Need help picking a distro

So, I finally decided to switch over to Linux after dabbling in it many years ago (right around gentoo's release). Several issues in Windows were forcing me to reformat AGAIN and I decided to see if the one issue I had with Linux had been fixed: gaming. It looks like you can run pretty much anything with Wine now so I figured I might as well give it a go.

Right now I'm running Ubuntu 8.04 and while I like it, I feel like there are probably better (and less bloated) distributions out there. The performance increase has been noticeable, especially since I'm moving from Vista which was a RAM hog.

I've taken the test for the best distribution for me but it returned 100% on all of them so I think I need some help lowering the options.

So here are some criteria:
1. 64-bit since I have 4GB RAM (or does that not matter with Linux? not really sure)
2. I'd prefer something that is very clean and basic, it has a nice GUI but I don't need a lot of extra programs installed, I can get those myself
3. STABLE and performance based, it doesn't need to be bleeding edge either though...
4.... I would like regular updates
5. No known issues getting Wine and games to work
6. GUI install option
7. A good community for support

My system specs:
C2D 3.0 ghz
4GB RAM
eVGA 9800 GTX
640GB HD
DFI Lanparty MB (use onboard lan and sound)

ubuntu/mint

If you want something that works Ubuntu/Linux Mint 64 bit if you want less bloated and leaner distributions you would want to look at these distro's with xfce desktop.
If you want super lean I would look at Debian itself however its not as friendly as the other distro's so you may have to configure things more yourself.

If your a gamer check ubuntu gaming edition

2. I'd prefer something that is very clean and basic, it has a nice GUI but I don't need a lot of extra programs installed, I can get those myself

Click to expand...

Don't compile those extra programs on your own. With large stuff like kde or gnome it's often not trivial and you will make a mess of your install very soon. Always use the package manager coming with the distro, especially at the beginning.

If you want stability, debian stable is the way to go. But for a desktop distro, many people think it's way too outdated. Maybe try Ubuntu LTS instead.

Gaming and Linux don't mix too well. Especially not the "no known issues" part. Windows games are often hit or miss. Pretty much any modern copy protection which requires a CD/DVD in the drive won't work for example, so you need NoCD cracks. Online DRM is a bit better usually.

The two distros I use:

- Sabayon: everything *works* and works well. Based on Gentoo. This is on my PC at home which is typically used for watching DVDs/TV shows or playing music, browsing the web etc.

- Debian: lean, fast and simple. Stable is as stable as you can probably get but is usually a few versions behind. There is plenty of documentation for Debian though as it's a popular distro and is the basis for many others like Ubuntu. We run this on our DFT box where we don't need anything fancy and all it does is churn away at numbers.

I would strongly recommend DreamLinux. It has a bit more of a learning curve then Ubuntu in some ways and not others. Its very easy on the resources and my experience with it has been great overall.

If you search the forums I have done a review on Dreamlinux here and OpenGEU here
MoonOS is another good one

All of the above are either debian or ubuntu based. I use[d] them all.

David said:

The two distros I use:

- Sabayon: everything *works* and works well. Based on Gentoo. This is on my PC at home which is typically used for watching DVDs/TV shows or playing music, browsing the web etc.

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Yes.

fedora as an option, too.

Well, now I have more options than before I started. @_@

I'm ok with it being complicated as long as there is still good documentation out there.

I wasn't going to compile stuff myself... I just don't need all the extra programs that came with this ubuntu install, I would use the package system to get what I need.

I think I'll try Debian stable since a lot of distros seem to be based off of that.

Timdog said:

Well, now I have more options than before I started. @_@

I'm ok with it being complicated as long as there is still good documentation out there.

I wasn't going to compile stuff myself... I just don't need all the extra programs that came with this ubuntu install, I would use the package system to get what I need.

I think I'll try Debian stable since a lot of distros seem to be based off of that.

Click to expand...

I'd recommend testing or unstable for a desktop box unless you want to be a few versions behind. I run stable because the box absolutely has to be stable (my boss is computer agnostic and will flip if the box doesn't just *work*) but if I was running it at home I'd be running sid, or at the very least squeeze.

David said:

I'd recommend testing or unstable for a desktop box unless you want to be a few versions behind. I run stable because the box absolutely has to be stable (my boss is computer agnostic and will flip if the box doesn't just *work*) but if I was running it at home I'd be running sid, or at the very least squeeze.

Click to expand...

I talked to a friend who runs Debian and he runs unstable but he said to try testing first. I think I am just going to try each distro listed in this thread until i find one I like, shouldn't be that hard since they seem to install fast. I'm going to start with mint 64 and see if that isn't as resource hungry as straight ubuntu.