Complicated OS setup, 64/32 Bit, Windows/various linux distros

[ash.rossy]

I apologise in advance for being a new member making perhaps too many threads, I hope to provide support in the future to make up for this

Ok, for some reason my profile won't edit, maybe not enough posts or something, i'm going to check now, so here's my computer + Related Hardware specs:

AMD Phenom 9950
4GB 667mhz RAM
2x 160GB HDD
2x LG DVD -RW
Nvidia 8500GT 1GB RAM (Soon to be upgraded to an ATI HD 4670 )
Toshiba TV Tuner (Connected to XBOX360 for streaming live TV + Music)
Advent Webcam
T-Mobile G1
Trust Graphics tablet
Generic 4 port PCI Hub (Forget the brand, windows 7 beta lets it have power but not data =/)

Yeah, I realise at first glance that some of these don't seem like they matter in choice of what OS I get, but considering I plan on dual booting linux, some hardware may/may not work (I know suse is hard to get working with my specific tablet for example)
I'm learning to develop for the G1, so Eclipse is a must on the linux distro.
I use the webcam + a box for a multitouch app, so that has to work on linux too.
I included the TV tuner, just to make sure people don't choose a non WMC windows system.

So at the moment, I'm just running windows 7 Beta. It works, but isn't great. I know vista eats resources, but would a 64 bit have an advantage because it addresses more ram.

I'm considering having a 64Bit Vista/Windows7/XP (though I don't think there's a 64 bit media center edition) and 32Bit debian based linux distro (i'm used to ubuntu but want to try something different).

So, considering I like to play games, surf the net, program (mainly python/Age old Pascal, moving onto java). Which operating systems would you recommend? One windows + one linux (preferably debian based but i'm open minded!). Which would give me the most power on my system?

Your help is appreciated

[ma10]

If you want to make use of all your ram then your linux choice would still be a 64bit distro tbh... I use 64bit Ubuntu on my server and I've not had any problems so far and the few that I did have (e.g. codecs and firefox+flash) they have been workarounds to get it working in 32bit mode anyway.

you do not mention your level of experience with linux so I'm gonna assume you like to tinker but only if you really have to. In that respect, sticking with the major distros e.g. Fedora, SUSE and Mandriva probably get you up and running the quickest...

as for windows... I would stick with XP although if you are going down the 64bit route, then I would simply use the 64bit version of XP or Vista, whichver has the most support for my hardware/software tbh.

[ash.rossy]

Thanks, I'm going for 64 Bit Vista, may have a few troubles with my graphics card, do ATI support 64 Bit windows drivers? (I'm upgrading to a 4670 soon)

I do like to tinker, but I'm not brilliant at it, I aim to learn more about the Linux kernel for a project I have going with Google android, Fedora seems user friendly, but still tweakable, If it's any reflection on my experience, I have had a Linux, Apache, Mysql, Php (LAMP) server running on Ubuntu server edition, though I didn't find it particularly hard to do.

[Lucio]

Personally, if you just want to use your computer, install Vista64. It works, it'll play the newest software releases and at the end of the day, whilst being a resource hog it's all pretty simple to solve problems.

If you're looking at Linux to try out something new, to expand your knowledge, then look at Fedora or Ubuntu, they've got some of the largest communities to help you if you get stuck, or want to know more about what's going on.

At the end of the day, many people forget that a computer is a tool to be used, not something to fight and challenge each day. If your PC is hard to use, you're not doing it right

[ma10]

...do ATI support 64 Bit windows drivers? (I'm upgrading to a 4670 soon)

yep! I would be serverely disappointed if they didn't!

I do like to tinker, but I'm not brilliant at it, I aim to learn more about the Linux kernel for a project I have going with Google android, Fedora seems user friendly, but still tweakable...

as Lucio has mentioned, check out the forums for the distros you are interested in and see how friendly and helpful they are... they are a godsend when you're having problems!!

It might be a good idea, if you are hacking the linux kernel, to check out vmware, virtualbox (or virtual PC on windows) and setup a virtualised version of linux for testing purposes. Then you could trash it to your heart's content and restore it with a click of the mouse...

Also, you could always setup a virtual version of XP at the sametime as it runs rather well virtualised on linux

[ash.rossy]

Thanks again! I'll most likely run a virtual Linux machine but still dual boot into a well known distro (like ubuntu, fedora or suse are the 3 i'm torn between)

[aidanjt]

I'll make it easier. Ubuntu cooks hard drives and turns people into drooling fanatical idiots. openSUSE cripples software with ghastly patchsets and otherwise has a laughable package count. That leaves Fedora, while fairly decent at being technically correct as a Linux distro, is so bleeding edge the dvd-r will probably cut your head off after installing it and your computer spits it back out.

If you want a fairly stable and well tested distro, there's Debian, PCLinuxOS, CentOS, and Gentoo to choose from.

[ma10]

I'll make it easier. Ubuntu cooks hard drives and turns people into drooling fanatical idiots. openSUSE cripples software with ghastly patchsets and otherwise has a laughable package count. That leaves Fedora, while fairly decent at being technically correct as a Linux distro, is so bleeding edge the dvd-r will probably cut your head off after installing it and your computer spits it back out.

I'm almost afraid to ask you about mandriva..... how about FreeBSD then?

If you want a fairly stable and well tested distro, there's Debian, PCLinuxOS, CentOS, and Gentoo to choose from.

if that is the choice you're offering aidanjt then I'll choose Debian!!

Thanks again! I'll most likely run a virtual Linux machine but still dual boot into a well known distro (like ubuntu, fedora or suse are the 3 i'm torn between)

no probs! If you have the time, have a play with each if you can before you make your final choice... that way you can have a feel to see if it suits you. Also, you may wanna check out some reviews on a site like http://distrowatch.com/ to see what other people think about the different distros...

[aidanjt]

I'm almost afraid to ask you about mandriva.....

Honestly, I haven't touched it in quite awhile since it was turned into a commercial distro, now they're trying to make it semi-community again, but I lost interest in it, especially since the only KDE version they have is 4.1, which is a trainwreck compared to 3.5.

how about FreeBSD then?

FreeBSD is pretty good, depending on what you need, hardware is a factor too, with the desktop, only certain older video cards work properly. As a server FreeBSD is pretty damn solid and has good hardware support for network interfaces, disk controllers, and so on. No virtualisation support yet though, which sucks.

[lodore]

Hello,
debian lenny should come out on the 14th of feb.
cent OS 5.3 (red hat enterprize linux 5.3 without the redhat logos) should come out soon.
both nice distros. I prefer red hat distros.
I havent really had any issues with fedora and with the next version they are improving their QA.
The main reason for using fedora 10 is the fact that if you add the rpmfusion repo and then open up any media player it will find the gstreamer plugins at the rpmfusion repo and install them for you. i also use fedora because as soon as the creative x-fi drivers get merged in to the kernal i will get them first.
since RHEL 6 should have that i will then switch to Centos6.

[directhex]

Hello,
debian lenny should come out on the 14th of feb.
cent OS 5.3 (red hat enterprize linux 5.3 without the redhat logos) should come out soon.
both nice distros. I prefer red hat distros.
I havent really had any issues with fedora and with the next version they are improving their QA.

If there are no issues, why does their QA need to improve?

The main reason for using fedora 10 is the fact that if you add the rpmfusion repo and then open up any media player it will find the gstreamer plugins at the rpmfusion repo and install them for you.

?

since RHEL 6 should have that i will then switch to Centos6.

What do you plan to get out of Centos? I've never really understood why it exists

[lodore]

If there are no issues, why does their QA need to improve?



?



What do you plan to get out of Centos? I've never really understood why it exists

Hey directhex,
I know that ubuntu has the plugin support as well but i prefer the look and feel of fedora and red hat based distros. i hate the human theme. plus i dont really like synaptic the gui for apt-get. i much prefer yum and packagekit.
well when kernal got updated to 2.6.27.9 the sound stopped working. if you rebooted it sometimes worked.
the other day the kernal was updated to 2.6.27.12 and the sound works fine now.
CentOS is RHEL but for free. its intended for hobbyists or people who can setup and support it themselfs without needing redhat support.
centos updates are provided for 7 years.
Centos updates come out later than updates to rhel but not much later

[directhex]

RHEL sucks though. All "Enterprise" dists do. The only reason to use them is because you get a support contract (and ISV app support). I say this as someone with a few hundred Enterprise machines. SLES/RHEL are for managers. Admins run Debian

sucky dist + support - support = ?

[lodore]

RHEL sucks though. All "Enterprise" dists do. The only reason to use them is because you get a support contract (and ISV app support). I say this as someone with a few hundred Enterprise machines. SLES/RHEL are for managers. Admins run Debian

sucky dist + support - support = ?

what do you find sucky about rhel?
why do admins prefer debian?

[directhex]

what do you find sucky about rhel?
why do admins prefer debian?

It's a pain in the arse when you find yourself needing to do anything even slightly non-standard - the kind of thing a real admin rather than someone with a vendor cert would do. Then you learn all about the joys of rpmbuild, or .RpmSave, and so on. It takes longer to do less.

[aidanjt]

That's what I love about Gentoo, there is no 'standard' way to do anything. In a limited fashion too, Debian is much the same.