full frame modern computer for LinuxCNC

Hi, can some body point me to a modern (2013) and in production computer (lets said dell, hp, lenovo, etc.) that runs Linuxcnc right out of the box, and had at leas 2 PCI ports? i will use mesa cards so parport is not a concern.

I would like to buy the computer directly from manufacturers page, if not modifications to the bios are required to fix latency i will be very happy.

Hi

Will probably assist to know what exactly you are going to run.

Will you have a base thread or just a servo thread?

Unfortunately 'modern' and 'runs Linuxcnc right out of the box' do not really go together.

The most RAM a 32bit app like Linuxcnc can use is 3.25GB and if you install Linuxcnc with more than 2GB the dumb installer may well try to give you a pae kernel instead of rtai.
So large RAM is no use.

Some of the Sandy Ridge chipsets have unresolved issues with rtai kernels and will not run them at all.

Any 2013 computer from big firms, is liable to have Windoze Hate bundled with it, with UEFI 'secure boot enabled'.
You will be unable to install any other operating system unless you wipe the entire disc and turn off secure boot in BIOS or jump through loads of hoops
trying to use the Ubuntu clone keys.

The newer the computer the more likely the sound, ethernet, video etc will not work with the current 2.6.32-122-rtai kernel.
The video may well be a closed source driver only which you are unable to run other than in low resolution vesa mode.

No matter how many cores it has, it will not run Linuxcnc better, in fact the opposite.
The best results on multi-cored machines have consistently been from shutting down all but one core.

So, a brand new, branded mini tower core i7 PC with a warranty, may be what your procurement department is happiest with, but is far from certain to be best option for linuxcnc.

Some food for thought

regards

In that case i have the option of ensemble my on computer, i was looking at local providers (Monterrey Mexico), and the Intel Atom board i was using in the past is not longer available. After some read id seems to my that the new intel chipsets are not capable of good latency numbers (do im wrong?), So the new question : is it a better idea to go with an AMD-ATHLON combination if i don't have the opportunity to test the Hardware until buying it?

I view the PC motherboard as just one more card to mount in the case (and typically it is one of the cheapest ones too)

If you take Andys' point regards just mounting a MB in the controller case, where there is plenty of room for expansion, the best board recently has been the Intel Atom D525 if you can still find one.
Cheap, low latency and an onboard video chipset that works with standard Intel drivers.

EDIT: see we have cross posted

The Intel D2700 and D2800 seem to be OK, but the video driver is closed source windoze only, so you won't be able to use high screen resolutions

That board (Atom D525) is the one i was using in some retrofits two years ago, but now is very hard to get in Mexico. And another problem is that new motherboards lack of PCI port. I can get a mother board with Atom D2500, does it works?

I don't know what the difficulties of getting things in from the US are, but Amazon have 20 of the same D525 boards I have left
www.amazon.com/Intel-Dual-Core-Mini-ITX-...D525MW/dp/B0041RSC94

newegg etc seem to be sold out

I can get a mother board with Atom D2500, does it works?

I'll have to throw that open to the floor, I know Andy has used D2700 / D2800, don't know if he or PCW tried the D2500

EDIT:
The only thing I can add is that it uses the GMA 3600 video chipset which caused all the problems
There appears to be some sort of release by Intel for Linux and may be that some people have taken it further, don't know if stable or successful
you will have to dig in the Ubuntu forums re the same

bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=144445

Just an update to the GMA 360(0) video issue

Looks like starting at Ubuntu 12.04 there is a driver, at least for 2D graphics now in repositories

edzeame.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/ubuntu-...for-intel-cedarview/