Advice needed on new PC [solved]

[mikep]

Thanks Keith,

It does help. If I go for this option I'll reuse my old PCIe graphics card at first and replace it if necessary. I hate the way manufacturers muddy the water with half-truths - like 2 16x PCIe slots when one of them will almost certainly run at 8x

I think I need to ask some questions of Novatech now. Such as does the motherboard support NVMe. Might as well go the whole hog. Only 1 left in stock now, so that's the next nuisance..

I'm running Xubuntu 18.04 so I presume (hope) it should work on this kit. I'd be very interested to hear what happens when you download the driver from AMD and try Ubuntu 20.04. Still, nice to see motherboard vendors even acknowledging Linux..the world has truly tilted on it's axis. Trump out. Cummings going. The world in Lockdown. Now Linux being acknowledged. I don't know which is most surprising.

Thanks again for your time.

Mike

[Keith]

Hello Mike.

With regard to x8 and x16 PCIe, this link is helpful: https://ask.adaptec.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/14662/~/can-an-8-lane-pci-e-card-be-used-in-a-16-lane-pci-e-slot%3F.  The old PCIe graphics card that I initially used worked fine in the x16 slot, but your micro ATX board might be different.  But it won't harm to try it, as you mention.   

I suggest that you have a look at https://www.minitool.com/lib/nvme-ssd-007.html before venturing into NVME.  A straightforward M.2 SSD might be the best starting point, but speaking to Novatech is a good idea as you'll get a guarantee. 

Ubuntu 18.04 is running well on the new PC with Ryzen 5 2600 but I haven't yet enquired about Linux drivers - I'll report back if I do. 

Keith

[mikep]

Not ignoring you guys, it's just that I asked Gigabyte for some information and I'm waiting for their reply...

Thanks for the links Keith. The number of options with SSDs  is a bit bewildering. Remember when it was just ATA (IDE) or SATA?

[mikep]

Still no word from Gigabyte. Customer service or what?

Plus I've been sidetracked by work and other problems. I'll have to get back to this soon though.

M

[mikep]

The Gigabyte page includes the following note:
Remark
    1. Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors' website or 3rd party website.
The B450 board that I bought works fine with Ubuntu 18.04 but not with Ubuntu 20.04 which wouldn't let me log in, so I might explore that issue. 

I just checked the AMD website Keith and there is no sign of a linux driver for that chipset...

[Keith]

Ah.  Doomsville, as we say in the trade.   I'm out of ideas at present.

Keith

[mikep]

Me too.

I think I'm going to have to stop looking for an easy fix and get down to some serious research. A quick look at scan.co.uk seems to suggest that Asrock boards look promising..

[DavidMcCann]

The Gigabyte page includes the following note:
1. Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors' website or 3rd party website.

That's interesting, because my Gigabyte GA-A320M-S2H doesn't come with that warning, although they both use an AMD chipset. That's the sort of thing that made me decide to just buy ready-to-run this time.

[mikep]

Where do I begin? After all the questions and answers above (and thanks for all the help folks), I had an epiphany moment last night.

I said my motherboard was on it's last legs because strange things kept happening. Some USB ports stopped working, the boot process would stop sometimes and say that the processor had been changed. Other times it was fine. I assumed the board was gradually failing. Then last night the system clock switched to the year 2059. Bingo! Motherboard battery failure... I swapped the battery this evening and everything looks fine so far.

All this has got me interested in a more modern computer though, so I'll probably build one soon. Or I might just get a pcie M.2 drive and increase my RAM in the short term. I'm taking a break from all this researching for a while - I'm also spending a lot of time looking for a new car, and that really is getting urgent. I don't think a £2.50 battery will solve that one.

Anyway, I'll mark this solved. Thank you all for the advice and for your time. It was much appreciated.

[Keith]

Thank you for expressing your appreciation, Mike. 

Looks like you are getting close to a solution, so we watch with bated breath. 

Keith