Build a computer to run linux

[TOTALLYn00b]

Hello all forum browsers! :D

Im planning on building a computer to run Linux on it.. Just to give it a try and maybe larn some to :).
Nothing to expensive, got a quite tight budget, but something around 1-1.5 ghz, 256 ddr ram, 40 gb hdd.

Now my question:
What hardware does Linux like?
Can you recomend a motherboard, where to buy it / RAM ?
Is it worth buying a hdd on ebay instead of the local geek shop ? ;)
I would appreciate any kind of help.

Putting the box together wont be a problem..

Just keep in mind that im on a budget :D

[2ndsign]

get a nvidia geforce 2 or 4 video card

get a soundblaster sound card

if your not going to use cable or dsl get a serial 56 k modem

id recommend over 1000mghertz p3 cpu

good luck and keep us informed!:)

[tommyj27]

linux will run on just about anything you throw at it, if you're planning to use the system for just desktop tasks or some light use as a server at home you don't need much in the way of hardware. my internet gateway is a pentium-200 with 96M of memory and it routes between two internal networks and the internet, acts as a dns server, a mail server, a dhcp server and soon i'll be adding several more services, right now it's using 11M of memory.
I guess that's just my long winded testimonial that you don't need to go buy anything special to get started with linux. It shouldn't have any problem with AMD or Intel CPUs, most chipsets will work just fine, but try and avoid buying an el-cheapo motherboard, abit, asus, msi, and several other make good boards. graphics cards should all work but you may want to go nvidia, the ati drivers for their newer cards are still rough around the edges.

[ricstr]

I would have to dissagree with 2ndsign and say no dont buy a Nvidia video card, so id say get an Ati or Matrox graphics card because ive had better experances with these and Nvidia are more for gaming purposes, and im not a gamer.

Motherboards id say get an Asus, i have an A7V333 and absolutly love it, perfomance and stabily it what it should be, and ive had no problems.
for a cpu, id say a low end Athlon chip such as XP1700+

Memory twinmoss or samsung DDR cant go wrong with them.

Hard disk i recommend seagate, they may not be the fastest but they are quality.

[TOTALLYn00b]

As for the sound card, I wont be using that cuz I got all my mp3´s etc. on another computer and dont intend to play them in Linux. :)

Im not sure if im going for athlon or pentium yet..
but would a 1ghz Celeron be as good as a 1ghz p3?
and would a 1ghz Athlon be as good as a 1ghz p3? :D

Got internet shared via a local gateway (linux, jay) so i´ll just buy the cheapest 10 mbit network card I can find.

Would a Nvidia card be any different from Ati or Matrox in price / preformance? I just want to do simple text writing, programing, internet browsing etc. No 3d / Gaming involved :)

As for the ASUS motherboard, I havnt had time to check it out yet but if ur as satisfied with it as you appear to be,
im impressed :)
What about the price on that one?

How much cheaper / expensiver would it be buying a hdd on Ebay / Local computer store?

[Atealtha]

ASUS = stable as a mountain

even though you dont have MP3s, consider a sound card: Will you watch movies, play games, or goto sites with sound?

Athlons are pretty cheap. As for the NIC, I use RealTek 8139. Iunno how cheap those go for, but it seems they're cheap from what I heard.

I use a GeForece4 MX 420 card with the latest nvidia drivers. When I goto a virtual terminal it gives me a Scan Out of Range error. If you're considering an NVIDIA card, goto www.nvidia.com and goto their forums and ask which one gives the least problems in linux. They have great support there.

[ricstr]

Yep, i have Realtek 8139 very popular card and all the major operating systems have support for them.
I have had no problems with it and it cost only £10 out of the exspensive shop. :P

Most motherboards these days have onboard sound so i would not worry about sound card (Usualy Soundblaster or C-Media)

Celerons and Duron chips have smaller cache that the Athlons and Pentiums that is the major difference between them, A cache allows frequently used data to be stored in the processor localy so that it dosnt have to fetch it from memory, so it inceases the speed and as always more is better. :)

If you want a basic video card you can get an S3 card for £15 or less.
http://www.dabs.com/products/prod-search.asp?action=search&refp=S3+Savage&mid=-1&tid=700&ob=price&obd=asc&Refine.x=0&Refine.y=0&Refine=Refine&stab=ref&p=&lp=&up=&mc=&sc=

Asus boards are not the cheapest but if you look on ebay for a older model thats not the latest an gratest it should do you just fine.

As for hard disk, im not sure, personaly i would buy it from a shop as the hard disk is crucial so i wouldent take the chance with someone elses missused and poorly packaged/shipped hard disk as they are a bit easier to damage than most components.

[TOTALLYn00b]

Ok, thanks for a great response,
I think I will manage fine buildning my linux box thks to you guys,
I will post all the hardware etc. when I got it built and ready to go :D