need 64 bit linux suggestions and advice

[Perris Calderon]

finally got my vista box running really stable and I have to admit, I like it now

I want to try a linux 64 bit but I am newb, I think I need some kind of interface.

if you have suggestions and linx for download I would appreciate it

I seem to remember ubantu was quite a bit like windows, is this still the best solution for newbs?

 

[Dark Atheist]

most would say ubuntu as its geared more for the n00b

 

[Perris Calderon]

most would say ubuntu as its geared more for the n00b

did u miss the part about "with a link"?

 

[Dark Atheist]

google cant find ubuntu ?

http://www.ubuntu.com/

 

[Heeter]

May I suggest MintLinux as well?

Now available with the new KDE4.0 and totally geared for the new user, and Gnome is available as well.

Debian based (just like where ubuntu was derived from).

Heeter

 

[X-Istence]

Since you are asking for 64 bit versions, I wanted to point out this caveat:

Drives on 64 bit are still unstable, and have been known to cause issues. My room mate recently had 64 bit issues with his wireless card.

Also, if you have an ATI graphics card, pray it is supported by the open source drivers, or you are going to have loads and loads of fun trying to get it to work with any decent 3d accelleration. Nvidia drivers are not half bad, so if you have that you should be set.

I would suggest Ubuntu as well, only because there is a very active user community surrounding it, and it has the support you will probably want to get it to do what you need it to do.

 

[tdinc]

I also agree with ubuntu, If you have any questions this link is a start to give you a pros and cons between 32 & 64 bit ubuntu.

 

[j79zlr]

Unless you have oodles of RAM I would use x86 on 64-bit as of now. I run 64-bit Gentoo but if I were reinstalling tomorrow I would make it 32-bit. Basically there are no issues whatsoever with open source software and 64-bit, but some common proprietary software namely flash and java take some hacks to get working, and they aren't nearly as stable as they are on 32-bit. I've never experienced personally or read anything that shows any significant performance increase with 64-bit as of now. YMMV. IF you were setting up a server or some kind of workstation for memory intensive apps I would go with 64-bit 100% of the time, for the desktop however, the performance increase is negligible at best.

 

[vern]

eh, Linux is Linux, Ubuntu or not.

I run Ubuntu and don't consider myself a noob.

With that said, I have not once gotten any problems with my hardware since I've been using 64bit Kubuntu. I don't have any odd hardware however, 4GB RAM, Nvidia, 7900GTX, my PCI wireless card worked out of the box although I don't use it, most packages come with AMD64 versions. The only problem I recall is there was no 64bit Opera package, but there are workarounds if you need that. In all honesty, I've had a better experience with 64bit Linux than 64bit Windows on the hardware end. The new version of Ubuntu is on freeze as they finalize for a release candidate. I'd personally try the release candidate out if you want to play around. I'd give links, but my e-mail subscribed to the ubuntu announce list is on another system. I'll edit this post later.

 

[KenJackson]

The widely respected authority on Linux distros is DistroWatch. They keep a running list by popularity over on the right side of the page, where currently the most popular distros are Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, openSUSE, Mint and Fedora. They also have a summary page for each of the hundreds they track, which includes download links.

Personally, my favorite is Mandriva, which I've been using daily for 6 years now. But I also have PCLinuxOS (also called PCLOS) and Fedora installed on other computers and I like them too.

In my eyes, the main thing that separates the various distros is the packaging system. There are three groups: RPM, Debian and other.

RPM distros include Fedora, Mandriva, PCLinuxOS, CentOS and Scientific Linux.
Debian distros include Debian, Ubuntu (plus Kubuntu, Xubuntu, etc), Mint and MEPIS.
Other distros include Gentoo, Sabayon, Arch and Vector.

But another very important thing you must choose is which desktop environment or window manager to install. Most distros will allow multiple choices, but most also have a default. The two big choices are KDE and Gnome. Smaller choices include XFCE and IceWM. (I prefer IceWM.)

In general, for a beginner it's probably best to just allow the installation software to install the default environment. But I mention it because the desktop environment often makes a bigger difference in appearance and look-and-feel than the distro does.

 

[Perris Calderon]

The widely respected authority on Linux distros is DistroWatch. They keep a running list by popularity over on the right side of the page, where currently the most popular distros are Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, openSUSE, Mint and Fedora. They also have a summary page for each of the hundreds they track, which includes download links.

Personally, my favorite is Mandriva, which I've been using daily for 6 years now. But I also have PCLinuxOS (also called PCLOS) and Fedora installed on other computers and I like them too.

In my eyes, the main thing that separates the various distros is the packaging system. There are three groups: RPM, Debian and other.

RPM distros include Fedora, Mandriva, PCLinuxOS, CentOS and Scientific Linux.
Debian distros include Debian, Ubuntu (plus Kubuntu, Xubuntu, etc), Mint and MEPIS.
Other distros include Gentoo, Sabayon, Arch and Vector.

But another very important thing you must choose is which desktop environment or window manager to install. Most distros will allow multiple choices, but most also have a default. The two big choices are KDE and Gnome. Smaller choices include XFCE and IceWM. (I prefer IceWM.)

In general, for a beginner it's probably best to just allow the installation software to install the default environment. But I mention it because the desktop environment often makes a bigger difference in appearance and look-and-feel than the distro does.

great post, welcome to our board and tons of rep comming to you