I'm preparing to have PC done at custom-build shop (I'll supply most of the components). PC is to have three hard disk drives (one for PC-BSD 8, one for Linux Mint 7, and one for XP Pro),each with separate bootloaders. I've been told what seems to be two different things on different forums, and guess I'm seeking 'tie-breaker'! One said "its crucial" that I choose "motherboard/chipset, CPU, and graphics card that supports all three operating systems." Another said to "instead of looking for hardware support you should look for drivers on Linux & BSD sites that support your chosen hardware." Frankly, many Google searches have failed on both methods. This is what little I do know. I'm wanting either Phenom II (x2, x3, or x4) or Athlon II (x2, x3, or x4) CPU, as I'm nearly certain XP Pro will run on any of these, so all I need now is to determine which ones PC-BSD and Linux Mint will accept. As for motherboard, I'd like to have one with 'Dual-BIOS' (Gigabyte? Asus?),onboard thermal sensor to monitor temperature, SATA or SATA2, eSATA, USB 2.0, FireWire, and gigabit Ethernet...but all is optional. I've no idea about chipset, and no preference for graphic card or sound card. Anyone have any advice on how I go about picking optimal hardware that all three OSs (PC-BSD, Linux Mint, & XP Pro)will definitely run on?
