What modern hardware can I use?
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I find it terribly difficult to find a new motherboard that supports Libreboot or even coreboot and does not include Intel ME or AMD PSP.
Sure I can buy old hardware but this is really not the point. (And even finding old hardware has become hard)
Is there no open-source Chipset/Motherboard hardware? And someone that manufactures it?
I Found some motherboards based on VIA chip-set but they are always out of stock ore used.
The only thing I found was the Novena laptop project. But the motherboard alone costs 500$ (why?). Any other alternatives?
Apparently I can't even use:
Raspberry Pi, Purism, or buy from thinkpenguin.com anymore. And all the other so called "free" projects that have become a farce.
This is really frustrating and really really scary.
The Asus KGPE-D16 - https://libreboot.org/docs/hcl/kgpe-d16.html) is perhaps what you want. Talos is also very powerful but expensive - https://www.crowdsupply.com/raptor-computing-systems/talos-secure-workstation
Otherwise you are correctly assessing the situation: Our options are very limited. The older hardware will probably become harder to get as time goes on. I am reminded of http://files.jxself.org/build.ogv
The Talos is an example of what RMS is talking of where we go about building our own stuff.
I liked that video. Thanks and I agree what RMS said on it. Very true.
We will be "la resistence" as back on the ww2.
Is it known why talos selected this format?
Is the hardware not suitable for an atx mainboard? Priced about 200usd?
What computers do the fsf have? I have read about their server system. Does fsf have minifree computers? Does fsf have desktops?
> motherboards based on VIA chip-set
Which are they?
I would definitely recommend supporting EOMA. You can still pre-order from the second batch on the CrowdSupply page:
https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop
It's not perfect, but I think these standards are the future of our computing.
Thanks for the answers but all these products are not what I had in mind. Let me be clearer:
I want an new mother board that can be used by normal people. For desktops.
The Asus KGPE-D16 is a server-board from 2010, it is neither new nor has it a reasonably price for normal desktop consumers.
500 $ on Amazon without the CPU, that costs the same.
Tough, the hardware you get it is worth to considerate. You could have an Uber-desktop system.
It would be cool if there was a micro-ITX or something so you could build a laptop.
Talos Secure Workstation, 3700 $ and 7100 $ for the desktop edition... Power8 and symmetric multiprocessors are though surely nice.
But this price is just totally unrealistic for end users right now. 17600 $ for the complete workstation.
I really hope tough they will get cheaper in the future and even make desktops.
Eoma68, is a wonderful idea, but still not released and not tested. What bothers me is that I can't find any schematics. Hope they will release the card for a reasonable price too.
Anyway I'm looking forward to this.
So to give a short answer:
There are no modern motherboard at all, that have a reasonable price, practical use and respects your freedom.
Tell me when I'm wrong.
Those options are the closest you're going to come at present. At this point it's necessary to choose between technical superiority and freedom. It's nice when those two things go together. Sometimes they do. Not always, and not in this case. The question becomes: Which side will you choose?
You're not going to find anything that's new, freedom-respecting, and has a modern speed. The EOMA68-A20 card is really the best you can do right now. For using it as a desktop computer, it will only set you back $120, so it's perfectly affordable, and it's upgradeable (there are already faster computer cards in the works, so I guess we'll probably see those some time in the next couple of years). Upgrades are cheap since you can keep everything else, just swap out the cards.
> but still not released and not tested.
This isn't quite true. The final product hasn't been manufactured yet, but the hardware has undergone quite a bit of testing. You can even see videos of the A20 card running various distros. The delivery time is supposed to be only in a few months, so that's not much of a wait.
Oh, also, regarding schematics, my understanding is all the schematics are available. I'm not familiar with this stuff, but I think this would be the schematics for the A20 card (it's an upgraded version of the A10 card):
Otherwise, I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can point you in the right direction.
What about this (https://libreboot.org/docs/hcl/kfsn4-dre.html)? Not new, sure, but there's plenty of power potential, and at least the board itself is rather affordable.
I am a member!
If you don't mind a "mobile workstation", your best bet right now is a T500, with a Core Duo processor T9600. This one is a powerful beast, but you indeed noticed right. We won't be able to get past the restrictions Intel has set up anytime soon, with it's signed ME and it's checks. As of now, the computer just reboot every 30 minutes, because Intel says so.
AMD baked in the same "features" as well, to please sysadmins, to catch up with Intel, or to please some 3 letters agencies from US. Maybe all 3 at once.
Another option is to be patient until ARM chips become powerful enough, and hope it won't go down the same road as those 2 companies. We are also watching closely this effort - http://www.lowrisc.org/
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