Installing Ubuntu without previous operating system

[Elljl]

I am building a computer using the following parts:

GB Patriot Gamer Series DDR2/800 RAM
AMD Athlon II X4 620 processor
500 GB hard drive
Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2 revision 1.x motherboard
Sapphire Vapor-X ATI Radeon HD 5750 video card

Will Ubuntu work on this? And can I use the ISO image, ubuntu-9.10-desktop-i386.iso? Or do I have to download another, not labeled i386, but something different?Any other spec needed can be provided.

[earthpigg]

this website is the first-stop-shop to find out if something is compatible:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupport/

your video card isn't listed, unfortunately, so i did a bit of googling.

this (http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd_juniper&num=4) google result says it's possible.


video cards and wireless are generally the most problematic. i checked your video card for you. think you can handle the rest? :D

usually, its a good idea to consult the hardware compatibility list before purchasing hardware. i personally do not purchase anything not listed there.

you can use the i386 iso, but the 64-bit version would probably perform a bit better. not a big deal, though. however, if you intend to have more than ~3.5gb of ram, then you should absolutely go for the 64bit.

[Elljl]

Thanks for the fast reply and searching.
I guess one good thing is I'm probably going to install any wireless cards. I'm probably going to use a broadband over power line ethernet connection, which I suspect should work with Ubuntu. It shouldn't need any drivers or anything since it's just an ethernet connection, right?:-s So since I'm going to use 4GB ram, I should use the 64-bit version? Where would I find that?

[earthpigg]

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download for 64 bit... click on 'alternative download options' below the big button.


It shouldn't need any drivers or anything since it's just an ethernet connection, right?

everything needs drivers. the primary difference between linux and windows is that linux attempts to include them in the kernel, which is why such a rediculous amount of hardware will work out-of-the-box without having to put an install cd in or hunt for them on the internet.

but yes, there is a 99.999999% chance that connecting to the net via ethernet will work out of the box.


I guess one good thing is I'm probably going to install any wireless cards.

if you ever decide to, do what i do: check the hardware compatibility list, and only purchase one that works out of the box with ubuntu.

[mr clark25]

might go for some faster RAM, to. what you have should work, but at a low speed. i would recommend a lot more than 800mhz. i would go for something like 1066mhz.

EDIT: looks like i should have done the research before i posted. gigabyte's site said that it can only handle 800mhz.
you will still get plenty of speed with 800mhz.


do you plan to overclock at all?

[earthpigg]

i agree with the poster above me. if you haven't made the purchase yet, consider maybe getting only 2gb of RAM, but getting faster RAM (and a motherboard that can support it)?

a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link and whatnot.

2gb is a healthy amount for desktop linux and linux gaming use.

[Elljl]

I'm not going to be doing any overclocking simply because I don't know how to. And thanks, earthpig, for the compatibility site. I'm completely reviewing my order now. The link for the 32-bit version, it isn't bit torrent, is it? Because I have no bit torrent software. And my RAM, it should run good enough with 2GB?

[efflandt]

The Alternative download options... link opens up radio buttons to select 32 or 64 bit to download directly once you select a location from that list.

2 GB should be plenty for now. Note that I am currently using less than 600 MB, the rest is buffered/cached data:


total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 2058060 1876920 181140 0 135120 1151624
-/+ buffers/cache: 590176 1467884
Swap: 2290640 0 2290640

[73ckn797]

If you have over 3 gig of RAM and install 32 bit the install will likely use a PAE enabled kernel. That is what I discovered on one install with 6 gig. If not you can install it after the initial installation by finding it in the Synaptic Package Manager. My wifes computer has 4 gig RAM and was only showing 2.9 but jumped to 3.9 after installing the PAE kernel.

I use a Trendnet wireless network card on 2 computers. The card worked but was showing a very weak signal even 8 feet from the router. I installed the Windows XP driver using "ndisgtk", again, found in Synaptic.

64 bit will be able to read large RAM amounts normally. My computer is a 64 bit board but I use 32 bit Ubuntu and between 32 & 64 I find very little difference. There are a few programs not available in 64 bit for my needs. Others may/will have different results.