How to find compatible hardware for Ubuntu "Gaming" PC

[fwaokda]

I'm wanting to build a new system for around $1000. I'm going to make it as environmental friendly as possible (lead free and low power consumption). For this post though I was wondering which companies products have better support and compatibility for ubuntu when it comes to things like Graphics cards, audio card(don't care for anything fancy here, probably integrated), Processor(?), RAM(?), etc. I put (?)'s next to those things because I'm not sure they are a compatibility problem no matter what I get -- but I don't know.

Additionally if anyone has any advice/information on any products I should get that are lead-free and/or low power consumption I would love to hear about it but regardless I can come up with this stuff.

*PS.. I know "low power consumption" and "gaming PC" don't normally go together but I am aiming for the "lowest power consuming gaming pc" -- if that makes any sense.

THANKS!

I already have the following but wouldn't mind hearing other thoughts on these pieces.
1. Hard drives
2. Dvd Drive
3. Windows XP/Vista key for gaming

[jcway212]

I am not sure about how "environmentally friendly" they are, but I would HIGHLY recommend EVGA for your graphics card and/or your motherboard, if you are looking for quality products. They have a lifetime warranty.....which is sweet.

[fwaokda]

I'll look into that thanks! I've always been an AMD person also but I'm hearing I should probably consider an Intel processor... I haven't looked into any reports or anything on computer hardware in forever.

[fwaokda]

Well, I haven't checked the list over for compatibility or if it's low-powered (compared to similar systems) or lead free yet, but here are some parts I took notice of and made myself a list.

$89.99 - LIAN LI PC-A05 A Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112129

$104.99 - ASUS P5K PRO LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131275

$169.99* - EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318

$169.99* - EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318

$119.99* - Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220315

$189.99 - Intel Xeon E3110 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819117165

$99.99 - SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT ATX12V / EPS12V 550W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151027

[northern lights]

I've always been an AMD person also but I'm hearing I should probably consider an Intel processor

+1 for that. The days of the Athlon XP are counted and with the appearance of multi-core processors, AMD fell behind rapidly. This is not a compatibility issue. While 2002 the price/value ratio was by far better for AMD chips than Intel ones, times have altered significantly within 5 years. Go for Intel.

As for the graphics card, I don't wanna give manufacturer advice - too little knowledge. But stick to nVidia chips/GPUs. ATI drivers might be open source now, but nVidia scores much higher on Linux compatibility still.

[fwaokda]

I want to get the power consumption down and be able to play Starcraft 2 and Spore when they come out... Does anyone have any ideas what I can get "Video Card"-wise that would be fanless to operate both of those games full blast? SLi or not either way doesn't matter to me.