Ok this is the thing.. I like debians apt-get.. Id use debian but the boot is so crappy.. Plus i dont really like debconf it doesnt always work... Secondly id use slack but it doesnt even come with a package manager like apt-get swaret etc.. Id also use gentoo but i will NOT compile every package.. I also wont use debian or slackware because i want it to be i686.. What id like in a distro is:

Package manger (apt-get)
No dependency hell
i686 based
Non newb distro that does everything graphical.
Has actual packages like .deb .tgz .rpm not source like gentoo
Updated frequently..
Installable to the hard drive
Package updates constantly
And thats off the top of my head.. Thanks..

Slack has pkgtool (so you'd run installpkg <packagename>.tgz). Swaret or Slapt-Get is easily installed.

I know ive already used debian slackware gentoo and arch linux.. Id like slack but i mean everything is for i486..

you mean, everything can run on i486.

Slack is still optimized for i686.

the i686 vs i686+compatibility on i386 etc thing is getting old I mean, who can actually claim to notice a difference? Once you turn off unneeded services and compile a custom kernel, the end result feels 99% the same. I'm using gentoo (with fairly agressive CFLAGS) and I honestly can't notice any major (if any) speed difference except for booting compared to Debian Sid.

I didnt know that slack was optimized for i686..

FYI, four other Slackware-based distros of note which actually have completely separate LQ forums are, in forum-listed order,
1) VectorLinux
2) CollegeLinux
3) Amigo [Linux]
4) Buffalo [Linux]


From these LQ forums and from these distro's websites :

- Amigo seems the most minimalist in its specific design for low memory (e.g., 16MB) and low hd space (e.g., 200MB) Based upon this, Amigo could be a good choice for actual x486 systems
compared to the full Slackware distro.

- OTOH, maybe VectorLinux would be just as appropriate for older x486 systems. As the Distrowatch VectorLinux review writes
(http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=vector)
"the small size and memory requirements of the operating system can be deployed on older machines maybe long forgotten."

- Buffalo may be more high-end compared to the previous two Slackware-based distros, in that its enhancements over VectorLinux are described as being targeted at the small business workstation market . It therefore would seem to be the better Slackware-based distro choice at small business x686 machines with extra memory and hard disk space requirements.

(Not certain about CollegeLinux myself; check out its forum or website for further info)

-nycace36

The selection of a distribution shouldn't depend on the optimization. It's hard to see a difference between an optimized and unoptimized packages. It's just the enthusiasm that makes the difference in most cases. The GCC doesn't do significant optimizations in my opinion