[olug] Mobo/Video recommendations

[Obi-Wan]

> OK, so my 7-yr-old dual P3 motherboard has finally breathed its last
> -- at least for production environments.  I'm now in the market for a
> new mobo/CPU/RAM/video/power combination.  Not bleeding edge, but maybe
> one or two notches below it.  Do any of you have any combos that you
> have had unusually good or bad (especially bad) luck with under Linux?
> Finding a combo that meets my specs is easy, but determining Linux
> compatibility is always difficult (or at least time consuming).
> 
> This will run Ubuntu Gutsy (7.10).  I want a single socket, dual core
> AMD mobo with at least 2 IDE ports (4 drives), onboard audio, 8GB RAM,
> and as many PCI(-X) slots as possible. Onboard fireware (1394) would

That should read PCI-express, not PCI-X, but I'm sure you all knew that.

> be nice.  I don't play games or watch movies on my computer, but while
> I can live without it, I have grown fond of Compiz here at work.
> 
> I know that nVidia vid cards have had a good reputation for Linux
> support over the years.  With AMD buying ATI, has Linux support for
> their cards improved any, or should I still avoid ATI?
> 
> Is there a particular north/south bridge chipset that I should get
> or avoid on the mobo?
> 
> How big a power supply do I really need to power a fast Athlon 64x2,
> a decent vid card, and a half dozen hard drives?  Is 400W enough?
> 
> I also want to make sure that the mobo BIOS supports returning to the
> previous power state (on) after recovering from a power failure.  My
> current (dying) mobo can't do that, which is annoying when we get a
> power outage while I'm on vacation, since I run all my email through
> this machine.
> 
> Anyway, thanks in advance for your opinions.

-- 
Ben "Obi-Wan" Hollingsworth                             obiwan at jedi.com
   The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the
     Giver of all good things, so if I stand, let me stand on the
       promise that You will pull me through.  -- Rich Mullins