Motherboard favorites for Linux?

[James A. Stroble]

Jeff Mings wrote:
> 
>     This was _sort_ of asked a month ago, but in a different context.
>  There are SO many motherboards out there, and I haven't bought a PC "in
> parts" for a couple of years, that I'd like to know what brands and/or
> models of motherboards you guys really like and any you have really
> hated.  For instance, several people have said that ABit's Mobos tend to
> be stable and well done.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> -Jeff Mings

Having just built my first system from scratch (mobo transplants don't
count), I can say that the MSI  (Microstar) K7T Turbo Limited has not
given me any problems.  The vendor did send me the non-RAID version
instead of the one with the Promise controller I ordered, but they
refunded the difference in price. Probably saved me lots of trouble.
This uses the VIA KT133 chipset, so is no longer cutting edge, but a
vast improvement over the FIC board in the system it replaces. 
(Actually, I am sending this message from the legacy system, just having
installed Debian sid on it) The new system has Redhat 7.1 running on it,
and has a usb scanner and web cam attached (and functioning!), as well
as a DVD drive that does what DVD drives are supposed to do, as Deven
showed us. The best feature of the MSI Limited boards is that they are
RED! I have to pull the side cover off every so often just to admire it.
Maybe that is the main reason I chose this board.

The board comes with a cd with all kinds of microslush software to do
things like update the bios without your knowledge (and who knows what
else!) and a windows program for overclocking.  Of course all that is
useless to me. I would like to know if there is a way for linux to tap
into the bios info so that I could monitor CPU temperature, especially
after reading Tom's hardware's piece on what happens when  your heatsink
falls of your athlon (sorry, can't find the link).  Anybody have some
experience with that?

My second choice for this system was ASUS, but I was sort of caught
between the PC 133 SDRAM and a hard place, or rather, the DDR memory. 
Whatever; you are already obsolete if it is actually working!


-- 
**************************;~)
*  James (Andy) Stroble
*    Honolulu, HI      
*
*  http://www2.hawaii.edu/~stroble/
*


"I have long feared that my sins would return to visit me,
 and the cost is more than I can bear."

    The Patriot