Hi,i am linux noob big time.Im deciding to get my first linux and i dont know which one to get.I heard Ubuntu is really good it also has apt-get which seems to be good for noobs.,but i also heard mandriva is very "noob" friendly.Im a gamer so ill use linux to play games as long as other stuff.So which linux is better for a first time linux user.Mandriva or Ubuntu.Thanks.

I'd urge you to try them both and then make your own choice. Mandriva has urpmi and smart package managers which are similar to apt-get so I wouldn't base my choice solely on the availability of apt-get in Ubuntu. Mandriva has just released an installable live cd, which you can download and test on your system alongside the Ubuntu live cd.

Just be aware that Linux doesn't natively play Windows games. In other words, don't think you can just run to the local game store and grab any game and play it on Linux. Wine and Cedega are programs that can help run Windows games, but they are not perfect, and many games won't play even using those tools. Some people keep a Windows partition handy so they canboot into that for games. Myself, I just don't play as many Windows games as I used to. (If it doesn't have a Linux-native version, and it won't run in Cedega, I don't play it. )

Otherwise, I'll echo redazz. Try both distros, and see if either fits your style of computing. If neither, try some other distro.

Thanks guys,as for the windows games not working.Im keeping windows installed im gonna have both incase the games wont work on linux I think im gonna try out mandriva first.if anyone has anything else to add,feel free.

Mandriva is pretty good. The advantage over ubuntu is installing packages you have downloaded. say for example you download pa oprogram ackaged for mandriva that was not available in any of the standard repos, when you go to install ur rpmi will pick up its dependences and download those for you. dpkg never did for me, i had to go and apt-get all the different packages it required, which in turn meant writing them all down so i knew what I needed, but mandriva gets them all automaticly for you. Plus Mandriva also has a lot more gui things for administration task. Almost anything the new user needs to do can be done from the MCC. Unless they have something drasticly wrong and they need to do some serious fiddling.

This is a very strong point for new Linux users. Ubuntu lacks a lot stuff thats available in Mandriva and I always wonder why its currently so popular.

I used to wonder that same thing about AOL. I found it "virus like" intrusive, but tons of people got caught up in it due to them giving away free install cd's. I understand just for the asking, Ubuntu will mail you free install cd's as well. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying Ubuntu is not a great distro, it has only seen my pc for a day, so I don't have enough mileage on it to give an honest opinion. I just thought the whole idea of using a distro was for the custom tools that a distro provides and seemed to me that they were a little thin on Ubuntu as well. All I am suggesting is a free, real cd markets better than a free download.

I found mandriva runs pretty much without having to resort to commandline tools, except for my nvidia drivers, which nvidia have made easier anyway. But Ubuntu, even with the free CD, failed to install. And I waited for a while to get those CD's. I gave them away and switched back to Mandrake.

If you get hold of the Mandriva Club or the boxed releases, the nvidia drivers are automatically installed during setup.

mandriva is also the best distro bcz it have alot of rpm in the cd. like media players. and the game i like in mandriva is SUPER-TUX same like as super mario...

i also tried ubuntu.. but it has only GNOME environment.. dont has KDE... while mandriva has KDE3.4...
Mandriva is absoulately the best distribution

u can als try it.

I have used mandriva since mandrake 9.1. And I have also tried SUSE, fedora, kubuntu, slackware and xandros. But I always came back to mandriva because of it's ease of use.

I tried Ubuntu last month because I think it has a fantastic documentation and look&feel. But I gave up the second time I got "the session lasted less then 10 seconds" error. I couldn't find out how to fix it, and a third reinstall was out of the question.

Why I use Mandriva:
* Easy to use (GUI, control center, works out of the box, urpmi.)
* Can perform any task that other distros can.
* Can choose windowmanager, custom package install, easy install.
* Alot of custom rpm packages at rpm.bone.net

What I think is not so good with Mandriva:
* less 1337 cred (Which I am totaly comfortable with)

Of all the distros I have tried, mandriva gave me less headace.

The only answer to this question is this:

Look at both distros in depth, look at the package list they have, the tools for administration (GUI or Command Line), and make a side by side (PROs/CONs on each) list for yourself.

Now make another list that has this in it:

1. What packages (application/games) do "I" need/want?
2. What kind of tools (GUI/Command Line) do "I" need?
3. Which distro is easiest for "me" to use and get familiar with right out of the box?
4. Which one is offers more for "me" in the long run?

The key here is "YOU", Linux is the kernel that tells the hardware what to do, the "distro" is the package base (apps, tools, glitter, etc.) installed around Linux. We can all give you great advise on which "distro" we approve of but that is the distro for "US" and not necessarily the right one for "YOU". I have been using Mandriva since 7.2 and Red Hat (NOT Fedora Core) since 6. Recently I have been heavy into Mandriva 2007 (Home Desktop), Fedora Core (for work desktop), and CentOS 5 (Web/ColdFusion/PHP servers I maintain). All have great reasons to use them but that is again "MY" opinion. Nobody will be able to tell you what "YOU" want/need better than you.

I'll second that!!! It's all about what you want.... try them both... as for many here Mandriva works for me to the best... I tryed Kubuntu (has KDE) Slackware Suse and a few not so mainstream distros... it was a time when I had 3-4 OS-'s on the same PC... In the end Mandriva "survived" for ME, what's gonna be for you only YOU (can) decide!!!

Just skipping over some, I agree with "lordtweety"

Ubuntu live dvd failed to install on mine, and thats as far as I have seen of ubuntu.

Ubuntu is based on the deb package manager, where as In Mandy we have smart and urpmi, which when configured to include your local packages works fantastically.

How to? in a terminal move to(cd)the directory where the rpm's are located. type, genhdlist --md5sum
The list is automatic with the new version.
for older versions type genhdlist --list --md5sum
type genhdlist --help for more

Then update your local sources using urpmi, because it is default package manager,

urpmi.addmedia (local-name) file://(file/name/folder) with hdlist.cz
or
urpmi.update (local-name) file://(file/name/folder) with hdlist.cz


Check out cedega's site for a list of supported games, any linux distro will run cedega (afaik)

I had CS and HL with mandrake 10.1 working 3d as good as windows.

So, come on over, I've been dual booting mandy since 9.2 and mdk10 on my server. (currently both 2007.1)

And if you have any trouble, just drop a line in here and some one will respond.

personally... i vote for Mandriva, i had installed Mandriva in my computer & servers since 2006 and it's running well.
i also ried to installing many versions of Ubuntu, still i did not feel comfortable to operate it.

any way... for servers purpose, i still believe in redhat base (mandriva) instead of Debian (Ubuntu).
but you should try both of it to make your own opinion.

Ubuntu lacks a lot stuff thats available in Mandriva and I also wonder why its currently so popular and getting more popular...