[linux-audio-user] Motherboard recommendations

[carmen]

> Is integrated graphics still bad ? Will I run into driver availability
> problems if I'm stuck with O/B graphics ? Will memory bandwidth be a problem

not really. in fact, the VIA Unichrome in a $250 (total) Sempron64 shuttle i just built for someone actually runs faster than my ATI. due to ATI sucking so bad and only being able to use it via software rendering since their fglrx driver causes a kernel panic when running GLXgears...

> Do I want to pay extra for SATA 2 ?

everything has SATA by now, unles your vendor is pawning off discontinued crap..

> Is AMD still better for Audio ?

well its faster, cheaper, and 64bit. you decide..

> I'll be using loads of LADSPA effects. Is
> there a value for AMD's advantage with the De-Norm problems ?

im pretty sure Intel fixed this a few steppings ago..

> Is processor cache size an issue for digital audio ? Do I need to go for the
> processors with larger cache's ?

i would say this Sempron feels a touch slower than my Turion and A64 desktop chip, all of which are 2.0ghz. probably due to the slower cache, and the fact that i put some old 266DDR RAM i had sitting around in it..

since everything except the high end FX series are pretty close in price, id go for the ones with larger cache..

> 
> Is NFORCE4 chipset OK now ? It seems to be on alot of the cheap
> motherboards.

anything should be fine. id be dictating my choice based on the case (eg something small and with a heatpipe instead of a fan for the CPU, and a passively-cooled video card) if noise is a concern, and if you want to 'vote with your dollars', go with Nvidia, or preferaby someone like SiS or VIA, who are much more open about hardware specs than either Nvidia or ATI..