running the perfect *nix distro 101

hello everyone

i just got anonymous webrowsing to on my system

ive got some noob questions about a router

installing *nix i.e. (choosing distro)

and which distro would be the best decision for semi noobs to learn how to write or cut n paste *nix scripts for setting up nvidia drivers for a geforce fx 5200 and successfully running steam with CS S , DoD S, WoW, BF2, random other new and upcoming opengl graphic intense PC games, but most of all i desire to run a good stable *nix distro for a DESKTOP not laptop with 512 / 1gb DDR amd 2800+ 2.1ghz asrock 462 mobo with SiS chipset and soundblaster live PCI card and DSL 1.5mb connected to a NIC 10/100 no router yet hardwired connection

if anyone is bored and is good in this field feel free to msg me on synobite on aim

http://antionline.com/showthread.php?t=251544

It's a sticky. Also for hardware support SUSE is probably the best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gore

Also for hardware support SUSE is probably the best.

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Agreed with the SUSE option. Gore i'd watch out as you'll end up having the Ubuntu zeliot's coming after you, for not mentioning Ubuntu ;) :D.

cheers
acidtone..:)

That's OK, I'm used to it from the Gentoo boys ;) Hehe. Nah though in all seriousness, if he tries out Ubuntu and it works right out of the box so to speak for him, then cool. I just think that for me, the hardware I've seen work the most was either SUSE or Slackware. They seem to work very well without messing with everything. Specially SUSE.

thx alot for the help everyone im gonna give this old copy of suse 10 dvd a try , i might go and d/l ubuntu or beryl if i dont like this distro

Yeah I dont want to be an ubuntu zealot but I suppose i have been won over. debian has a nice file structure it turns me on. but anyways, I am running kubuntu (cuz kde is my fav gui) and my geforce 6800 worked right out of the box as they say, and on a dual flat screen setup, you'll have to do some things by hand if your using a dual widescreen setup, but its fairly simple.
i have better luck for hardware compatibility with suse for my server setups, especially setting up plesk or something like that, but for a client system its best to use k(ubuntu) edgy for the ease of use, and the apt packaging system is alot easier than yum and yast.

well thats my 42 cents

Quote:

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Originally Posted by levi_501_dehaan

Yeah I dont want to be an ubuntu zealot but I suppose i have been won over. debian has a nice file structure it turns me on. but anyways, I am running kubuntu (cuz kde is my fav gui) and my geforce 6800 worked right out of the box as they say, and on a dual flat screen setup, you'll have to do some things by hand if your using a dual widescreen setup, but its fairly simple.
i have better luck for hardware compatibility with suse for my server setups, especially setting up plesk or something like that, but for a client system its best to use k(ubuntu) edgy for the ease of use, and the apt packaging system is alot easier than yum and yast.

well thats my 42 cents

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It's easier to type commands than click on things in YAST? for who? And what is this file structure you speak of in Debian?

there are several "click" programs in the Gui on K(Ubuntu) my favorite being the synaptic package manager.
I would suggest checking out Debian/Ubuntu before making any spurious comments ;).

and the file structure i mentioned is the file structure, different flavors of Linux have differing file structures, some are usually always the same, /var/www for example but in an overall picture of the file system there is a noticeable difference in the way things are structured and where files are placed.

when i mentioned the file structure i was talking about command line, but what this user is curious about it seems to me, is the graphical interface, which is why i mentioned that the package managers are in my opinion, better and easier to navigate.

as well as support for almost all packages you could want with automatic configuration on your system. and more options for repositories than you will ever need, and alien which lets you convert other package formats to the deb format.

as well there is a large amount of support for the graphical user community, namely the nvidia chipsets and the support for multiple screens built in to the kernel modules.

i have used every distro, and like i said suse is good for server installs, mostly because of the the disk support for the new scsi raid systems and what not, but for a single user who wants to use Linux for a desktop computing platform i feel Debian/Ubuntu takes the cake.

I've been using Debian since 3.0 (And in Debian years, that's damn near stone age) and Ubuntu since about 5.0 or so, can't recall which as I don't look at the package it came in anymore.

File structure as you're calling it isn't anything, Linux is Linux. The Kernel is still the same one Linus wrote unless you're using a customized one, and the shells and where things go don't really mean a thing.

I'll stick with Slackware, same stability, actual new packages! And SUSE, just because I'm elitist like that.

this could be a debate to last years, however lets agree to disagree on this subject and put it to rest, we both agree that linux in all its forms rocks socks. hopefully we answered synobite's questions or at least some of them concerning hardware compatibility.
but kernels are all different, and disparate kernel modules can make the same releases different, on that one there is no argument.

I'm fine with that. I wouldn't have really responded but I think it's good to show someone new to it that there is really no difference on which distro you use on your personal machines, as one that someone hates, may work great for them, and one that works great for me or you, may not work well for him at all.

On one of my machines for example, Debian and Ubuntu both work fine, yet on another they lag badly and SUSE actually works on it. I've been leaning more towards Slackware lately though.

Another thing I haven't seen brought up is Fedora. I'm not a huge fan of it as I wasn't really with RedHat either, but it does seem to have decent support on hardware.

I'm a Gentoo guy and I don't particularly care to try another distro.
This being said, gore's advice is always rock-solid (unless he himself gives you a caveat).

i think ive come up with enough on which distrobution to run for my main desktop,

Now though I'd like to know if anyone has any info on successfully running video card drivers on a distro , gettin opengl / direct3d or basic acceleration on there system or being able to run "new" games i.e. steam games (counterstrike , day of defeat) or world of warcraft .

I know im gonna get some **** from the uber boon's who spend hours writing scripts and think im a ****in idiot , and then its going to be "learn to read , now sit down and read 3-5 books on learning linux code i.e running the "bash" console or #root , i dunno im still in my learning phase

but id like to accomplish something i.e. setting goals

my goal is to run at least 1 accerated video game like maybe BF2 or WoW or steam

if anyone has any very good readmes websites or FAQ's on getting all of this setup on a distro , preferrably ubuntu or SUSE or SLACK plz let me know, who ever sends me the info they dont have to sit and write a 30 page readme just send me in the right direction,

the internet is a big place and i need some direction

KTHXBYE ,


p.s. LONG CAT IS LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG

I wouldn't worry much about Linux elitists calling you an idiot here, I'm about as elitist as it gets to some extents and I preffered to help you out rather than flame you. Quite frankly, here are times where just answering a question is WAY more productive than flaming someone because they don't have time to buy a book shelf, put it together, and fill it with books to read over while trying to et the system up.

As for graphics, honestly Linux has come a LONG way in the last 3 years there. Back in the day video cards had to be set up by hand, but now, installing SUSE for example, if you have an Nvidia crd, most likely it'll work right from instal, and then you can use YAST's YOU (Yast Online Update) to grab the Nvidia drivers for the card.

Older cards you'll have to find the older Nvidia driver for, but they support A LOT of cards. I go with Nvidia every time but my Fianee swears by ATI, and we have both, and Linx running on each machine.

If you want, you could download the drivers from nvidia.com, pop it on a flopy, or a USB drive or whatever it fits on, and then when you've got the sytem insalled, go through the process of installing the driver, which is fairly easy, all you have to do is type this:

sh NVIDIA*.sh

Hit Enter

It installs the actual Nvidia driver which is the same quality as the Windows driver and you're set after restarting X or rebooting (I don't have a brand spanking new video card so I'm not sure if Restrting X works still, if in doubt just reboot).

If you happen to have ATI, download their drivers. I'm not as certain of the process with them as my Fiancee did that after installing Linux and I was only watching, but it seemed basiclly the same.