I am looking to build a new rig and only use linux on it. I have an old PC lying around, but it only has a Pentium 4 with 2GB of ram.
From reading the KVM threads on here, I have noticed a few posts saying that ASUS motherboards aren't that friendly with virtualization because they only allow 64Mb of video memory to be passed through or something like that.
What cpu/motherboard combo would have the best support for KVM?
something without any peripherals. for Pentium 4 maybe gigabyte/intel ~ they were mostly common.
From what I gathered in that post your best bet is AMD CPU with a AsRock board.
AsRock and Asus.
Ive always had good luck with Gigabyte boards and AMD.
why pick MB brand by OS ? i had MSI and ASUS and ran WIN and FEDORA... if you want more options you should get newer hardware
About the only thing I consider is the NIC I usually get one with an Intel NIC. Apart from that motherboards are very well supported
The brand calling is a bit ridiculous. None of the names mentioned, publicly claim they support Linux. The amount of Linux users is simply not high enough to justify the extra resources required to provide official support. Do they even have software APIs that are cross-platform? I guess you have UEFI to do most of your configuration but what about tweaking and reading out stats to show in your Linux desktop environment of choice?
http://www.phoronix.com has a bunch of reviews on motherboards and other hardware that you can check out.
I would avoid companies that rely on heavy marketing or are gaming oriented. Try to read through all the buzzwords and look for the specs. If they clearly state support for something in their specifications you have a better chance of calling them out when it ends up not working after all.
One thing to look out for in the future are boards that only secure boot into Windows as mentioned in this article: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/03/windows-10-to-make-the-secure-boot-alt-os-lock-out-a-reality/.
Gigabyte, ASRock or Asus, but not the ROG versions. Even though they have been getting better support i believe.
If most of the onboard stuff is Realtek & Intel, it would most likely work well with Linux.
I wouldn't say none of them. Motherboards are a collection of chip sets and devices, if you are worried about compatibility with [x] part look up if it's certified for Linux. (BlueTooth and Wi-Fi chip set, Processor, Graphics Card...)
http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/catalog/
I struggle to understand why people don't link that, but there's thousands of components listed there.
Also some manufacturers supply Linux drivers.
generic answer is the more intel the better. but really any board that is reputable should work fine. i've had some issues with sensors and fan control, but it's been a while now. fan control is now being built into the uefi/bios and to me that's better than application software control. wireless drivers can be a pain. i run linux on asus boards.
I'm actually using ASUS. Works great for me so far.
Me too, I have two PCs both with an Asus Z87-Pro and currently haven't had any issues yet with them.
Same here
Asus master race, with AMD CPU, because it saves me the trouble of the Intel GPU with PCI express card. Less pointless configuration is good.
However, I might get an AsRock motherboard in my next PC.
I've moved to the entry level server parts with Supermicro for all of my builds. They aren't that much more expensive, if at all, compared to desktop parts. Virtualization including VGA passthrough has been solid for my last 3 builds.
Also regarding Windows 10 and secure boot lock out linked above, I can't image this will ever be an issue on server boards.
my next board for the file server will definitely be a supermicro.
[edit] i didn't see the reply link.. it looked as if my first reply was in the main thread. still not use to the new layout. sorry for the dual posts.. [/edit]
I'm personally using an ASUS board, I've also used an old Gigabyte board and it worked fine as well. Pretty much all motherboards should be fine, just say out of "gaming" ones, for example they usually have proprietary sound cards (eg. Creative) and stuff like this.
Very true answer, but, Linux is not like half of decade ago or more, a lot of things are supported now.