I'm trying to decide which to use. I know there's no magic one-size-fits-all distro, but can someone briefly list their strong points and weak points?

I can explain mandrake and only mandrake.

Pros:
Easy to use and configure
Solid Linux Operating System
Can partially eliminate command line usage (is necessary)
Many packages precompiled
Latest Stable Versions of KDE and GNOME
Can emulate the look and feel and ease of windows. (sort of)

Cons:
Still to complicated for complete newbies to use immediately
Rather Bloated Kernel (Can be fixed)
Does not upgrade openoffice.org in between releases
Not many things to gripe about

I might add more later

I haven't used Mandrake in about a year, but I'm using SuSE 8.2 now and 9.0 is on its way from Amazon.

SUSE has YaST, which is a gui/install/configuration wizard that's very helpful to n00bs. Automagic hardware detection is very good and it comes with loads of great programs if you get the pro version. SUSE doesn't provide ISO's but a ftp install of the latest version will be available in a month or two. A review of SUSE 9.0 is available here

I also seen some stories of multiple bugs in Mandrake 9.2 so you might want to search the web for that info. I like SUSE but some people prefer Mandrake.

If you know how to dual boot, download the ISO's for Mandrake and then do an ftp install of SUSE on another partition and try them both out.

i would say use suse...the YAST control centre is amazing( i agree you shoudl not use it too much...but that the hell...i still love it). The interface is super cool...much better than mandrake and SuSE is rock solid....it has never crashed on me(i did have to reboot mandrake a couple of times...in the days when i did use it).
you should also try out knoppix(it is a debian based distro...just that it has done all the work for you).

I just wanted to say that Mandrake has a nice GUI software installation also. The people speaking about Yast, as though Mandrake didn't have a GUI are either ignorant about it or just BSing you.

Her's the truth about all those supposed bugs in Mandrake...and every distro has "bugs".

http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/adv...es.php?dis=9.2

I did not say that mandrake does not have a good GUI installation...however YAST is not just an installation program....it is much more...it lets you literally configure your whole operating system with only a few clicks. IT also lets you installed the lastest software packaged for your ditribution from one of its mirrors...and also lets you update your OS every so often without you have to download all the updates or patches yourself.
again i am not very fluent with mandrake but i am pretty sure all this is not supported.
So neither am i ignorant...nor am i "BSing" anyone...only suggesting SuSE...i thought everyone had a right to their opinon so stop making assumptions and start accepting others view points too.

i am a total noob to linux. I ordered a copy of Mandrake 9.2 and Suse 8.2 on ebay. I got the Mandrake first and installed it, but there were certain things I just couldnt get working, like my sound and network card. And being a total noob, I didn't even know where to go.

So I decided to try Suse. The thing is I still had trouble with the sound card and network/internet. But with the Yast2 module I was able to figure out how to fix these problems. If i was a more knowlegable user, I could probably figure it out in Mandrake too, and I would be very happy with it. I also didn't get the manuels that come when you buy the distro in the box.

Another thing, Yast2 helps when I install RPM's too.

I have been running Suse for one month now and am very happy with it. I haven't had any crashes and the only reason i boor into Windows is for the occasional Tony Hawk fix, or to view a website I created in Explorer.

I don't see anything that you cannot do with mandrake's gui tools....

well for one thing....you cannot download rpms from their mirror and install them without having to go to the command line.
but that is besides the point...all i am saying is that i think SuSE's Yast is much more user friendly and lets you fix things much more easily....however i still agree that performance wise...mandrake and SuSE are equally good....OS wise...however i think that SuSE's GUIs are better....however i say this again....the two distros are just as good in my eyes.

not true at all. RPMdrake is exactly the kind of tool you're looking for. Downloads files from mirrors, resolves dependencies and installs everything. No need to go to the commandline.

Either Mandrake or Suse can be very nice.
I have come to give an edge to Suse.
Suse was the first distro that worked well for me (6.4). Every Suse install has worked well (6.4,7.1). Yast is a nice administration/configuration tool.
Every Mandrake install had a glitch. Mandrake 7.1 install CD didn't work, I used the install CD from Maximun Linux. Mandrake 8.0 gave me supermount problems and I had to shut it off. The auto update in Mandrake needed configuration (Suse's worked out of the box) and had problems with corrupted files on host servers that required the user to reconfigure the update program.
I used Mandrake 8.0 for over a year. I switched due to reported bugginess in later versions (including a continuing supermount problem), my own experience with some (minor) bugs, and the (IMO) excessive begging Mandrake does for funds. They do have a nice distro and contribute a lot to the Linux community. You will definately want to be aware of the problem with some CD ROM drives in the latest Mandrake version.
I think Suse will join Debian and Slack on my reinstalls.

I tried suse on my laptop, the live evaluation version, and I was very pleased with the results. Even from the cd it seemed more responsive than mandrake. Sure the progams took awile to load from the cd but the behavior of the progams was better. My mouse was really responsive and the over all lok was pleasant.

Can any one tell me why suse was faster? I have 96 megs of ram in my laptop, does that make a difference.