Thinking of buying Shuttle SB51G -- only if Gentoo will run

gcostanz

I looking at buying a new Shuttle SB51G. Has anyone sucessfully installed Gentoo on one of these boxes? I've found a few posts in the forums, all problem related, and none with a resolution noted.

I like the design of the box, but I'm not looking to have major problems with installation (especially after plunking down a wad of cash). I plan on adding a
Toshiba DR1202 Combo DVD/CD-RW and a maybe Geforce 4 TI-4200 64mb Video Adapter if the onboard video sucks. Any experience with these boards?

I won't buy the box if it won't run Gentoo well. Please help me avoid a disaster (with my wife)!
:wink:

klarnox · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2003 6:20 pm Post subject:

Well, I have s SS51G (a little older than the one you're looking at) and it works great with Gentoo. The only issue I had was needing to use the noapic setting when booting from the gentoo CD.

The integrated graphics on my system were adequate for general office work and I was able to play Unreal Tournament 2003 (under Windows XP, I haven't tried installing it under linux yet). If you are going to be playing any games I would recommend investing in a graphics card (I have a Geforce 4 Ti4600), the 4200 should do just fine though. If you do get an nvidia graphics card be sure to download and install the new nvidia drivers (much easier now than it used to be).

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have if I can.

gcostanz · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2003 6:31 pm Post subject:

Great. Thanks for the reply. I'm debating if I should fork out another $130 for the Geforce 4 Ti4200. I've never used a Nvida card before, and I'm a little intimidated by the driver install process. Is it possible to install the drivers during the Gentoo install process and go straight to a working X, or do you have to setup X with "VESA" settings first and then load the drivers?

Either way, I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy the shuttle, with the geforce card and the DVD/CD-R. Your helpful reply has helped me make the decision. Now I just have to justify this to my wife...

--Gary

klarnox · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2003 7:09 pm Post subject:

Actually the nvidia driver install is very much simplified with the latest driver release. Check out the instructions at http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?IO=linux_display_ia32_1.0-4349

Basically all you have to do is download the file and run it. Then add one line to your XF86Config file so the driver loads and that's it.

While I haven't had the chance to setup the newest driver during a gentoo install, I suspect you could do it without any problems.

Justifying to the wife is always the hardest part. The small size and much reduced noise are what sold mine on the shuttle system.

pjp · Administrator Joined: 16 Apr 2002 Posts: 20588

Also see Compability with Shuttle Barebones
_________________
Quis separabit? Quo animo?

sundiver2k · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2003 8:26 pm Post subject:

Gentoo works just fine on an SB51G. My specs:

Shuttle SB51G
Pentium 4 2.4 GHz (533 MHz version)
256 MB of PC2700
Maxtor 40GB ATA 133
Sony 48x CDRW

I'm just running with the onboard video for now. I don't game with this box, so there's no need for better video. I get 1000+ FPS on glxgears though.

I run the gentoo-2.4.20 kerenel and the 2.5.67-bk5 kernel. Both run well, but I prefer the 2.5.67-bk5 kernel. 2.6 is going to be really nice.

uarkelley · n00b Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 20

Note that there might be problems if you want to replace the integrated graphics with an AGP graphics card. I believe the AGP chipset is the Sis 5591/5592 (?), which I believe is currently unsupported (according to the help options in the kernel). Can anyone comment on this?