> BX-based ABIT BH6 which has served me well. Anyone care to comment on
> ASUS boards (I have almost always heard good things about them) ?
> Recommendations/opinions/experiences for other boards (Tyan, Soyo)
> including current ABIT offerings ?

I would avoid Soyo like the plague.  I can't think about their Socket 7
boards without running in horror...

I've had good experiences with Abit, Asus, and Tyan.

I would also consider getting an Athlon Thunderbird - they're cheaper than
a PII with a higher clock speed, and are faster as well.

> BTW, I don't plan to overclock this system.

Smart boy :)

> (2) SCSI
>
> I intend to have a SCSI hard drive for this system, and maybe later a
> SCSI CD-Burner (see below). In a recent thread on this list, I heard
> someone mention the Adaptec Ultra160-based 29160N card.
>
> Which is newer: an UltraWide2-based card, or an Ultra160-based card ?

The Ultra160 is newer and quite a bit faster.  Fortunately highly
backwards-compatible :)

Ultra160 == Ultra3 Wide SCSI.

> I am not sure about which HD to consider. I need a SCSI HD >= 10 Gb.

Seagate drives are good.

> I haven't ever had a system with SCSI components, so is there anything
> else I should know ? I'd prefer to stick with the latest SCSI
> technology.

The termination on Ultra-, Ultra2-, and Ultra160- Wide devices can get
tricky.

> (3) Printer
>
> I am considering the HP 1100 laser printer. But have heard good things
> about Lexmark printers (Optra 310/E310/E312). I am looking for a laser
> printer that is capable of 600dpi (at least), and is easy to setup under
> Linux (of course!). It would be nice to get a printer that is supported
> under both Linux and FreeBSD, as I do intend to run FreeBSD on this
> machine from time to time.
>
> One odd thing I noticed about the HP 1100's specs on HP's site is that
> Windows 2000 is not listed under the supported OSes. Is this true ? I
> need a printer that works under Windows 2000 in addition to Linux.

Just cause it doesn't say it's supported under Win2k doesn't mean it won't
work :)

IIRC the HP 1100 is the replacement for the 6L; both work fine with the
generic lj4l driver in ghostscript.

I've used the LaserJet 5L PCL driver with a 1100 with good results under
NT4.

> (4) Network Card
>
> I need a good 10/100 PCI card. How well are DLINK cards (e.g. DLINK
> 10/100 RTL) supported under Linux ? I was considering the 3Com
> 905/vortex PCI card[*], as I have had a linux system with it and it
> worked flawlessly.

The D-Link 530+ (I think that's right) uses the rtl8139 driver; some
people have had trouble with those cards, however.

The Linksys 10/100 card is an excellent unit as well, and doesn't cost
much more than the D-Link card.

> (5) CD-Burner
>
> I was told that SCSI CD-Burners tend to perform the best under Linux and
> cause the least problems, which is why I decided to go SCSI in this new
> system. Plextor has been recommended. Are there any other SCSI CD
> burners that work well under Linux ?

Can't help there.

> (6) Removable storage
>
> How well are Iomega zip and Jaz drives supported ? I haven't ever worked
> with removable storage media, so I'd appreciate any info about which
> ones to consider.

Zip drives work fine (IDE and SCSI).  I've never used a Jaz.

- -- 
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Phil Brutsche				    pbrutsch@tux.creighton.edu

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