All right, I have been out of the Linux desktop market for over a year or so now, and I wanting to step back in. Of course keep in mind, I haven't been away from Linux in that time (still using my Slack server), just from desktop uses I mean.

I first started into using Linux as a desktop with Fedora....and once I hit dependency hell, it left me with a sour taste in my mouth. So the one thing I would like in my choice for a new desktop is good package management. As far as distros I have given it some thought but haven't reached a concrete decision yet. These are some ones I am considering:

-Slackware...which I do use on my Linux server and it serves its purpose well for that. Never tried it as a desktop though.
-Opensuse...no experience with it, except the 5-10 minutes I spent with it one time. Don't think that counts as experience though. I have heard it's RPM based as well which is kinda making me uneasy.
-Ubuntu/Kubuntu....I hear an awful lot about this particular distro being a great desktop. I originally thought it was sort of like "my first Linux" and really dumbed down and stuff but after using the Live CD of it today I was quite impressed with it.
-Vector Linux....no experience on this one either but others recommended it. I tried the Live CD of it and I was very impressed with it too.

As I said I have tried live CDs of Vector and Ubuntu/Kubuntu and I found both to be very impressive. Almost to the point where I don't know which one to pick!! But anyways, those are my choices at this point and I welcome any insight that anyone may have, particularly any good or bad experiences....although I figure some of you all are going "oh God, not another which distro thread!!!"

My main desktop is a Windows machine which I am going to transform into a dual boot of Linux/Windows once I decide on a distro. I still need to keep Windows around for some things. But I plan to primarily use Linux for my desktop needs. Here is a rundown of my current hardware:

ECS NForce4-754 mobo
1.8GHz AMD Sempron, OCed to 2Ghz
1GB RAM
Asus Radeon X300SE video card w/ 128MB RAM
M-Audio Audiophile 2496 soundcard
Samsung 250GB HD
Seagate 40GB HD
Plextor DVD Burner
Lite On DVDROM
6 in 1 card reader + floppy drive

...And I will say, even with just using the Live CDs of Ubuntu and Vector, neither one of em had a problem with my hardware...EVEN the soundcard!! So I was quite surprised at that.

But anyways, let me know what you all think. Pros/cons or even suggesting other distros is cool too. Thanks.

oh no, not another "which distro" thread!

I would recommend trying ubuntu - there's a ton of development activity now, the community and documentation are great, and apt/synaptic/repository system removes most dependency trouble.

that said, I'm partial to Slack - no matter what else I try I always switch back to Slack in the end.

Where is Debian???!!! I love Debian, and no way of changing my mind

I say Slack, because you have it running a Server, so are presumably familiar with setting up Slackware. It is (In my Opinion) a great Desktop OS. It still doesn't have all of the bells and whistles that other distros do (Automounting is one. Some people would say automatic dependency resolution - but not me!) But that shouldn't be a major stumbling block for someone who already knows how to deal with reading changelogs and manual mounting.

[edit]
you might also give Zenwalk a little look, it's desktop oriented, originally based on Slackware, fairly lightweight and has a good and growing community.
[/edit]

Kubuntu
http://www.kubuntu.org/

Mandriva
http://frontal2.mandriva.com/en/downloads/mirrors

PCLinuxOS .92
http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/metalab/dist...glish/preview/
ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/metalab/distr...glish/preview/

This is the distro I use and recommend, Why because it works right out of the box. No need to configure Everything, everything just works. It also comes as a 1 CD install that is a live CD that you can install later if you wish.

BeatrIX
http://www.watsky.net/download.html

Mephis
http://www.mepis.org/

if you are still unsure of the distro try these Distro choosers:

http://eedok.voidofmind.com/linux/chooser.html
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

Make a quadruple boot and just use them all.. boot the one that suits your mood for that day:

Slackware - Feel like being a real Admin today

Ubuntu/Kubuntu - Feel like being lazy and want to look at some pretty desktop.

Opensuse - Feeling a little green today?

Vector - Might as well just use Slackware..

Susesoft is rpm based but dependency hell shouldn't be a problem if you get your packages from the repos and it is a pretty DE. I would choose (and have chosen) Ubuntu. Debian based so it is rock solid, more up to date than "Etch", regular release cycle, no better package management than Apt or Synaptic IMO and the community is one of the best! Just an all around excellent desktop. I have left Window$ for good.

-I had thought about Debian as well but I was kinda steered more towards Ubuntu just b/c it is Debian based.

-Someone else recommended PCLinuxOS to me and I had some of the latest live CDs for it, but they didn't like my hardware either. It'd get to the graphical splash loading screen and when it was finished the screen would go black.

-Slack I have been more iffy with. I mean the option is there but just don't know if I want to take the plunge. The only reason I put it up there is b/c I am already somewhat familiar with it from my server uses. And the one thing I hear is that Slack doesn't have much in terms of package management.

-Mandriva....No, plain and simple. I used it back when it was Mandrake and was not really that impressed with it.

I vote for Debian etch!

Reasons:

Debian makes it really easy to do install everything, just enable the contrib, nonfree and debian multimedia repositaries. Then you can get everything you need from the repositories. Java, Win32 codecs, Microsoft fonts, Flash, Binary Drivers. All thier. And all optional if you're a liberty or death kind of guy.

Its one of, if not the most stable distro ever created.

Huge repositories.

The myth of debian being experts only makes it prestegious.

BTW if you want a KDE desktop rather than gnome don't select desktop environment in the installer, then when you reach the CLI just log in as root and type

Ah, did not even realize Vector was Slack based as well. Maybe that's why I liked it. I am almost starting to lean that way now actually...well not technically Vector, but Slack. I am gonna give it more thought over the weekend and see, and of course bring in the New Year. I do wanna start off the New Year with Linux as my desktop that's for sure...sounds cheezy, but it kinda worked out like that.

I voted for other so I guess it is incumbent on me to state my current desktop Linux and that would be MEPIS 6.0
http://www.mepis.org/ It is Debian/Ubuntu based but includes some additional drivers by default. It is currently only available in a 32 bit version, but the 64 bit version is now in testing.It is one of the two best at detecting and configuring my hardware. The other is PCLinuxOS.
http://www.pclinuxos.com/news.php

This decision is such an individual one though that one can only state one's personal preferences.

Quick guys, check this thread out!!!

I clicked on the link you provided (above) and it says that the poll is closed!

Gentoo for the desktop.

Hell no. Plain and simple.

I mean, I think the concept is pretty neat to basically build your own system. BUT, it's just something I don't wish to devote A LOT of time into at the moment. I'd rather have something with more out-of-the-box functionality now. I wouldn't care if I had to tweak this or tweak that but I don't feel like sitting down and waiting for everything to compile. I kinda thought if I did try Gentoo, I'd rather just experiment with it on the side or something.

Aside from the RPM guys, Gentoo is probably the only other distro I don't wish to touch now.