what GUI to use?
 

I just started with this and I'm working on a quake2 (or whatever I decide) server and I use Xfree86 ( i think ) to run just a simple layout with a window for each session of the server I want to run... but right now I'm fiddlin anyway and I wanted to see what kinda simple plain (allow me to have icons/shortcuts/jpg,bmp,etc backgrounds) GUI there is besides something resource hungry like KDE/Gnome ... something simple and where do I get it? All I need to know is the LEAST resource hungry GUI I can download and install OR if there is a way to change/modify this x window system I already got (xfree86?) I mean all I want are icon shortcuts and maybe a background picture but difinatly icon shortcuts

Check this out:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6169

Good link Nigel! Someone here once said you can run a VERY simple X by typing 'xinit' at the command prompt. This will pop up just a command box, and a gui to go with it. If you want icon's as well, you may want to check out ROX, I believe the site is: http://rox.sourceforge.net but am not sure on that.

Cool

use icwm small fast very configurable, entire desktop loads in "I think about" 15 meg ram at boot time, can't confirm that at the moment I'll have to reboot. Intial looks suck, have to play around with config files for decent layout and menus. Could even use gmc as a desktop for it. all can be found at rpmfind.net You can even put single programs in the tray to save space, Don't think kde or gnome can do that? e-mail for specifics

for basic fast use, i like blackbox. mind you, there aren't icons but the menu is even faster than using icons. when I get lazy in blackbox, i just fire up konqueror and go to /home/"myuser"/desktop and click 'em that way.

blackbox is blazingly fast....but if the icons are that big of a thing for you you won't like it. heck, give it a shot for a few days while you get used to it. you might end up liking it

even though blackbox is good, i would reccomend fluxbox as well.

both are the same basically, but fluxbox has some things blackbox doesn't.
http://fluxbox.sourceforge.net/

I tend to use Enlightenment... its so pretty, but most of the time I'm just at a command prompt. ;)

enlightenment isn't what you want if you want it to have a low CPU overhead.

I have been using XFce for a while now and i must say it really wins. I tried WindowMaker too, which is similar, but i think XFce really sits at the happy point between user friendly and sparse.

It was designed from the beginning to be low overhead but chiefly to be user friendly. Try it out, honestly, it's good.

Sorry, that does sound like an advert, but it's my favourite and people rarely mention it in these 'what's the best gui' type debates...

xfce kicks (explicative) much faster than gnome and very user friendly

Yes, I must admit, it's a very nice and easy to use GUI. Although I use Flux alot, once in a while for a change of scenery, and to see what else there is, I will again try Xfce.

Cool

Hehe.. I use to mention it, it use to be my main one of choice. Every once in awhile I'll use it but I tend to stick with Enlightenment though. Oh well, but XFCE is fast though. But Enlightenment is fast as well, as many others. I just stay away from the hogs though.

everything that *box (blackbox, fluxbox, hackedbox) - no icons though, but I ain't need ones, hehe, they are running blasting fast on my dying Athlon 850@950 MHz mighty with 512 Mb PC133 SDRAM.

You can use rox for that (mentioned earlier), just use the pinboard option:

rox --pinboard=Aliensub -o &
exec fluxbox

i use fluxbox at work on 90mhz system with 40 megs of ram.

with this set up i can have two term windows open abiword and gnumeric. no problems.

currently dicking around with kde at home, so i can answer questions since my wife started using it about a month or so ago. but usually it's the same set up. fluxbox/blackbox on 900 mhz with 512 ram.

I've been using windowmaker for a while now, and it's not very resource hungry. Check it out at http://www.windowmaker.org