Linux Compatibility

[tuxedozombie]

Hey everyone!

So I've specced this system up but get a compatibility warning on the confirmation screen. I personally don't see where the issue will be when installing Linux (Debian 8), most of the hardware I would have thought would have drivers available (Nvidia, Intel ect.) Can anyone advise if i'm being massively stupid here and missing something totally obvious as to why this hardware won't support Linux OS?

Chassis & Display
Octane Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache

Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX IMPACT 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M - 6.0GB DDR5 Video RAM, DirectX® 12, G-SYNC
Free Item: FREE RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER with select GTX 9 Series GPUs!

Memory - Hard Disk
1TB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) +BT 4.0, vPRO

USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS (1 x POWERED) + 1 e-SATA/USB 3.0 PORT COMBINED

Battery
Octane Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (82WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
2 x UK Power Lead & 230W AC Adaptor (£55)

Keyboard Language
OCTANE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days

Thanks

 

[Azura]

I bought an Octane 2 just before Christmas with similar spec and managed to get 95% of it up and running without too much hassle (Mint KDE 17.2, which is ultimately a Debian derivative). The Intel Wireless you have should work out of the box (unlike the Killer chip I got), so with internet you can Google your way to drivers and fixes.

There are two potential issues though. The first is that I had to do a non-UEFI install. I’ll be trying again when Mint 17.3 KDE hits stable, but I just couldn’t get it to install properly with UEFI on.

The second thing that might be an issue is that, afaik, Debian ships with the 3.16 kernel. One of the first things I did was to upgrade that (needed for getting my wireless working). 3.16 might be fine but I never got to really poke around with it. Downloading a newer kernel on another computer and copying it across using a usb stick isn’t hard to do if needed.

Installing the Nvidia drivers is bit a fiddly though, but if you know your way around grub and the Xorg config file you’ll be able to fix any issues. You might even have an easier time getting the Nvidia drivers working since the open-source nouveau driver (which can clash with the Nvidia install) isn’t part of the 3.16 kernel.

One small change I’d recommend to your spec. Get a 512Gb M2 Samsung SM951 instead of the 1TB drive you currently have. If you get an additional 500Gb HDD for storage that will work out about €20 (I don’t know the sterling prices) more than your current setup - but the M2 drive is so fecking fast that it is worth it.

 

[tuxedozombie]

Hey, thanks for getting back to me.

I'm surprised you couldn't get UEFI to work, maybe that's a mint issue as I've never had issue installing Debian with UEFI. I'll look into that a bit more though. Upgrading the kernel is not an issue (I'm currently on 4.3.3 at present). Totally agree on the Nvidia drivers being a pain in the ass, did you eventually get them installed and setup? If you have a guide or something of that nature that you followed I'd love to read over it (Always had a struggle with the propriety Nvidia drivers).

I looked at the SM951 and eventually went for the EVO simply because I wasn't sure if the NVMe was supported, after doing a bit of digging (and your confirmation of it working) I'll be going with the SM951. Did you have any issues with the installers detecting the drive?

Thanks again

 

[Azura]

I tried a few different distros, but I admit I didn't poke too much in trying to get them working. The only distro that worked with UEFI on was OpenSUSE, but I didn't specifically try Debian (only Debian derivatives like Ubuntu, Mint and Zorin).

For Nvidia drivers I didn't do much special. Just booted with Xorg disabled and ran the Nvidia installer I got from the Nvidia website. Mint KDE was finicky, but when I tested out the Mate and Cinnamon versions of Mint the default Mint tools worked just fine.

Mint's default install option doesn't see the NVMe, but selecting manual and doing it that way worked fine. I can't see Debian been much different but I can root out my Wheezy disk and try it if you want.

 

[tuxedozombie]

Don't trouble yourself getting out a wheezy disk, the above has given me enough hope that I'll be able to get Debian up and running fine. Thanks again for the advice and sharing your experiences