Will Ubunbu be compatible?

[Zanon]

Hi all,

I am in process of purchasing a custom PC without an operating system so that I can install Ubuntu 11.10.

Although, the vendor is well regarded and specialises in custom PC's and prominently sells (on its website) standard configuration desktops without an operating system, the vendor is not willing to give any kind of undertaking that the system will work with any linux distribution.

This seems a bit perverse to me as I would have thought most purchasers of desktop PC's without an operating system would want to run a linux system (and, more likely than not, Ubuntu).

Anyway, this is the spec of the desktop PC:

CIT 1009B CASE
ASUS P8H61-M LX2/SI, INTEL CORE I5 2400 (3.10GHZ, 6MB CACHE) CPU
2 x MUSHKIN 2GB DDR3 1333MHZ RAM
ASUS ATI RADEON HD 5450 1GB PCI E GRAPHICS CARD
Samsung 22X Dual Layer SATA DVD +/- Rewriter
1000GB S-ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive
ADDON 802.11N 300MBPS PCI WIRELESS NETWORK CARD
Winpower 500W Standard Power Supply

I don't think the spec is particularly unusual and I would expect to Ubuntu 11.10 to work on it. However, it's quite a lot of money to spend without being certain that Ubuntu 11.10 will work.

At the end of the day it's my decision but I would really appreciate any views from forum members about the configuration and whether there are likely to be any compatibility issues with Ubuntu is general (and Ubuntu 11.10 specifically).

Kind regards,

Zanon

[e79]

I suggest you check hardware compatibility here and here.

Also, if you are looking at having Ubuntu as primary OS only (no dual boot with Windows), I would suggest you give a look at System76 and Zareason; both manufacturers are building PCs specifically with Ubuntu compatibility/support and drivers (Ubuntu comes preinstalled on their laptops)

Hope this helps.

[Zanon]

Hi e76,

Thanks for your quick response.

The problem with hardware certification is that it seems really limited at present. The hardware in the main comes with Windows which I don't want to pay for if I am not going to use. Also, hardware seems mainly old (32bit) equipment and there is virtually no certification for 11.10 and limited for 11.04.

The suppliers you suggest (System76 and Zareason) look really good but are USA based. (Apologies, I should have said that I needed to purchase in the UK.)

Kind regards,

Zanon

[MarjaE]

Ubuntu certification is not reliable. It listed a number of non-Ubuntu-compatible touchpads as Ubuntu-certified. There were years of frequent bug reports before the patch.

[e79]

Hi e76,

Thanks for your quick response.

The problem with hardware certification is that it seems really limited at present. The hardware in the main comes with Windows which I don't want to pay for if I am not going to use. Also, hardware seems mainly old (32bit) equipment and there is virtually no certification for 11.10 and limited for 11.04.

The suppliers you suggest (System76 and Zareason) look really good but are USA based. (Apologies, I should have said that I needed to purchase in the UK.)

Kind regards,

Zanon

You're welcome.

I'm not sure for Zareason but System76 is a UK based company They ship in the U.S, Canada and U.K. As for the compatibility vs list, I understand your concerns, I would have thought it would be a bit more up-to-date, sorry for that.

Regards