Which desktop computers user can use in 2025 ?
- Inicie sesión ou rexístrese para enviar comentarios
Yes, I think this has been needed for a very long time, written by someone like you with a lot of experience with these boards. I like the start you've made, I hope you can be very detailed in the instructions.
Is the part "Installing the CPU" sufficiently detailed? Does it need more? Does it need pictures too?
Looks very clear to me, but then again I built my own Opteron tower computer in about 2010 and had several opportunities to remove and place the CPU, so I have clear memories. Others with no such experience may not find it so clear, pictures are always better.
The answers sound really great! This is a success!
Thanks for creating such an important page. I'm sure it will be very useful! But I think it would be better if it was also a practical experiment with photos, as users do not build desktop computers every day. I will be ordering parts for a desktop computer in the near future, but since I live in Europe it may take 1-2 months for the parts to arrive. I am willing to collect and take pictures and post them as a tutorial.
I have already written a list of parts I would like to buy, but there were some questions I didn't have answers for.
So far I have settled on this list, please confirm that it is correct so I can order and move on to the next step.
I would also like to thank NeoX ( GnuBoot) who gave me some answers.
Buy ASUS KGPE-D16 desktop computer parts:
========================================
• Motherboard: Asus KGPE-D16 Rev 1.04 (1.03 is ok too)
• Processors: 2 × Opteron 6262 HE (high efficiency), it's possible to use the 6282SE but they consume 1.5× more power (for a quite low however measurable gain in performance)
• Graphics card - Geforce GTX 780Ti 3G (new fully free driver with power management available) or GeForce GTX 780 Ti 6GB
• PIKE 2008 plug-in (managed by GNU Boot)
• SATA III SSD disks SAMSUNG 870 EVO SATA III SSD 1TB 2.5"
• Memory:
- Crucial CT16G3ERSLD4160B
- Origin Storage CT16G3ERSLD4160B-OS
- 2-Power 2P-CT16G3ERSLD4160B
- SK Hynix HMT42GR7AFR4A-PB
• Power supply 500W gold 80+ power supply with *two* EPS12V (for CPU) or Fractal Design Ion+ Platinum 760P - 760W
• Cooling:
- Fan Noctua NF-A14 - 140mm (Front - 3 pcs., Bottom - 2 pcs., Back - 1pc.).
(1pc. - is in the box, can be installed on the top)
- Noctua NF-A6x25 PWM fan - 60mm (on the radiator of the North Bridge - 1pc )
- Fractal Dynamic GP-14 -140mm fan (in the PSU - 1 pc).
- Noctua NF-A9 PWM fan - 92mm (on CPU radiators - 2 pcs.)
• Thermal paste Arctic MX-4
• Battery Lithium Cell CMOS Power CR2032
• Case Fractal Design Define 7 XL
• ROM GnuBoot. Download ROM for flashing the BIOS chip here https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gnuboot/gnuboot-0.1-rc6/roms/gnuboot-0.1-rc6_kgpe-d16-udimm_16mb.tar.xz 2025-03-24
• Trisquel 11 Free Operating System is pre-installed
The EPS12V is a power supply designed for entry-level servers and PCs with high power consumption.
The EPS12V specification was derived from the ATX form factor and was developed by SSI (Server System Infrastructure forum),
a group that includes many different computer companies, including HP and Dell.
I still don't understand how many fans it takes to make it noiseless and economical and efficient ??
Btw, if Gnuboot is to be useful, I think it might be wise for the dev to add patches from canoeboot for devices newly added.
Or at minimum, add the devices that canoeboot supports as potential targets. I imagine they are doable regardless.
Also, according to Leah, she thinks that T480 might actually be canoeboot potential freedom compatible due to the intel me vulnerability + deguard.
I don't honestly remember what she wrote, but it sounds like something in that combination, may make it possible to be liberated on canoeboot/gnuboot scale.
This of course, is to be determined and to test whenever in the future. T480 is an example of this though.
It's cool that you’re thinking about board support and future compatibility - those are definitely important topics.
That said, I think it's worth remembering that GNU Boot isn't just a copy of Canoeboot or Libreboot. It's taking a different direction technically and philosophically (remember that discusion?). From what I understand, one of the goals is to work more closely with upstream Coreboot and avoid the sort of large, messy out-of-tree patches that have historically been common in Libreboot and Canoeboot. Reworking that mess to be compatible with a different technical direction can itself be a lot of work and not as straightforward as you try to make it seem.
That might explain why support for some boards differs - it's not necessarily about capability, but more about project goals and codebase cleanliness.
Also, it might be worth reaching out directly to the GNU Boot maintainers if you have specific board suggestions or questions - they'd be the best people to talk to about what's feasible or aligned with their roadmap.
And it's a fair question: have all those Canoeboot-supported boards even been upstreamed into Coreboot yet? Has Coreboot rejected any of the patches (hint: probably!) :) That's likely a major reason for the difference in support.
I wouldn't know if canoeboot supported boards are rejected nor did I know gnuboot had a difference in porting.
In any case, still stand by what I said, especially because gnuboot targets will eventually disappear.
I am a translator!
> T480 might actually be canoeboot potential freedom compatible due to the intel me vulnerability + deguard
I don't know about this. I notice that the minifree website mentions the intel me, but not the intel FSP, which I understand is used for this machine. According to libreboot website, the FSP "handles all of the hardware initialization, including memory and CPU initialization", in other words, it seems coreboot basically does nothing.
I'd be glad if the intel FSP for this machine could be reverse engineered but I find the current description extremely misleading.
If you mean it doesn't do anything freedom wise, that's up in the air I suppose.
But security and privacy wise, I doubt that.
Although, FSP is on all hardware 2008 and newer I thought.
So... freedom wise, I think she was saying its possible to have similar freedom to the older ones.
Unknown as of now though.
I am a translator!
> Although, FSP is on all hardware 2008 and newer I thought.
Looking at https://github.com/intel/FSP, I see no FSP before 6th generation which was introduced in 2015. So the machines previously sold by minifree did not have it, while the ones sold now have it.
Well I found this and it seems to hint that maybe they no longer list ivy bridge because its outdated, same with others.
https://github.com/9elements/fsp
Seems sandy bridge however didn't have FSP. interesting...
I would like to get confirmation from jxself or anyone who has built a desktop computer on my list.
I would like to order but can't do so until I get confirmation from an experienced user.
We don't have a good and useful ASUS KGPE-D16 assembly manual, let's focus on this topic!
So that any user can go here https://trisquel.info/en/wiki/kgpe-d16 or on this thread and get a clear and specific answer.
Right now I see very vague recommendations without pictures.