Micro ATX and Linux?

Chasuk asks: "I work at a large computer retailer in a college town, and I've finally convinced the powers-that-be to sell PCs with Linux pre-installed. The catch is, it will only be installed on Micro ATX machines, which require half-height everything, and we can't find a source of half-height Linux compatible PCI modems. Even those universal, generic half-height replacement hangers/brackets would be acceptable, but I can't find those, either. Can anyone on Slashdot help? "

Comments

Good luck finding cheap internal modems

[Craig Maloney]

Just on a whim I did some searching to find an internal PCI modem for my PC. What I saw was rather dismaying. Very few PCI modems aren't Winmodems nowadays, and the ones that aren't are upwards of $50. Not the kind of price you want to add to a pre-built machine.

Re:Good luck finding cheap internal modems

[dasunt]

Very few PCI modems aren't Winmodems nowadays, and the ones that aren't are upwards of $50. Not the kind of price you want to add to a pre-built machine.

Although there are some good Winmodems, my general experience is that the $25 winmodem tends to experience more network problems -- including more unexpected dropped connections and lower speed.

The "expensive" $50 hardware modem is better built, more reliable, and is compatible with almost any OS that supports a dialup connection.

You get what you pay for...

Re:Good luck finding cheap internal modems

[funky womble]

3.3v or universal would be good too, for people wanting a modem suitable for use with a Soekris ... This thread came up recently, suggestions included USB (some of which you might have space for in the case), PCI->MiniPCI adapters, and a suggestion of a Hayes 03367 (probably no 3.3v, unless the notch is placed wrongly, but sounds smaller than usual and hardware-based).

Re:Good luck finding cheap internal modems

[BigBir3d]

modem

hanger

ibm makes something that may work

caveat; the last modem i used was in my ibook.

Micro ATX doesn't always require half-height PCI

[questionlp]

Micro ATX does not require everything to be half-height. That may be the case (pun not intended) with some Mini-ITX cases, but there are quite a few Micro ATX small tower cases that support full-height, half-length PCI and AGP cards, smaller ATX power supplies and standard drives (be it 5.25" or 3.5").

The main difference between standard ATX and Micro ATX is the "length" of the board, which determines the number of slots, usually PCI. ATX gives you a maximum of 7 slots to occupy (be it 0-1 AGP + 1-6 PCI) where as Micro ATX can have at most 3 slots to occupy. Check out formfactors.org for more information.

External serial...

[Paladin128]

Seriously, external serial modems are ALWAYS Linux compatible, easier to deal with, and usually of high quality.

Work from the other angle...

[bolix]

Goto http://linmodems.org/ and find a "Winmodem" that meets your specs.

answer at linux modem compatibility knowledge base

[obtuse]

at http://start.at/modem lists severak Taicom low profile PCI modems as "Winmodem chipset with Linux driver that must be purchased. "

There are lots of real PCMCIA modems too, so the PCMCIA adapter would work too.

How can you tell the difference?

[bellings]

You've certainly already hit this: http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=half+height+in ternal+modem.

The second modem that comes up claims to have a 16550/A compatible UART. Doesn't that mean it's not a Win Modem? I'm afraid I haven't used a modem in a long, long time, though -- I don't have a clue how you tell the difference between a WinModem and one with a built-in serial port.

Actually, aren't there Linux drivers for the more popular WinModems yet? Maybe unlike nVidia graphic cards, there isn't much geek market for low priced linux modems. Maybe the modem manufacturers know something you don't -- maybe anyone who uses Linux is going to be willing to pay extra for a decent external modem anyhow, since in general a Linux machine generally ends up costing more than a Windows machine anyhow.

Re:options and a LINK

[Bombcar]

Some people may not know how to cut and paste.

And that slashspace may confuse others, too.

[/sarcasm]

idot.com

[josepha48]

go there! NOW.. dont wait

NO seriously, they have several mini itx motherboards, cases, sound cards, etc, and usually if you buy a harddrive and some other components, you can get a copy of Lindows / Lin---s included for free. I am looking into this to save some space on my desktop. In fact here is one example http://www.idotpc.com/TheStore/Desktop/806Spec.asp ?Product.id=806&Cate.id=19

I have not tried them personally though.