[ILUG] Which Distro ?

[Kevin Philp]

I have used both and my home hardware is almost exactly the same as yours.

Gentoo is great, I love it, because its easy to keep up to date and everything 
installs where it was originally intended to be, not moved around by 
packagers. However expect to spend about 3 days installing if you go for a 
stage 1 install and only have the evenings. Also to keep the system up to 
date you really need to have broadband. It helps if know a bit about Linux in 
the first place and finally follow the install guide line by line! The 
installation is not simple although the install guide is excellent.

Debian is easier and much quicker to install. The packages won't be as 
"bleeding edge" but the closer you get to the edge the more you trade in 
stability... its your choice. It has a great reputation for stability.

If you are new to Linux/Unix I would actually suggest starting with Mandrake. 
Its easier than any of the above to install, a great place to start.

I actually use Gentoo at home (its fun) but in the office we have settled on 
Mandrake servers and desktops, its quick and easy. I can install a complete 
system from scratch and have it up and running in about 45 minutes.

Kevin.



On Wednesday 6 October 2004 10:27, Robert Kiely wrote:
I'm trying to decide on which distro to install on my PC.
Most people seem to have good things to say about Debian
and it's always highly recommended. I've been looking at
Gentoo lately though and am trying to decide between the
two. Any help is greatly appreciated. My machine if your
wondering is a Gigabbyte GA-7VTXE+ motherboard, Athlon XP 1700, 768MB RAM,
 Two 80GB HD, DVD-RW and DVD-ROM etc.

Thanks


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