Ask Slashdot: Linux on Mobos w/ Integrated Sound & Video. 184
Steven M. asks:
"Does anyone have any experience with using
Linux on PC's that have video and sound
support built into the motherboard? One board
that's caught my eye is the Tiger Micro-ATX
Socket 7. That would mean I'd only need to
get a floppy and hard drive, memory, and
network card to hook it up to my current
system, and a case to put them in. Saving a
fair amount on my budget by dropping the need
to buy seperate video and sound cards. I'm
not looking to build a cutting edge system,
just something decent on which to connect to
the internet, and possibly learn some
programming. Would this work? Or am I better
off with a bare-bones Motherboard and seperate
video and sound cards?" Is there an FAQ on
this? I'm not aware of one and this topic
would be important to sub-$500 PC crowd.
No problem, but... (Score:1)
That said, I'd recommend against getting a board with the video and sound integrated. If you're not looking for something fancy, video and sound are about the cheapest parts of the computer. You can get something useable for either sound or video for under $20, and by getting them seperately, you preserve your upgrade path for later when you decide that what you really want is the $300 Super-Hyper-4D-Accelerated-Speed-Demon video card, or, conversely, when you later upgrade your motherboard, you don't have to replace your video and sound, too...
Um, normal people dont upgrade. (Score:1)
On-board sound and video (Score:1)
On-board video is another story altogether. A cheap video card can be had for around $25, while Accelerated X to drive an unsupported video card will set you back for $99.
Go for the on-board sound, in other words, but stick with a cheap (but supported) video card for your video needs.
-- E
Look at emachines (Score:1)
Crystal 3D Sound Chip (CS4235)--The CS4235 is a single chip multimedia audio system. The CS4235 includes an integrated FM synthesizer and a Plug-and-Play interface. In addition, the CS4235 includes hardware master volume control pins as well as extensive power management and 3D sound technology. The CS4235 is compatible with the Microsoft Windows Sound System standard and will run software written to the Sound Blaster and Sound Blaster Pro interfaces. The CS4235 is fully compliant with Microsoft PC97 and PC98 audio requirements.
Integrated AV in motherboards (Score:1)
I have an older motherboard (VX) which has an integrated Audio and Video card. I was able to install Red Hat 5.2 with automatic detection of both components. Unfortunately, I am still unable to get it to actually communicate with the audio card. So it is possible to get linux on, but, the real issue that I see is future problems. If you ever want to upgrade you mother board, you will have to buy a new video and sound card. The integrated solutions may be attractive in the short run, but, painful in the long run as I have discovered. Avoid it unless you really want to limit yourself.
3dSoundPro and linux (Score:1)
Many of thee boards use the HRTF 3DsoundPro chip. It's SB compatable, but how can we take advantage of the 3D features in this chip? Anyone have specs, or a modified aumixer??
H.
Integrated Motherboards (Score:1)
Or Crystal Sound (Score:1)
Integrated multimedia sucks. (Score:1)
As for integrated video, current CPU's incorporate most video acceleration on board the CPU. In the future, all video functions will be on board the CPU. Why do you want a motherboard with integrated video support when you know the future video-CPU will require a completely different motherboard?
Also P2B-L (Score:1)
It runs Celerons too, BTW, but you may need a BIOS upgrade as Asus doesn't sell all that many P2B-L's. I haven't run Linux onnit, though.
I know seattle boards from intel work fine. (Score:1)
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
VP, SVLUG
By Cyrix, do you mean the MediaGX???? (Score:1)
I second that: they are not upgradable (Score:1)
Blame intel for the IDE integration... they make most of the IDE controller chips, and almost all of the first-generation motherboards are designed by intel. IDE has come a long way in the last couple years, but SCSI it's still not.
Disable the onboard stuff, slap your new whizbang video card in, and be happy. Or else just slap your new whizbang video card in, and have _two_ heads on your machine, or _two_ soundcards, or _two_ whatevers...
And it's still a sucky SB16. Go figure. If you had gotten an integrated motherboard, you'd have gotten better sound and video.
I suppose you also think that all those manufacturers of real unix workstations are stupid dolts for integrating stuff like this on the motherboard. Duh. Thank god people like you never design real workstations.
Noname thingy: (Score:1)
The video was a bitch to setup, but it *is* working now...
Overclockable as well (Score:1)
I've been happy with my onboard stuff (Score:1)
I've been very happy with the built-in cs4232 sound, 100baseTX ethernet, and ultra-wide SCSI on my pr440fx board.
Video, however, is where I'd draw the line. Video stuff changes too fast these days and will probably be obsolete long before your motherboard will. For $30 you can get a cheapie S3 ViRgE card at a computer show and save yourself a lot of trouble.
Caelum (Score:1)
no onboard video? (Score:1)
Video? (Score:1)
no problem, no sound! (Score:1)
I would just try compiling the kernel, moduling the sound and see what happens.
Good luck.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Look at emachines (Score:1)
It says that the sound is Soundblaster pro compatible and the video is Ati Rage 3d IIc.
www.e4me.com [e4me.com]
Look at emachines (Score:1)
Yeah. What he said. As for sound, if you are not planning to use your system for anything that requires great sound (like sound editing on your PC) then this should be fine. Most of the time people use these small speakers anyways.
I fully agree.... (Score:1)
SiS? (Score:1)
Depends on the chips! (Score:1)
Find out what video/sound chips are on the motherboard.
Personally, I would steer clear of generic stuff - stick with Asus for your mobo and you CANNT go wrong. Don'y skimp on such an important component. Just my
Using 2.2.x will increase your chances of support
was a PCI card for a while? (Score:1)
Linux on Mobos... (Score:1)
Dude, forget Tiger--get a Soyo (Score:1)
*$69.99
Onboard Video, NIC, & Sound (Score:1)
Anyone know where I can find such a board?
Thankyah.
-- Hawk Newton
Computer Superfreak
Alton Motherboards run Linux! :) (Score:1)
They have all-in-one motherboards that work in linux!
MB-748MR Specs:
BX-Pro Chipset (up to P-III 500 or C400)
Jumperless Design
8 Megs AGP SIS-Chipset Video Onboard
SoundPRO 3D Onboard Sound w/ SPDIF IN&OUT!
56k Flex OnBoard Modem (havent tested this in linux yet)
AT Form Factor
3 DIMM - 1 ISA - 3 PCI
SuperIO wirh 2 Serial, 1 IR, PS2 Mouse, Parallel, and 2 USB
Onboard Hardware Monitoring
UltraDMA/33 Dual IDE Controller
Supports wake on lan and power management...
Cost: ~74$ EACH in boxes of 20
Im running RedHat 5.2 on this board right now... In order to use the video in X i had to upgrade to the newest XFree (standard RPM upgrade from redhat's site) The SPDIF feature very nice...
Check out my listings of MP3's at ARCTICNET.NET [arcticnet.net]... (i have a LOT of free time
Stay away from TigerDirect!!! (Score:1)
They're a small outfit, but they really know what they're doing.
I'm still looking for a dealer for Epox motherboards, though. I have one in a Pentium 2 computer that I'm very pleased with, even though it's only 66 MHz front-side. Bah.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ [kriston.net]
Shared Video/System Memory Bad? (Score:1)
I've moved these machines to server-land, which isn't such a bad idea because I don't have enough monitors, anyway.
Sound/Video integrated motherboards are great for servers!! This is because they're super cheap and you don't have to waste a good video card on the server, or cripple it with a really slow ISA card, just to boot the stupid thing!
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ [kriston.net]
Ethernet builtin??? = Intel PR440FX (Score:1)
This is a kick-ass board for clustering, due to the dual procs, builtin ethernet, and scsi. One of the first beowulf clusters used just about exactly the configuration I'm going for for their client nodes. I forget which one, but do a web search for "Intel PR440FX" and it'll probably come up.
I can't wait to get some memory and a drive (and some misc. stuff), and fire this puppy up! Anyone else used this board for linux? Or have any recommendations for a HDD and video card?
----------------------
Good, small MP3 box for automotive use (Score:1)
This is the route I'm going with for my automotive MP3 player, assuming I don't run across a cheapo used integrated board soon. I don't know why I haven't had much luck finding one yet, they used to be dirt common, and nearly as cheap.
You can find them on the internet shopping agent sites, but be sure that the chips used for the integrated features are supported by whatever OS you use.
I've been extremely happy with IC-direct at www.ic-direct.com, but their server is dead right now. The case/mobo combo will add up to about $140-200 plus shipping.
Onboard sound and video (Score:1)
Um, normal people dont upgrade. (Score:1)
Not that
How often do regular people upgrade there computers? Never, component by component. Whenever it gets old they either suffer through or cough up the money and get a new one.
Sure compleatly integrated things make it hard to impossible to upgrade subsystems, but so what? Someone in the market for $1000PCs will get there 2-3years out of it then get another one.
What about SCSI? (Score:1)
Rage IIC and BeOS (Score:1)
The existing RagePro driver should support everything from the original Rage chip on up (though not the Rage 128). What was the exact configuration of the system that you tried this on, and what were the exact symptoms observed on failure?
[shameless plug]
altsoftware.com is perfectly willing to develop BeOS drivers for you; regrettably, we can't work for free, but rest assured that anything you contract from us will most definitely be worth the money. Our web page is at http://www.altsoftware.com.
[/shameless plug]
And don't blame me for the web page layout, as it's not my fault
Typo (Score:1)
Serves me right for trying to surf and write messages at the same time
Video? (Score:1)
Why is the video necessary to boot? It would be useful for selecting the MP3s to play, but AFAIK both Linux and BeOS will boot just fine without a video card.
Keyboards, OTOH, can be a problem. The BIOS usually looks for one on startup, though I'm told that this can be disabled on some systems.
A board designed for embedded applications might be your best bet, but good luck finding one under budget.
I have no problem booting without a video card. (Score:1)
I have yet to encounter this problem. I've booted my BeOS box without a video card on several occasions, and it works fine (though I have to telnet into it to do anything useful).
For reference, the system that I'm using is a PII-266 with an Asus P2L97 motherboard.
Rage IIC and BeOS (Score:1)
System configuration noted, and I've passed on this bug report to my superiors.
AFAIK the IIC isn't that new; it's certainly in the table of supported devices in the driver. However, this might indeed be a wierd variant. BeOS drivers check the vendor and device ID in PCI configuration space to identify the cards in the system. In principle, all IICs should have the same device ID (4756 hex), and so should be recognized. However, a wierd variant might have a different ID.
If it isn't too much trouble, please run BeOS and check the device ID of the chip. This can be done by typing "poke" from the command line in a terminal window, and then "pci" to list all devices in PCI space. "quit" exits. Look for something with a vendor ID of "1002". The device ID *should* be "4756", but if it isn't, that would explain a few things.
The serial number off of the chip and the make of the motherboard would be useful too, but don't go out of your way if it's too much trouble. The idea is that we'd have enough information to exactly pinpoint the cases in which the problem occurs.
They are right - go modular (Score:1)
if you just want to upgrade. A decent video card is cheap these days, as is decent sound. Separate components is just much easier, safer, quicker, and cheaper overall.
DONT DO IT! integrated mobo's are crap (Score:1)
This is from my personal expierience, get a real soundblaster (AWE64) a real pci ne2000 card, and a nice supported video board, and avoid the wierd brand motherboards like the plague. the integrated stuff is good for win98 it's worthless for any real operating system.
integrated mobo's are crap:..BS (Score:1)
(BTW: I did get that above list. and it does scream very well! now to get my SCSI IIIwide installed)
Motherboards 101 (Score:1)
I've personally found Asus and Tyan motherboards are worthy buys, and I've heard that Supermicro and Abit make some motherboards that are very good for overclocking.
I would also agree with the person who suggested the modular component strategy. You can get cheap sound and video for about the same price on cards as they are on the board. That is a better long term move for most people.
Good luck
-OT
i disagree (Score:1)
Tiger (Score:1)
Cheap integrated motherboards (Score:1)
-=nft=-
By Cyrix, do you mean the MediaGX???? (Score:1)
Only using Windoze though. I only got my old faithful Intel P133 running Linux.
Upgrading the AGP.... (Score:1)
On Board Sound - ISAPNP (Score:1)
Sounds like an SiS chipset ... (Score:1)
Your are probably fine on the video end with the latest X. Do not know about sound though.
-- Bryan
Integrated vs. seperate cards (Score:1)
I've done both. If you're looking at an MB with integrated video/sound/NIC, look at the chipset they're using and check if Linux supports it. If the kernel (or the X server in the case of video chipsets) supports the chipset, things should work fine.
OTOH, the integrated stuff tends to be at the low end of the scale. Some boards are using moderately decent S3 video, but generally you'll find that for not much more you can get better performance and better quality output from add-in cards. Plus it's easier to replace the cards with newer hardware than it is to disable and replace the integrated stuff.
Technically there shouldn't be any problems with integrated hardware if the basic chipsets are supported. If you're building a system where performance isn't a major issue in that area, integrated hardware might be a bit cheaper. If you need maximum performance and/or flexibility, skip the integrated stuff and go for seperate cards.
Onboard whatnots and all that. (Score:1)
Go for it (Score:1)
SiS? OK >= XFree 3.3.3 (Score:1)
On Board Sound (Score:1)
Crap? (Score:1)
Course you could just view my opinnion as the ramblings of some idiot industrial engineer who is used to working with CompactPCI, VMEbus, ISA/PCI Passive backplanes that have all the components of the PC built onto one expansion card to leave up to 19 slots free for I/O.
Anyway... You be the judge.
On Board Sound - Yamaha OPL3sa3 works (Score:1)
SiS video on board (Score:1)
Does anyone know where I can get this driver, or what it's called, and if its shipped with RHL5.2?
email me at aby55@softcom.net if you can help me on this prob or RHL in general! need yer guys help! thanks alot!
Howto configure XF3.3.3 for SIS6326(pcchips M747)? (Score:1)
Thanks!
Alexandre
pci onboard devices (Score:1)
Disagree: Onboard can limit you later... (Score:1)
Sometimes there are other reasons for buying "cheap" besides saving money on your *only* computer. Sometimes buying a second computer dedicated to a task (PPP/Firewall, for instance -- or maybe Samba server, or even load Solaris for Intel on it and use it as an NIS Server) that doesn't need to be full-featured or even expandable.
Besides, I thought the question was "will this work," not "Is it a good idea?"
Motherboards with Ethernet builtin??? (Score:1)
Looking through my freebie ad-mag there is one board with onboard ethernet. Its the ASUS P2B-LS, which should be a pretty decent board (its not the same one that I worked on). Intel ethernet and adaptec SCSI, with a BX chipset. The only downer is the $370 pricetag. Good luck.
Integrated Sound (Score:1)
As for video, my personal opinion is a card is better. Video cards are dirt-cheap right now, you can pick up a S3 or ATI chipset for around $50 that works well with linux. If you do decide to get a video card on the board, make sure the chip is supported, and also make sure you can disable it if you decide to upgrade.
On-board Sound (Score:1)
The board just cost 5$ more than the same
version without onboard sound.
The sound is a ESS-Solo hooked on the PCI bus.
I use ALSA for sound, it works great.
I second that: they are not upgradable (Score:1)
Disable the onboard stuff, slap your new whizbang video card in, and be happy. Or else just slap your new whizbang video card in, and have _two_ heads on your machine, or _two_ soundcards, or _two_ whatevers...
"
Actually, I have a friend with a Houston mobo with everything integrated. The sound is a CM8330 or something like that, which is at least half decent. The video is an SiS 6326 - I've had bad experiences with SiS in the past, but...
The thing is, the SiS is an AGP chipset, but there's no AGP slot on the board. So if you wanted to replace the video card, you had to go PCI, which is slowly fading away...
However (Score:1)
Good, cheap quality mobo: ~$70
Good, cheap quality video: not sure
Good, cheap quality sound: $20
I bought a new SB 16 for my computer at work just a couple of months ago. It was $20 after shipping. And, of course, compatible with everything. Does it blow me away? No. Can I hear noise with it? Yes. =D
I agree with you completely, though. Avoid integrated systems like the plague. A friend of mine has an integrated Acer, and it has kept him from upgrading much of anything (aside from memory and hard drive), because to change one thing he'd have to change the whole damn mess.
--
Modular always better (Score:1)
(If you can, I gotta find your source.
--Nick
Three letters: LPX (Score:1)
-Chris
Avoid! (Score:1)
*/Anything is possible once it happens/*
~Jason Maggard
Various Asus all-in-one motherboard (Score:1)
on-board sound & video is BAD: stay away! (Score:1)
The only reason I used the integrated board was because I needed enough free ISA slots to accomodate some legacy hardware I use, and almost no boards these days support more than three ISA slots (and many only support three PCI slots as well: grrr!)
On my next machine, however, I'm going to spend the money to get a reasonable number of expansion slots, or else get an integrated motherboard with proper documentation and contact information. (more likely, I'm not going to suffer through another Intel based Linux box)
Onboard Video, NIC, & Sound -> GA-6ZOZ (Score:1)
A lame duck (Score:1)
Disagree: Onboard can limit you later... (Score:1)
After the inital setup, you shouldn't even *need* to have a video card in there at all. (some boards won't boot without it though)
Dell Optiplex GX1 (Score:1)
I used ALSA to get the sound going, following the directions here [best.com].
It also has a Voodoo2 for Quaking. :)
Sound Good, Video not-so-great (Score:1)
However (Score:1)
Go modular. (Score:1)
Unless you're planning on doing crazy VR stuff or buying a 50" monitor (both of which remove you from the bargain category), today's mid-range video and sound cards are about as good as you'll ever need. Buy them once and recycle them through a series of faster motherboards and chips.
This thread is probably of more relevance to Linux on laptops than for the sub $500 PC.
Ethernet builtin??? = Intel PR440FX (Score:1)
If you know, it'd be great if you could email me, too (deephand@remus.rutgers.edu)
Thanks...
3dSoundPro and linux (Score:1)
CMI8330 Mini-HOWTO
Version 0.05
February 13, 1999
Author: Ken McCord (ken.mccord@usa.net)
describes how to use 3D. I am trying it out now... I won't include the file here, as I don't own it.
Integrated sound/video OK for linux (Score:1)
I would't recommend that you get an integrated motherboard on a whim like I did. (I got lucky) But chipset support is getting much better, so if you do your homework, you should be able to get a motherboard with supported, integrated sound/video.
PS: x11amp ROX! Streaming mp3 was the only reason I bothered with sound in the first place.
Disagree: Onboard can limit you later... (Score:1)
Onboard Sound & Video It Works (Score:1)
By Cyrix, do you mean the MediaGX???? (Score:1)
Stay away from TigerDirect!!! (Score:1)
Back when I was not as wise as I am am now, I purchased a Tiger-Super7 barebones kit. Here's the website of the company that made the included mobo: http://www.visiontop.com.tw
Needless to say, I'm not going to get any BIOS updates =-(
My advice: get a brand-name mobo with nothing onboard. It's more expensive, but a much better value in the end. Your system will last 2-3 times as long.
Dude, forget Tiger--get a Soyo (Score:1)
integrated mobo's are crap:..BS (Score:1)
Uhhh...yeah. A 450MHz one for 75$ (300A guaranteed to run at 450MHz!).
Onboard Sound & Video It Works (Score:1)
Silicon Integrated Systems, the maker of the video chip, certainly isn't much help..
Check the board's EQ (Score:1)
Sheck the specs on the board to find out what chipset the audio and video are running. Chances are the video is an S3 derivative, and the audio is an ESS 1688 (I think) which is a SB clone. For that, read the docs in your kernel source files. There's explicit instructions on the settings for the hardware.
By Cyrix, do you mean the MediaGX???? (Score:1)
Iv'e been wondering about the MediaGX chips, there was some talk about them earlier on
Any takers?
John.
What about k6-3 support... (Score:1)
-