I'm staring at an "Intel Desktop Board Executive Series DQ35JO" I
picked up at Fry's for $130. It's a beauty of new components aimed
squarely at the Core 2 Quad, but supporting many chips e.g. the "Core
2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz" that Fry's carries for $80.
This would make a great bang-for-the-buck file and compute server if I
can get it to work. The board is so new that Intel doesn't have a
support site, though the manual included on DVD is very complete.
This family is code-named "Bearlake", announced this June but still
no search results on this or other Linux compatibility sites.
Here is a product description found at various sites selling the
board:
Intel Desktop Board DQ35JO - motherboard - micro ATX - iQ35
Product Type Motherboard
Form Factor Micro ATX
Chipset Type Intel Q35 Express / Intel ICH9DO
Multi-Core Support Dual-Core / Quad-core
Max Bus Speed 1333 MHz
Processor 0 ( 1 ) - LGA775 Socket
Compatibility Intel vPro
Compatible Processors Celeron D, Pentium D, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad
64-bit Processors Compatibility Yes
RAM 0 MB (installed) / 8 GB (max)
Supported RAM Technology DDR II SDRAM
Storage Controller ATA-100, Serial ATA-300 (RAID)
USB Ports Configuration 12 x USB
Storage Ports Configuration 1 x ATA , 6 x SATA
FireWire Ports Configuration 2 x FireWire
Graphics Controller Intel GMA 3100
Audio Output Sound card - 5 . 1 channel surround
Networking Network adapter - Ethernet , Fast Ethernet , Gigabit Ethernet
Manufacturer Warranty 3 years warranty
Fry's will take the board back within 30 days, so at worst I waste a
bunch of my time. The few hints of Linux trouble online suggest that
the Network controller 82566DM may be a problem, but I'm willing to
install an adapter card for the first few months; I'd guess that this
motherboard will eventually be completely supported by Linux. It's
Intel's future mainstream board.
I don't need everything to work, as long as I can get things like SATA
and on-board graphics up. Searching suggests at worst I'll have some
back-porting to do, e.g. to get decent graphics in Ubuntu 7.04.
What's your judgment call? Should I go for it, or return the board now
and spare myself a massive headache? Thanks!
