I am looking for something lightweight, but powerful (yes, I know you can't have the best of both) for my laptop- Acer Aspire 3610 (Intel 915 Chipset). In my head this seems logical, but may be hard to express in words. I am not new to Linux so please throw out any distro that you can think of, I do have one in mind that might work, but suggestions first.

So here goes-

-Support Intel 915 Chipset and wireless card
-As stripped out as possible without sacrificing usefulness
-I'm not afraid of the command line, but I don't see the world in code...
-I use GUI applications (not quite sure how to word that one "front ends?")
-Plays games that are ported/have installers for linux
-Needs a GUI for file management, but I don't need a desktop (A secondary partition full of random crap, so kinda necessary)
-I like fluxbox...
-Shares with both Windows and Mac (OOB preferred, but not afraid of minimal tweaking)
-I use VMWare running windows (CAD software, some other essential apps. I can't stand Wine's BS)

I'm gonna throw this out there and see if it sticks :-)
Debian Lenny
Do a net-install minimal system
install either fluxbox or xcfe, maybe evn lxde if you want to go super thin

This way you essentialy cover all your needs with a modular ability to add as much or as little as you need.

HTH
Dave

From the whole "Never used Linux before" aspect, I'd suggest you try starting with Ubuntu, or Fedora. Fedora is a nice cross for me between ease of use and being able to be a "power-user." Dammit, Jim, I want runlevel 3!

Do you want a package manager? If not, I'd say Slackware. If so, probably Debian. Almost no matter the distro you try, you can get FluxBox onto it as your default desktop environment, and guaranteed you'll have access to terminal and such.

All this considered, why do you want to try Linux? You're all over the place on what you want. You want a GUI, but no GUI, ease of use but stripped down... You can't really have both. Give Fedora 10 a try and see what you think.

I don't think that you read my profile correctly, I have used linux for damn close to 4 years now. I switched from Ubuntu 7.10 to Linux Mint (6.5 I think) recently on my main computer, and I use Puppy Linux/DSL for my bootable pin drive.

My point on the GUI thing was that I need (well want) to be able to play games (lecture classes get boring), use graphical front ends, and not have to use the command line to screw with my files. I don't strictly need a desktop environment and was looking for something that came pre configured to use Fluxbox. I had AntiX in mind but wanted to hear some other opinions as there are hundreds of distros that I have probably never heard of.

You do, however, bring up a good point about the package manager, something I never thought of. It is nice to have the "Add/Remove Programs" feature of Ubuntu, but I don't mind using something like "apt-get install xxxx" whatever that may be for the particular base system I use.

Perhaps take a look at Arch Linux. I know a few FreeBSD geeks who seem to appreciate its philosophy (which seems to be more or less in line with what you're looking for).

I am posting this right now from AntiX running through VMWare, I must say that I like it, though I think that I'll start with AntiX base and add on instead of the bigger version. I'll check out Arch as well, I seem to remember it being mentioned a few times in the past.

I second that suggestion. Slackware or Debian.

If you want extra performance without regard for stability, try Gentoo.

My apologies... Somehow in your original word I missed seeing the word "not" in "I am not new to Linux"

I run Debian Lenny on my Netbook with LXDE as the desktop.. this setup runs well for a low spec machine, I have no complaints..
1.6 Ghz ATOM CPU
1GB RAM
Integrated intel 945 Video

I'd recommend Debian. Go for Squeeze, the current testing. More solid than many other distro's normal release.
/CZ

Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried Arch Linux, but there's something I don't like about it, can't pinpoint it though. It's the same with Fedora, so no offence to the builders.

I think that I have narrowed it down to these three:

AntiX- very smooth, has the CPU, RAM, disk monitor and required minimal tweaking, though I have not tried to share with Windows/Mac. OOB it seems to be the best choice overall.

Debian Lenny- Called a friend of mine who runs this as his secondary OS to Slackware. This has the best options regarding package management. I'll try this one in VMWare tonight after it finishes downloading.

Slackware- Though I had a bad experience with this one, it was 4 years ago when I was new to it all, so I'm eager to try again. This one will require a lot of building on my part to get it just the way I like it, but I may ultimately turn this one into a project and fall into it at a later date.

Echoing many of the sentiments here, I have to say that the two best distros for an experienced user (and someone who enjoys learning ) are Slackware and Debian.

The main difference between these two is that Slackware allows you to do as you please, while Debian "controls" certain things. If you like to build things yourself, Slackware is probably the better choice. I don't like the fact that some packages in Debian have 50 gajillion dependancies, often for functionality that I don't need nor want. I mean, it's a good, solid and complete distro, but probably not the ultimate choice for a minimalist.

As soon as I can get the wireless squared away, I'll use AntiX for the time being. Debian is very user friendly, but I think that Slackware will be my best bet. I'm going to install it on a secondary bootable partition and turn it into a "project" that I can work on a few bits at a time until I get it just the way I want it.

[QUOTE=Ragnarok Warrior;3493178]
-Needs a GUI for file management, but I don't need a desktop (A secondary partition full of random crap, so kinda necessary)
QUOTE]

Have you tried Xfm (X File Manager) for this?

PS. Yes, I do know the answer is kind of late

No I have never tried it, but I will look into it for my Slack build. I admit that I have been spoiled by Ubuntu, Puppy, and Knoppix for the past four years.