Older chipset info request

[HappyLinux]

I previously posted requests of support for chipsets as posted here.

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=212999
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=213022
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=213023

I've been doing research and not getting very far.

I went through the list of motherboards that I have as an option and found that all but the 2 cheapest use the following chipsets;
ALC1150
Intel I219V
Killer E2400
Creative Sound Core (no clue on the chipset)

So far, these are recent chipsets, released about a year ago and used in mid to upper range mother boards. Not the budget boards.

The 2 remaining motherboards are;
MSI Z170A PC MATE Motherboard
ASUS Z170-K Motherboard

These two boards use much older chipsets.
RTL8111H network
ALC887 audio

I've searched and searched. As far as I can figure out, these chipsets came out back in 2011. The most recent support info I could find was people trying to solve problems with them back in 2012 across distros from Ubuntu to Fedora and several others.

Please, Please. This is my last chance. Will these two chipsets work with Mint 17.3 out of the box? No fiddling about download drivers/programs and/or modifying settings through terminal.

[cwsnyder]

Specific chipsets are not listed as compatible or not compatible because chipsets (especially for peripherals) change too frequently and without notice for the Kernel maintainers to have a complete list. A better question to ask is what reference design do the chipsets API emulate, then see if the API is compatible. Otherwise, you are stuck like the rest of us--take a Live Mint DVD or thumb drive, attempt to boot the machine, and test to see that all operates as expected. If you are a driver developer or Kernel maintainer, and you know what the chips are supposed to emulate, and where problems occur, you modify the driver code and retry until your problems go away.

Or you go to a provider who will certify your machine to run a particular version of Linux Kernel.

[HappyLinux]

You telling me to do the impossible there mate.

I can understand not all chipsets will be listed for the kernel, but surely the most common ones will be.

I also have no idea what you mean by the chipset emulating API thingy.

I also cannot simply boot a LiveDVD and hope for the best as I don't have the new computer yet. That's why I'm trying to find out if a motherboard is completely compatible under Linux to save doing things I can't easily do. Like inputting commands into terminal.

Going to a provider to certify if it will run under Linux is also very difficult. As you know, not all hardware manufacturers support linux, and not all computer stores support Linux either. The place that I get my computer from doesn't support Linux. They take the customers word that the components will work under Linux. As they custom build computers, they provide a small selection of motherboards.

I even went to a website that sells components individually and couldn't find any motherboards (not including budget) that didn't come with ALC1150, Killer E2400 etc chipsets. The budget ones had the chipsets that were several years old.

[Hoser Rob]

... Will these two chipsets work with Mint 17.3 out of the box? No fiddling about download drivers/programs and/or modifying settings through terminal.

You just cannot expect to get an answer for such a question. What you want is beyond the range of free forum support. If anyone could answer, which I very much doubt, they probably wouldn't even bother reading the thread.

Look up each component on each motherboard for linux issues. Stick to debian/ubuntu based distros when you search. Ubuntu has a huge user base and the best support for non techies (sorry, it's just true).

The ubuntu support sites have lists of hardware that they call 'certified' but that isn't actually official. And the lists are out of date. Didn't you see that stuff when you searched?

But do not expect each peripheral on each motherboard to have the same chipset the docs say it does.

[HappyLinux]

You just cannot expect to get an answer for such a question. What you want is beyond the range of free forum support. If anyone could answer, which I very much doubt, they probably wouldn't even bother reading the thread.

Look up each component on each motherboard for linux issues. Stick to debian/ubuntu based distros when you search. Ubuntu has a huge user base and the best support for non techies (sorry, it's just true).

The ubuntu support sites have lists of hardware that they call 'certified' but that isn't actually official. And the lists are out of date. Didn't you see that stuff when you searched?

But do not expect each peripheral on each motherboard to have the same chipset the docs say it does.

I don't expect quick or perfect answer, I just need easy solutions. I also tend to unfortunately get a bit naggy when in a rush. Which I am in a rush.

As Mint is Ubuntu based, I always add Ubuntu and Mint into the search queries. Doesn't always work.

I could try calling the computer company to find out, but I doubt they would be able to answer the query beyond telling me to check the manufacturers website.

[HappyLinux]

UPDATE.

I have sent an email off to the computer company where I will be buying my new computer from asking for information on what chipsets come with the motherboards they're offering, and making certain to mention my reasons why I need to know, and even added that sometimes a motherboard manufacturer may revise a motherboard which may change a chip or two and not update their website with the relevant information.

This means that either they'll reject my request, or take the time to look at the motherboards, see what revision they are and even check the drivers disks to see what drivers are on there.

I will update you further when I get a response.

[Ark987]

Search for the chipset only and you will find your way...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a ... 70a-gaming

Now using this MSI Z170A GAMING PRO motherboard for nearly two months, I'm quite happy with the purchase and will likely buy another one when finally getting my hands on a Core i7 6700K shortly. The motherboard has been tested with Fedora and Ubuntu while outlined in my various Skylake articles it's recommended to ideally be running Linux 4.3 Git due to finally enabling the Skylake graphics acceleration by default, audio support, and various other Skylake-specific support improvements in this latest kernel.

In any case you would ever find an answer for this kind of question unless someone else buy that piece of hardware, test it and then share the results with everyone else... there is nothing wrong on being the first one to test!

As rule of thumb, new hardware support in Linux comes few months later after the technology is released, if is not supported be patient it will be in the next Kernel update... a safe move is to stick with Intel based hardware as Intel is well known to support Linux.

For example I've blindly bought this mobo Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H with an Intel® B75 Express Chipset and a Realtek ALC887. So far so good, everything works.

[jimallyn]

It used to be a big problem finding hardware compatible with Linux, but that's not much of a problem anymore. Most hardware works out of the box. If a piece of hardware is quite new, you might have to install a new kernel. (That too used to be a big pain, but not anymore.)

[HappyLinux]

I know what you mean. However, it's a problem when your network adapter doesn't work out of the box. Without internet access, you can't download and install a more recent kernel via the update manager.

However, I have some good news, bad news.

I have found that I can get the M7 motherboard with the ALC1150 and Killer E2400 chipsets and install Linux no problem. However, I need to install Ubuntu 15.10 at the minimum. I found tooked away in hiding a couple of bug reports stating that the problems with these chipsets was high on the list to be solved, and were solved in upstream release after Ubuntu 15.04.

Out of the box, Ubuntu 15.04 uses kernel 3.16.3, but Ubuntu 15.10 uses kernel 4.2. The to be released Ubuntu 16.04LTS comes with kernel 4.3.

As Ubuntu 15.10 ends support this July, and the LTS comes out this April, I can use 15.10, then switch to 16.04, until Linux Mint brings out Mint 18.

I didn't think it would take too long for widely used chipsets to be made compatible under Linux.

Well. I'll leave off for now. Cheers.

[Ark987]

This is a common problem when you want to upgrade to the latest hardware. The same happen to me in the previous Mint release, there was some regression in the kernel that affected Intel graphic cards, thus my PC just randomly rebooted.

If you are the kind of user that always wants the latest and the greatest I would suggest that you also get your copy of M$ Windows, yes as crazy as it sounds. In Linux one kernel release could be perfectly fitting in your box, the next release could be completely borked. That's why Ubuntu doesn't seem to maintain the same level of quality between releases as they tend to just choose time based releases, they just pickup whatever kernel is available at certain point in time.

It is still possible to update your kernel without network adapter, basically you just need like 3 packages, 4 if you also need the network module, but for that you need a second machine or dual boot to something else.

[HappyLinux]

Nah. I'm not the sort that wants the latest and greatest. Just enough to do what I want. At the moment, I need to replace my motherboard due to it starting to fry. One component or another doesn't know whether to work or not. I know this, because it happens in both Mint and Windows. For example, the entire USB system just won't work. Sometimes it's the sound. I've already had to switch my graphics card to another PCIe slot.

Whenever I end up repairing, replacing, upgrading my computer, I always go for the middle range in gaming at the time. That way, after a few years, the specs will be hitting the lower range, but still not basic. Apart from the top of the range motherboard, which I chose for endurance and survivability, a 4GB graphics card (many games are starting to ask for 3 to 4GB), and upping the RAM to 16GB (lowest clock speed), everything is still pretty much basic. The CPU will be in the lower end of what is offered. I'll be recovering the HDD and DVD writer from this computer and fitting them into the new one. To top it off, I'll replace the surge protector that the entire computer system is plugged into.

I know what you mean by kernel regression. However, I've never encountered it.

The Ubuntu problem that you mentioned is also one of the reasons why I prefer Mint. It's also why I'll only be using Ubuntu temporarily.