How Linux friendly is this build?

[Kristian Joensen]

So I am considering buying a new desktop computer, mainly for gaming but I want to be able to install Linux on the thing without any major problems. These are the specs of the latest offer I have gotten. How Linux compatible is this?:

Asrock B75 PRO3 ATX USB3 SATA6
Intel Core i7 3770 3.4GHz 8MB Box S1155
Seagate Barracuda 2TB SATA6 64MB 7200RPM
OCZ Agility 3 Series SSD 240GB 525/500 M
Pioneer BDR-207EBK BD-RE DL BD-XL blu-ra
Enermax NAXN 82+ 750W PSU - 80+ Bronze m
Enermax Vostok Midi Tower Case Black/Sil
Kingston Value RAM DDR3 2x8GB 1600MHz CL11
MSI GeForce GTX670 2GB DDR5 OC 2xDVI/DP/

[archibald]

Blue-ray (yes, I did mean to type it like that, the colour has an 'e') support isn't something I'd like to rely on under linux, but it will be able to deal with CDs and DVDs without batting an eyelid.

Motherboards can vary in their level of support but I'd be surprised if you had issues, Linux hardware support is pretty good nowadays.

Support for everything else should be stellar. As a disclaimer, I've not tried SATA6, so I don't know about that.

[Kristian Joensen]

What worries me by Googling is that according to the Asrock website the MB supports Windows 8. That would imply that is supports Secureboot but that it can be disabled. But as far as I can tell there isn't the slighest mention of secureboot, much less disabling it in the manual.

[brosis]

Hello!
I recommend using either Xeon - either 1155 (dualchannel) or 2011 (quadchannel), or desktop Piledriver CPUs (lower price segment) with unbuffered ECC memory for greatly improved reliability.
ASRock is not good vendor in terms of support.
Pioneer drives are ok.
The PSU quality is very good, but its price/performance is mediocre. I recommend looking at Seasonic or other brands that employ primary / secondary 105C solid Hi-Caps and circuit protections.

[Kristian Joensen]

Thanks for the input brosis But I am only really interested in Linux compatibility in this thread. I know blu-ray will be an issue but I want everything else to work and if possible to work out of the gate. I live in a country with a very limited selection of goods and services, so I can't get just any CPU or MB or anything really. I am limited by what the shops can get from their(often Danish) suppliers.

[brosis]

Thanks for the input brosis But I am only really interested in Linux compatibility in this thread. I know blu-ray will be an issue but I want everything else to work and if possible to work out of the gate. I live in a country with a very limited selection of goods and services, so I can't get just any CPU or MB or anything really. I am limited by what the shops can get from their(often Danish) suppliers.

Hello, in case you can not purchase Xeons, please use AMD desktop processors instead with desktop motherboards of reliable brands (ASUS, MSI etc). The only limiting factor would then be the availability of unbuffered ECC memory, which all AMD desktop systems with notable exception of ASRock support. Scientific studies estimate memory corruption probability of non-ECC memory to be around 33% per year.

Of course, if the data you work with is not important and you don't mind higher crash probability, the best option would be Intel Desktop processors.

Regarding PSUs, it is advisable to pick affordable 80Plus Silver and higher rating units available and affordable in your area and then do some research on capacitors type from reviews. For example from jonnyguru.
105c rated japanese Nippon Chemicon, Rubicon are the best ones. The board soldering should also be of good quality, then you will enjoy your efficient and reliable PSU for many years. Enermax have a reputation of not only building elite, but also possessing damaging elitism..

[TheLexMachine]

It's a fine build. Remember that not all disk utilities in Linux properly recognize and format Advanced Format drives, so you will have to adjust your installation process for the HDD accordingly.

[brosis]

It's a fine build. Remember that not all disk utilities in Linux properly recognize and format Advanced Format drives, so you will have to adjust your installation process for the HDD accordingly.

Hello. This is IMHO incorrect, as only parted/gparted are able to map the disks correctly and also create a GPT table. Fdisk and other tools have not been updated for years and their use is IMHO a legacy.
Also, my experiences are such that Advanced Format harddisks are all falsely marking themselves as "normal 512-kb" drives, even in SMART. Possibly its a workaround for pre-Windows Vista compatibility.
Eitherway, the reliable way is to check if its AF drive is the disk manufacturer documentation or question on official forums.

[TheLexMachine]

Hello. This is IMHO incorrect, as only parted/gparted are able to map the disks correctly and also create a GPT table. Fdisk and other tools have not been updated for years and their use is IMHO a legacy.
Also, my experiences are such that Advanced Format harddisks are all falsely marking themselves as "normal 512-kb" drives, even in SMART. Possibly its a workaround for pre-Windows Vista compatibility.
Eitherway, the reliable way is to check if its AF drive is the disk manufacturer documentation or question on official forums.

I believe the appropriate wording you are looking for is "unfortunate". By quoting my post and saying "This is IMHO incorrect", you are saying in your post that what I said was incorrect when it is in fact correct and the rest of your post agrees with what I said. As for the drives, all new AF drive models - which are all they make now - now only work as AF drives and no longer have a fall-back mode where a jumper over a pair of pins makes the drive appear to be the same as the older drives by modifying the controller processes.

[brosis]

I believe the appropriate wording you are looking for is "unfortunate". By quoting my post and saying "This is IMHO incorrect", you are saying in your post that what I said was incorrect when it is in fact correct and the rest of your post agrees with what I said. As for the drives, all new AF drive models - which are all they make now - now only work as AF drives and no longer have a fall-back mode where a jumper over a pair of pins makes the drive appear to be the same as the older drives by modifying the controller processes.

Hello, no, my wording is appropriate. I disagreed with

Remember that not all disk utilities in Linux properly recognize and format Advanced Format drives

by saying that

only parted/gparted are able to map the disks correctly and also create a GPT table. Fdisk and other tools have not been updated for years and their use is IMHO a legacy.

projected to msdos era, the claims would be
"not all disk utilities support ntfs"

with my counter claim
"all of them support it, just not the legacy stuff which no one should ever use"

Also, it has nothing to do with drive switch, they still report themselves as 512-sector size drive. There is eventually a flag in harddisk parameters "AF:true/false", but even there is false information, at least by all Seagate and Samsung drives.

I hope that clarifies everything.