I've bought a new Lenovo IdeaPad Y560d 06462NU Laptop and it comes with the following specifications/features:

- Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor ( 1.60GHz 1333MHz 6MB ) (This is a quad-core processor)
- ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 1GB
- 4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz
- 15.6" HD Wide LED - 3D 1366x768
- Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 (Network adapter)
- 3D with TriDef technology

I need to know which Linux distro would be most suitable to use all(or as most as possible) of the above features without compromising on performance.

Or, do I have to go for specific tools/drivers/modules for supporting each of these hardwares?

Please suggest.

A very personal question that really comes down to individual preference.

Here is an intelligent comparison of the top 10 distros, can't really go wrong with any of them. Try a few that sound appealing and make your own decision.

http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

I've been working with Ubuntu for quite sometime time now, and before that I was using OpenSUSE.

But, my question here still remains the same.

"I need to know which Linux distro would be most suitable to use all(or as most as possible) of the above features without compromising on performance."

I don't think you will have a problem with any of the more common distros. You could try Debian or Linux Mint, or just do the test on
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/in...firsttime=true
and see what you get...

I don't understand the question. If you used Ubuntu successfully for quite some time, why do you think you need a different distro?

I've been using Ubuntu at my workplace as well as for personal use, but on older laptops.

I was basicially looking for a rather technical answer to help me decide on the distro.

For e.g.
- Processor: Since this is quad-core processor, I would rather opt for an distro whose kernel and and other settings are best suited, compiled and built for a multi-core processor, utilizing all/maximum number of features supported by this particular processor.
- RAM: Since it's 4GB, I should rather go for a 64-bit distro.
- GPU: Since it's ATI based, and pretty good performing, with native DirectX 11, and Shader Model 5.0, with HD video accelerations, then should I look for proprietary drivers or some open sourced one.
- 3D support (not gpu 3d acceleration): which options to look for, if I want the TriDef support on linux

Something like these. So basically choosing a distro first, which would some somewhat close to my requirements. And then ways to customize and reconfigure/change things(libraries, modules, etc.) if required.

So, in short, I need to get the best possible performance out of this hardware, in a linux platform.
(I hope I was able to explain better)

So, I guess the most important parts to come up should be:
- kernel: whichever distro should be best configured, to get the best of the processor
- graphics module/driver: to get the true performance out of the supported rendering techniques.

I think you would love a distro called Gentoo. It is designed for people who really like to get "under the hood" and tweak every ounce of performance from their hardware.

http://www.gentoo.org/

Ubuntu is a great distro, too, and has the advantage that you are already familiar with it. There was a brand-new release today that I am torrenting now. Ubuntu does not have the reputation as a "performance" distro necessarily, but sometimes you get lucky and it just runs like a dream on your particular hardware. Certainly the Ubuntu forums always have excellent "how-to's" for things like ATI drivers, and it is easy to test bleeding-edge drivers with the help of the xorg and xorg-edgers teams: https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-x-swat/+archive/x-updates or https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa

hmm... but I guess Gentoo will also come with it's own kernel built with a particular processor family and their features in mind... so it also may not support all of the newest of technologies supported in a proceesor... am i right??

and regardless of which distro i go for... do I have the same set of options available for choosing ATI drivers...

At this point of time, I'm not familiar with all of the options tweaks a particular hardware may provide, and am also not sure with the pros and cons of the different complex techniques the hardware may support... so isn't there any utility which can probe my hardware on it's own and then provide me with some descriptions of the suggested settings based on the probed results?

P.S. Is there any specific thread/article/discussion which any of you may know... which deals with such performance analysis, and how-tos... and may provide me with some things to learn upon and maybe even try some of them out?

Gentoo is truly a build it yourself, with help. You set default compile flags on a BASE install, then it downloads source code and compiles each every program exactly as you wanted it. Including a new kernel if you'd like.