So, I've finally decided to take the plunge. I'm building a machine from scratch and going with Linux. (please hold your applause) I've done quite a bit of Open Source development for a number of PHP projects and think it's time for me to stop giving a single dime to Microsoft if I can help it.

So, with that in mind, I've been doing quite a bit of research on components and need some advice.

I'm pretty solidly committed to using Mandrake 10.0 Official... for my needs, it seems to fit me the best.

The things I'm considering are as follows... any and all critiques of these items would be great! The compatibility list shows these items to be pretty well supported (I've already done that homework)...

Thanks in advance, John


Asus P4C800-E Deluxe
P4 Processor 2.8 GHz/800Mhz
Sound Blaster Live! PCI
64 MB NVIDIA GeFORCE4 MX 440 AGP video

You can't go wrong with mandrake 10 official. All your hardware should be configured out of the box and you shouldn't have any problems.

Welcome 2 the community!

Thanks man... looking forward to this new adventure.

Welcome to LQ. I'll assume your question is "will this hardware work under Linux?" rather than "which distro is right for me?". If it's the former, I'd suggest taking a look at the LQ HCL if you have not done so already. If it actually is the latter, that question is asked all the time, and the answer is always the same: Try several on your own, then go with the one that best suits your needs and preferences. Many of the most popular distros can be found at LQ ISO or LinuxISO.

Note: This thread may be better suited for the Distributions forum if the emphasis turns out to be on the "which distro" aspect of the question. If the discussion goes that way I'll move it to that forum. -- J.W.

To keep on the hardware track, what about printer? Make sure you don't get a Canon i550. As far as I know one should stay away from most Canon printers with Linux.

Hans Petter


Edit: I have just learned that this is not true. As long as one uses the BJC 7100 driver for the i550. Also requires a bit of tweaking of the printer settings.