Which distro is best for me?

From: Jay \ (boogie350_at_NOSPAMyahoo.com)
Date: 09/20/03 

Date: Sat, 20 Sep 2003 19:08:34 -0000

Hello all...

I am presently standing where most of you have inevitably stood before...
I run 4 systems on a Home LAN and I'm sick of coming home from my 50
hour/week job to discover scenarios like:

 "the computer's got another virus!"
 "the fileserver down again!"
 "The gameserver's down!"
These particular scenarios happen so frequently that I have these items
listed with checkboxes on a dry-erase board!! You just check it if it's
occuring. But I *really* love coming home to a note like "I was burning a
CD and all of a sudden the computer froze and now it won't boot into
windows at all..." I'm about *one* more of those notes from doing some
serious inpatient time!

Not to mention, I work with computers a lot at my jobsite. I have done so
many SLAMs this past month that I can practically recite word-for-word
the stupid M$ propoganda that posts while windoze is installing...
"WINDOWS JUST GOT BETTER" particularly amuses me, especially when it's
the third reinstall of the day! I have to literally laugh out loud when
it gets to where it boasts how Windows is now more reliable, stable and
productive, yada yada... BWAHAHAHAHAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Yet my confusion abounds WRT what Linux distros I should go with. In the
past I've tried Mandrake 8, SuSE, Red Hat and and didn't care for them
too much.

However, we all like our games, particularly Quake3, and we *gotta* play
it *daily* or we're "not right" - that's all there is too it! Now, I've
got a few Linux versions here that I snagged @ $1.99 each, knowing that
somewhere down the road I'd eventually have to abandon the MICROS~1
bloatware.
 
The main problems with using these distros was mainly the lack of 3d
support for my newer ATI radeons. From what I can tell, there still isn't
3d support for them. I'll dual-boot to 98SE if I have to, but I'd rather
have a single OS to deal with.

Perhaps I should consider different distros for each computer?? Here's
what I'm running around here.

First off, our Quake 3 dedicated server (for our neighborhood "LANclan"):
generic i535 chipset mobo (in old Gateway2k desktop ATX case)
Pentium 233mmx (allegedly, it's possible to OC it to 300, but I've not
tried it)
512 RAM PC100
4 GB HDD, 5400rpm ATA66
Matrox Millennium PCI video card (8MB IIRC)
onboard sound (disabled)
SMC Easycard PCI 10Mb/s NIC
W2k server

I have no doubt it would run a lot better under Linux. It had a K6-2 533
in it but it decided a few weeks ago that it wouldn't boot up anymore
with that CPU, so I tossed in the 233 in desperation. It runs -okay- but
experiences machine lag when things really get hectic. Machine gun fire
seems to be slowed down too. It's running in the SMC's "DMZ" because a
lot of people were getting kicked with it inside the firewall.

My main computer (used for gaming, net stuff, simple office tasks, basic
audio production, graphics work, messing w/Q3 models/skins):
ECS K7S5A
512MB PC133
AthlonXP 1700+
Radeon 9000Pro
SB16 PCI
LiteON 32x CD-RW
onboard SiS 900 NIC.
2-40GB hard drives, 7200rpm ATA100
W2kPro/Win98SE
A virus seems to have hosed my 98 install (Someone ran a file without
scanning it first - gee, thanks!).
I am running it *underclocked* right now at 1100MHz (because my PSU can't
supply enough current on the 3.3 rail when I am playing games, resulting
in lockups).

I also have a Radeon 8500LE AGP 128MB on the shelf as a backup, although
it's been argued that I might actually get better framerates under
Windoze with *it* than I get with the 9000PRO..
I also suspect that, because it's an older card than the 9kpro, there may
be 3d support for that chipset now (R250??).

My fileserver (storage of files, TV Tuner/capture, IM proggies):
Asus P5a
386 SDRAM PC100
AMD K6-3 @ 400MHz
20, 10, 9 and 8 GB ATA100 IDE hard drives
SB Awe64 PCI
NEC Multispin 8X external SCSI CD-ROM
Adaptec PCI SCSI-2 Card
Rage128 All-In-Wonder AGP (16MB - mainly for cable TV viewing in the
computer room)
Radeon 7000 64MB PCI
SMC SmartCard PCI 10/100 NIC
WinME/W2kServer
I get sick of all the "you do not have permission to access this
folder..." or "the password is not recognized..." errors that randomly
pop up when it worked *fine* 20 minutes ago... so I simply run ME most of
the time. Besides, the AIW TV software doesn't work right under 2k, it's
like it needs to be "fine tuned" as it immediately drifts off the center
frequency, but it doesn't have provisions to do so, regardless of which
version of DirectX, ATI software or driver I use. It works great under
ME. Would the TV function of this card work under linux?

The last one (at least for a couple more weeks!) is my MP3 jukebox:

It's connected to an FM modulator which covers my home and yard. Because
the DJ software, OTSDJ, doesn't come in any Linux flavors, I'll probably
keep that one on Windoze 98. Since it does no multitasking to speak of
(occasional file management), it's quite stable and only requires a good
kick maybe every other month or so. But, for the record...

Generic i620 mobo
Celeron 533
512MB PC100
SBLive 5.1 Value
VantaLT 16MB PCI video
Mitsumi 20x CDrom
30GB Quantum Fireball 5400 ATA66
SMC EasyCard 10Mb/s PCI NIC

We *had* a Duron900 machine, but it popped about 6 capacitors in the mobo
regulator circuit one day playing Q3 and now it won't post at all. I've
messed with it for like 3 days - no beeps at all, even with everything
but the mobo removed... Tried a different PSU, different DIMMS, *NO*
DIMMS, a variety of video cards... still nothing. So, I've reached the
conclusion that "it's *dead*, Jim"! Normally I don't mind fixing
electronic stuff at all, but desoldering on these multi-layer PC boards
just totally sucks. Next month, I'm getting a new mobo soon for my main
XP1700+ machine and I plan on moving the K7S5A to the old case and
dropping the Duron 900 in it. I could use the Duron box as my fileserver
as well as another gaming station.

I haven't really decided what one to use yet, (leaning toward the K6-3
400) but I would like to have a system outside the LAN to act as the
gateway/firewall and Quake3 server combined. Then I could use these
machines as workstations and such. This box will need *exceptional*
multitasking abilities, definitely more than Windows9x can provide.
This'll connect between the cable modem and WAN port on the router,
freeing up the fourth port for yet another system (like we really
*need* it).

Now, with all that long-winded stuff said, I've been working with
computers heavily since 1992. I ran a DOS-based BBS (remember Renegade).
I used DesqView when I needed to multitask, so I'm no stranger to
managing my files from the C: prompt with DIR, CD, MOVE MKDIR, DEL and
COPY commands. DELTREE was cool, especially when followed by
the path to the WINDOWS directory!! I've tried several alternate shells
to Windows Exploder, but never found any that "felt right" (to me,
anyways, but I'm wierd!). As said previously, I *have* installed a few
distros in the past and tinkered around with them quite a bit.

I'm fairly technically-minded (I am a Broadcast Engineer by trade and a
comp tech by necessity due to the takeover of the broadcast industry by
computers), so I think I could pick up working with Linux pretty easily.
I am just at a loss as to which distro to use and whether I'm overlooking
any other *major* hardware issues besides the Radeons.

Thanks in Advance, all.

Boogieman

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