Choices...

[Infamshxr]

So I have been looking through the different distros, some I have used before, some I haven't. I'm kinda stumped to which one I want. I am a newish user. I haven't used any distro in awhile.

This is my hardware:
-Acer TravelMate 2450
-Intel Celeron M 1.46GHz
-1.5Gb RAM
-Atheros 5005G wireless card
-ATI Radeon 200m

This is what I need out of my Distro:
-To be able to run Steam (CS:S and HL:2)
-To be able to work good with my ATI Radeon 200m (preferrebly with Catalyst)
-To be able to run most OS's that Windows runs
-Also like graphically nice looking OS's (lol)

I looked at the screenshots, pros and cons of each of these, and the ranks of them from DistroWatch.
And here is what I kinda brought it down to:
-OpenSUSE 10.2 or 10.3
-PCLinux 2007
-Ubuntu 7.10 or Ultimate Gamers Edition
-Slackware 11
(OTHER'S DISTRO IDEAS ARE APPRECIATED)

Please help me and do some homework for me... Thanks in advanced!

[elija]

This question comes up a lot and has never had a definitive
answer. This is because if you ask ten Linux users which is the best
distro, you will most likely get ten different answers.

I think all the distros you have listed are good, although Slackware
is a version 12 now and to my understanding is most probably
the least "beginner friendly".

I have personally used PCLinux and Ubuntu and I had no real
problems with either of them. I seem to have settled on XUbuntu.
The great thing about Linux is that it is free. Why not try them and
see which one you like?

I don't know what you mean by "To be able to run most OS's
that Windows runs" It doesn't make sense...

[oz]

Welcome to the forums, Infamshxr!

Check the link in my signature for lots of good information on getting started with Linux. You'll also find a couple of quizzes there that might help you to decide on a distribution.

Have fun with Linux...

[Cabhan]

To address some of your concerns:

-To be able to run Steam (CS:S and HL:2)

Steam does not run on Linux. You may be able to use Cedega or WINE to get it working, but there is not a 100% guaranteed success rate. Both Cedega and WINE can be hit-or-miss.

-To be able to run most OS's that Windows runs

I assume you mean programs. This is the same as above: Windows programs are by definition not Linux programs. You can try using Cedega or WINE, but again, they are far from guaranteed.

-Also like graphically nice looking OS's (lol)

Linux distros all come with a default appearance, but Linux is infinitely themeable and skinnable. Don't pick your distro based on the screenshots of it that you see.

Having said all of that, check ozar's link. I'll just go ahead and say it, though: give Ubuntu a shot. It's a very popular new-user distro, with a great package manager, and good support.

[Infamshxr]

So far I've taken the tests and here are the results from the tests:
-Mandriva (I'm guessing Mandriva One, since it's free)
-openSUSE (most likely 10.2 or 10.3, I'm not sure if there's a big difference???)
-PCLinuxOS 2007 (I've really been looking into this one, looks great so far)
-(K)Ubuntu (I have 6.10 and hear it's easier than 7.10, but don't like all the configuring that needs to be done.)

I've not heard a lot about Mandriva so I don't know much about it except it came from Mandrake or something. It looks nice and user friendly, but is it dependable, fast, configurable, and does it work well with a lot of programs?

Also has anyone heard anything or use KDE 4.0? I guess it's released, but is it good? bad? Which leads me to one more question regarding that. Would it be wise idea to go with KDE 3.5 or KDE 4.0?

I know people have different views, but I kinda like to hear from people's experiences. It helps. The only thing I ask, please keep things unbiased. Thanks a lot guys, this is a big decision making help.

PS - Yeah, I did mean software not OS's lol it was late and I was tired.

[oz]

Ah... I just spent about 15 minutes composing a response to what I like and don't like about the distros you mentioned above, and then deleted it because it really doesn't matter what I like, or dislike. It's what you like or dislike about them that matters, and the only way you'll ever really know about them is to try them yourself.

KDE4 reportedly (based on what I've read) has lots of issues right now, so I'm staying clear of it probably until the next release which should contain lots of fixes. I don't even like the way it looks from the screenshots I've seen. Of course, the desktop should still be plenty customizable when I do install it.

KDE 3.5.8 is currently considered very stable by most folks. I'm running Gnome at the moment, but might dump it soon and go back to KDE.

The main thing is to have fun with the Linux experience...