what distro should i get?

[emily14321234]

i have xp right now. i was going to go and buy win 7 but a friend of mine told me about this and so i figured, why not? worst case scenario, i just buy win 7 and replace it right? so i go on a linux website to download it but there r like 23987492837 diff kinds! i mostly use my comp for internet and gaming. but idk much about computers so a lot of this stuff is just crazy blither blater to me. i play oblivion mostly right now, but i also play games like half life 2 and such. my friend assured me that these games would still work on linux but i want to be sure. and if they do which one would me best for me?

[oz]

Welcome to the forums!

You'll have to try a few different distributions to know which one is the best for you, but you could go for any of the top 5 in the Page Hit Ranking list at DistroWatch.com for a good start. Ubuntu is currently at the top of the chart, so that might be a good one to choose.

You can also check the link in my signature for a couple of quizzes that might help you to pick a distribution.

Hope you'll have fun with Linux.

[sixdrift]

As far as gaming, you should look through some gaming forums and see if the games you are interested in will work. I have had good luck on some, bad luck on others.

As far as distribution, follow ozar's advice, go to distrowatch and check out the live cd's of the top of the hit chart. The live cd will allow you to boot that Linux distribution on your hardware without actually installing it so you can give it a spin. Running a live distro is always considerably slower than an actual installation. Just keep that in mind.

An alternative would be to go ahead and dual boot your machine for a while. This would retain the XP partition and carve out some disk space for a Linux partition. You could then install into that space and select which OS to boot. That way, you keep your gaming as is, and you can try out the Linux distro at full speed. Then you could actually see which games run in your system under Linux.

[reed9]

Ultimately, no one can tell you which linux distribution is best for you, which is why we tend to say, hey, check out lots of em and see what you like. And all of us have our favorites.

That said, I know it can be overwhelming to choose at the beginning. One of the best distros, in my opinion, for new users, is Linux Mint. Many things Windows converts look for are there out of the box, such as flash and non-free multimedia support. It's based on Ubuntu, which is probably the most popular of the distros, and for which there is a wealth of documentation and guides available, should you need help.

[landgazr]

I gotta second Reed9 on his suggestion of Linux Mint.

I grew up in DOS and Windows, but I have grown an increasing affinity for Linux in recent years - for many reasons. But that's the point. Everyone has their reasons. And their own needs. You need to be clear on YOUR needs so the computer becomes the most productive tool for YOU.

I've used UNIX clones (i.e. Minix), BSD distros and Linux distros like Debian, Stampede, VectorLinux and Ubuntu.

Ubuntu has become so popular recently in part because of "low barriers to entry." Easy to install. Infinitely configurable as you grow more comfortable, as are most distributions. Linux Mint is Ubuntu-based and I have it installed on a box at home. It was an absolute cinch to install, but that is because it is geared towards novices - hence, lots of software is installed to cover a variety of needs with minimal user input. Of course, you can modify the system later to your hearts content.

When I was less familiar with Linux, I will tell you that a big thing for me was having an OS with a good package manager. UNIX/Linux has been infamous throughout its history for its painful, dependency-ridden application installation process. Now, standard package formats with organized repositories (and GUI clients to access them) have made it a snap for users to (de-)install applications. Most if not all popular distros have this feature.

USB flash drives. Scanners. Document formats. WiFi. Printing. Video. CD/DVD burning.

All built in to popular distros. Some games may be a bit of a pain, but WINE should make any transition much more comfortable (allows one to Run many Windows applications on Linux) but I think running HL2 IS possible. I just wish Nvidia would be more supportive of community efforts to develop drivers for Linux.

Grrr...

Dual booting is a great idea as well. Just install Windows FIRST. In my experience, when I installed Windows AFTER Linux, the Windows bootloader never gave me a choice to go to Linux on power-up. It would always just boot Windows. Linux installers will likely detect Windows and install something like GRUB as your bootloader which will give you the choice every time you boot up.

Good hunting!

p.s. - Hey Reed9, I'm not sure if you are part of the Arch Linux project, but if you are, bravo! I just installed it last week and I'm loving it. Solid. Clean. Professional. Organized. Well done!