I've recently built a new computer (specs at the bottom of this post) and im looking for install WinXPn and at least one distribution of linux along with it, and to be honest, I haven't been all that impressed with Red Hat so far.

I've heard that SUSE and Debian are pretty good for beginners, while stil retaining the full use of linux, but I'm very much open for suggestions.

As for the specs of the new comp (I'm quite proud of this actually):
2.4Ghz P4 w/ 800Mhz FSB
512Mb PC 3200
80Gb 7200RPM HD
52x32x52x CD-RW
nVidia GeForce 4 MX 440
and a very sexy little number of a case, about the size of a 4-slot toaster, see through side panels, with a built in motherboard (ive got no clue what model the mobo is)

all for $620

SuSE, Mandrake or Debian would give you the ease and control you need.

Nice pc

Check out our Reviews section or the Distribution forum, this question is asked at least 2 times a day here with many giving their opinions on the matter.

Regards.

SUSE doesn't look to be what I need, considering you can't burn your own install disks, which I find to be a major annoyance.

Debian on the other hand looks interesting..... but its SEVEN cds, good grief!

Mandrake looks to be exactly what I want, however where the heck can I download it without having to pay?

I know my comment on Mandrake seems very cheap of me, but im not looking to support any distribution, I want to find one that I think I can use, then consider buying it for any tech support I may need.

edit: thanks tricky kid, ill check that out aswell
edit2: where can i find this elusive reviews section?

nice pc, !~cow~!...it makes mine look kinda...obsolete lol.

heh, thanks. it really leaves my older one in the dust aswell :P

as for the reviews section: I found it, thanks for any potential help there, and I've decided that I'll go with Mandrake, at least for the time being.

I also seem to have been able to find it as a free download!

www.linuxiso.org for your downloads

Debian doesn't require all 7 cds. Since you're in the US, just download the cd1-US version. The rest of the install can be done via ftp. Or just download the first 3 - either will work.

Wassa matter with Slackware?
It stopped two year's worth of Distro hopping for me.

(!~Cow~!) wants a distro for new users. While I accept that many people broke their teeth on Slack, it is accepted that it's not really focused on new people. Whereas Fedora, SuSE and Mandrake are.

yeh Mandrake looks to be pretty easy to use

i need some help with red hat as it is tho..... however this question may be more than red hat only, take a look here, at my last post, which should be the last one on there.

I love Slackware. I'm still relatively new to Linux (only been using it for 4 months - I started with Mandrake) , and I don't find it all that hard to use.

I find it to be much faster than Mandrake and SuSE were. Especially to boot up/start KDE.

Well I'm newbie and I almost started with slackware (I had Suse for a couple of days) and I most say that although what is said about slack it's an amazing distro... And it's a wonderfull way to learn new things on linux 'cause it makes you search for the answers to your problems besides playing with the grafical interface.

But yeah maybe Mandrake is the best distro in this case.

Start with Mandrake and go to Slackware when you're comfortable with the basics.

Can anyone list the major differences and pros and cons between Debian and Slackware for me? Both are old and stable distros - but what else is there? apt-get is a wonderful package manager, but installpkg isn't as hard, so I've heard. How about performance? That's one particular detail on which I don't know much about.

Go to www.distrowatch.com and check out the differences. We can all create long lists but only you know what you are looking for and what your capabilities are.