Which distro is right for me?
 

Ok, so I have had some troubles with Linux in the past, but am still interested. I will list things I would like in a distro, and my hardware, and if someone could tell me if it will match those needs and recommend me a distro, that would be great. So, here is what I would like:


- Sound card MUST work and should be easy to configure/install

- Speed and stability are definately a plus

- Video card support must be nice, I don't wan't a 640x480 desktop

- Must be easy to use, I am a newbie, but I would like it to have some deep features for when I get comfortable with the Linux system


Ok, so those are things I wanted, now I will list my specs and see if it's compatible


Dell Dimension 3000
ATI Radeon 9250 PCI Card 256mb
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
Intel P4 3.0 gHz
512 mb RAM


I think that's all I need to list, but ask any questions you need, the easier it is for someone to make a suggestion the better. I was looking at SUSE after trying Mandriva and Ubuntu and haveing no luck with hardware compatibility.

Try Fedora *Played with it in the past* Should suit your needs ;)

I used FC4 and I couldn't get the sound to work there either, I just couldn't find the driver. It was pretty simple and easy, but the hardware was an issue.

Sound and video are two things that often need to be configured manually. What brands do you have?

Go to Barnes and noble and get the mepis live distro out of one of the current mags.
Its bootable from the hard drive so you can see what works, and it uses Debian packages which work rather well. The default desktop is KDE which is very configurable. If you want something faster that works well, try Fluxbox, or one of the other minimal window managers. Anyway, I have tried 4 different Distros ( or is it 5?) and "Simply Mepis" has worked the best for me, and I've screwed with it a LOT with no probs. I know your graphics card is supported.

Why not use the real thing ... Why Debian...A Sales Pitch

Wit Etch (testing), your hardware should not be a problem.

try ubuntu which has a live cd also

You can try SUSE Linux if you want distro with laptop support.

I have a desktop PC, not a laptop, but I am considering SUSE still. I am also trying out the live disc, Simply Mepis. I'll see how well I like it and if I like it then I'll make the switch (dual boot first obviously). Thanks for the input.

SuSe also has a Live CD if you just wanna give it a try.

http://www.novell.com/products/susel...rors_isos.html