Mandrake or Red Hat?

**Shiori** · September 3rd, 2001, 08:36

What's the "better" Linux distro for a newbie? and will it run FPSE?

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My PC specs: AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.1 Ghz, ECS Elitegroup K7S5A, 256MB PC133 SDRAM, Geforce2 MX200 32MB, 20GB Seagate, Windows XP Pro. Ok, what else... Shiori figurine on top of case, assorted anime stickers on the side, lazy tabby cat on top of monitor.

KillerShots · September 3rd, 2001, 17:20

Well...I've tried Mandrake, and it seems VERY Windows-like... but I still haven't gotten around to learning the basics (like how to install stuff), and I haven't even seen RedHat yet. All I can say is that Mandrake is VERY easy to install and probably easy enough to get to know once it's up.

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Primary
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Mobo: Biostar N4SLI-A9 RAM: 2G Crucial (DDR400) Video: eVGA GeForce 7900 GTX (512M) Audio: HDA X-Mystique HD(s): Maxtor 300G SATA2, Samsung 400G SATA2 OS(s): WinXP x64 Pro, Vista x32 Ultimate, Gentoo x64 Monitor(s): Primary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Secondary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Tertiary - Zenith 42" Plasma TV (1024x768 res)

Many other machines... sig too short

September 3rd, 2001, 19:29

Mandrake is the best for newbies, by far. On the other hand, RH isn't hard to install either..

FPSE's Linux port, and PCSX's, should run on either distro..

**Shiori** · September 4th, 2001, 07:27

i see, so PCSX's also got a linux version too....well i decided to take the plunge with Mandrake, it's got better reviews anyway.

__________________
My PC specs: AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.1 Ghz, ECS Elitegroup K7S5A, 256MB PC133 SDRAM, Geforce2 MX200 32MB, 20GB Seagate, Windows XP Pro. Ok, what else... Shiori figurine on top of case, assorted anime stickers on the side, lazy tabby cat on top of monitor.

KillerShots · September 4th, 2001, 19:09

Good luck...one thing to remember - DON'T USE THE DEFAULT MONITOR! The default monitor driver (and most of the generics) don't work with any of my home monitors correctly. I got lucky and my main monitor (21") was on the list of vendors

.

__________________
Primary
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Mobo: Biostar N4SLI-A9 RAM: 2G Crucial (DDR400) Video: eVGA GeForce 7900 GTX (512M) Audio: HDA X-Mystique HD(s): Maxtor 300G SATA2, Samsung 400G SATA2 OS(s): WinXP x64 Pro, Vista x32 Ultimate, Gentoo x64 Monitor(s): Primary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Secondary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Tertiary - Zenith 42" Plasma TV (1024x768 res)

Many other machines... sig too short

**Betamax** · September 4th, 2001, 20:30

yep and don't try using a winmodem either. They suck! (if you can get it to work)

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Superior marketing of an inferior product will always win over inferior marketing of a superior product.

Zell · September 4th, 2001, 21:58

I prefer RH , was easyer for me !!

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KillerShots · September 5th, 2001, 00:53

Did you try both?

__________________
Primary
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Mobo: Biostar N4SLI-A9 RAM: 2G Crucial (DDR400) Video: eVGA GeForce 7900 GTX (512M) Audio: HDA X-Mystique HD(s): Maxtor 300G SATA2, Samsung 400G SATA2 OS(s): WinXP x64 Pro, Vista x32 Ultimate, Gentoo x64 Monitor(s): Primary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Secondary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Tertiary - Zenith 42" Plasma TV (1024x768 res)

Many other machines... sig too short

Kraelis · September 5th, 2001, 01:10

I don't know if FPSE will work on either, but if it's just simple gaming you want, with little hassle, I'd opt for Red Hat. Like what has been posted, it _is_ a lot easier to install... something like a Windows installation. (may be even easier... it depends)

If you have a relatively new computer, I'd suggest you go for the latest available version of the two OSes. It'll save you a LOT of hassle if you do.

I haven't tried Mandrake but I do have Red Hat. It's been some time since I booted it up, but I think it's an old 6.x or something. The latest RH distribution is easier to install because of new and updated hardware drivers. However, it's quite buggy due to the kernel overhaul they did on it. But then again, if you're not planning to set up a really serious system (intensive work, server, security, etc..), it's fine for common usage.

Oh... where were you able to get a Mandrake? I've been looking all over for other Linux distributions and all that I've found are Red Hats.

__________________
--KrÆlis Cross

Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur

===============
Athlon 64 x2 3800| Asrock ALiveNF6G-VSTA | Kingston DDR2 1 Gb RAM

**Xeven** · September 5th, 2001, 01:46

I've used both, I found mandrake easier to install and generally easier to configure, but most packages for mandrake are repacked versions of RH anyway. I guess it should have a performance advantage over RH, because it uses some compiler optimizations for x586 comps and above. But, I haven't ran any sort of benchmarks or anything....

Hey Kraelis, if you want to download [i know.. i know... not everybody has cable or dsl, hell i dont have one...]. You can find
all linux distros, iso/packages and a load of other software at
ftp://www.planetmirror.com..., hope this helps.

__________________

**Betamax** · September 5th, 2001, 01:46

Well in my case I "borrowed" the universities copy

anyways assuming you have broadband you can d/l at any of the sites listed in the following page:

http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/ftp.php3

Links to all other distros can be found here:

http://www.linux.com/learn/getlinux/

__________________

Superior marketing of an inferior product will always win over inferior marketing of a superior product.

**Shiori** · September 5th, 2001, 07:09

Quote:

Originally posted by Kraelis
Oh... where were you able to get a Mandrake? I've been looking all over for other Linux distributions and all that I've found are Red Hats.

in my local warez store.

it's got three CDs....i think the rest are Linux apps i think....

__________________
My PC specs: AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.1 Ghz, ECS Elitegroup K7S5A, 256MB PC133 SDRAM, Geforce2 MX200 32MB, 20GB Seagate, Windows XP Pro. Ok, what else... Shiori figurine on top of case, assorted anime stickers on the side, lazy tabby cat on top of monitor.

Kraelis · September 6th, 2001, 01:01

I got mine from the university too. Actually, since I knew we were gonna take Unix up a few sems from now, I pestered the dep head to give me one of those free copies they give schools. It's pretty old, but hey, it works... after a lot of hair pulling though...

Mandrake's optimized, you say, huh, Xeven? I wonder it's not so popular if it has similarities to Red Hat, at least from where I am...(or maybe I don't know people who do know it...)

How's the robustness of the code? Any issues with stability or security?

__________________
--KrÆlis Cross

Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur

===============
Athlon 64 x2 3800| Asrock ALiveNF6G-VSTA | Kingston DDR2 1 Gb RAM

**Xeven** · September 6th, 2001, 02:09

well i havent had any major crashes (if any at all) or anything, but that's the same case as RH. With regards to optimization, there's little or no perceptible differences between the performance of RH and MD at least from running GIMP anyway... i don't really run a lot of software on linux...

Robustness of code? I dunno, I mean most of the stuff from mandrake are packages from RH compiled with the "-586" option... i think... hmm... maybe someone could explain that better to me too.

__________________

Hairybudda · September 10th, 2001, 16:41

Quote:

Originally posted by Xeven
I dunno, I mean most of the stuff from mandrake are packages from RH compiled with the "-586" option... i think... hmm... maybe someone could explain that better to me too.

Optimised for 586 processors, PIII and Athlon i think...

Phuzzi · September 13th, 2001, 22:52

European users should try www.mirror.ac.uk

Very fast mirror of many distributions, as well as a lot of other things.

Personally, i prefer mandrake. I've tried both.

September 3rd, 2001, 08:36	#1
Shiori :3 Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Seoul, South Korea Posts: 10,128	Mandrake or Red Hat? What's the "better" Linux distro for a newbie? and will it run FPSE? __________________ My PC specs: AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.1 Ghz, ECS Elitegroup K7S5A, 256MB PC133 SDRAM, Geforce2 MX200 32MB, 20GB Seagate, Windows XP Pro. Ok, what else... Shiori figurine on top of case, assorted anime stickers on the side, lazy tabby cat on top of monitor.

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September 3rd, 2001, 17:20	#2
KillerShots War Games coder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Florida Posts: 1,927	Well...I've tried Mandrake, and it seems VERY Windows-like... but I still haven't gotten around to learning the basics (like how to install stuff), and I haven't even seen RedHat yet. All I can say is that Mandrake is VERY easy to install and probably easy enough to get to know once it's up. __________________ Primary CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Mobo: Biostar N4SLI-A9 RAM: 2G Crucial (DDR400) Video: eVGA GeForce 7900 GTX (512M) Audio: HDA X-Mystique HD(s): Maxtor 300G SATA2, Samsung 400G SATA2 OS(s): WinXP x64 Pro, Vista x32 Ultimate, Gentoo x64 Monitor(s): Primary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Secondary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Tertiary - Zenith 42" Plasma TV (1024x768 res) Many other machines... sig too short

September 3rd, 2001, 19:29	#3
CDBuRnOuT Guest Posts: n/a	Mandrake is the best for newbies, by far. On the other hand, RH isn't hard to install either.. FPSE's Linux port, and PCSX's, should run on either distro..

September 4th, 2001, 07:27	#4
Shiori :3 Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Seoul, South Korea Posts: 10,128	i see, so PCSX's also got a linux version too....well i decided to take the plunge with Mandrake, it's got better reviews anyway. __________________ My PC specs: AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.1 Ghz, ECS Elitegroup K7S5A, 256MB PC133 SDRAM, Geforce2 MX200 32MB, 20GB Seagate, Windows XP Pro. Ok, what else... Shiori figurine on top of case, assorted anime stickers on the side, lazy tabby cat on top of monitor.

September 4th, 2001, 19:09	#5
KillerShots War Games coder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Florida Posts: 1,927	Good luck...one thing to remember - DON'T USE THE DEFAULT MONITOR! The default monitor driver (and most of the generics) don't work with any of my home monitors correctly. I got lucky and my main monitor (21") was on the list of vendors . __________________ Primary CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Mobo: Biostar N4SLI-A9 RAM: 2G Crucial (DDR400) Video: eVGA GeForce 7900 GTX (512M) Audio: HDA X-Mystique HD(s): Maxtor 300G SATA2, Samsung 400G SATA2 OS(s): WinXP x64 Pro, Vista x32 Ultimate, Gentoo x64 Monitor(s): Primary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Secondary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Tertiary - Zenith 42" Plasma TV (1024x768 res) Many other machines... sig too short

September 4th, 2001, 20:30	#6
Betamax Resident Movie Critic Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland Posts: 9,506	yep and don't try using a winmodem either. They suck! (if you can get it to work) __________________ Superior marketing of an inferior product will always win over inferior marketing of a superior product.

September 4th, 2001, 21:58	#7
Zell The Sword Saint Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Death Zone Posts: 1,750	I prefer RH , was easyer for me !! __________________ Kuzuryusen ! God-like speed to attack all nine vital points in one stroke. Impossible to dodge and defend ! How want's to stop me E-Mail

September 5th, 2001, 00:53	#8
KillerShots War Games coder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Florida Posts: 1,927	Did you try both? __________________ Primary CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Mobo: Biostar N4SLI-A9 RAM: 2G Crucial (DDR400) Video: eVGA GeForce 7900 GTX (512M) Audio: HDA X-Mystique HD(s): Maxtor 300G SATA2, Samsung 400G SATA2 OS(s): WinXP x64 Pro, Vista x32 Ultimate, Gentoo x64 Monitor(s): Primary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Secondary - 19" Flat Panel (1280x1024) Tertiary - Zenith 42" Plasma TV (1024x768 res) Many other machines... sig too short

September 5th, 2001, 01:10	#9
Kraelis Transcended Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Moonlight Spire Posts: 1,409	I don't know if FPSE will work on either, but if it's just simple gaming you want, with little hassle, I'd opt for Red Hat. Like what has been posted, it _is_ a lot easier to install... something like a Windows installation. (may be even easier... it depends) If you have a relatively new computer, I'd suggest you go for the latest available version of the two OSes. It'll save you a LOT of hassle if you do. I haven't tried Mandrake but I do have Red Hat. It's been some time since I booted it up, but I think it's an old 6.x or something. The latest RH distribution is easier to install because of new and updated hardware drivers. However, it's quite buggy due to the kernel overhaul they did on it. But then again, if you're not planning to set up a really serious system (intensive work, server, security, etc..), it's fine for common usage. Oh... where were you able to get a Mandrake? I've been looking all over for other Linux distributions and all that I've found are Red Hats. __________________ --KrÆlis Cross Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur =============== Athlon 64 x2 3800\| Asrock ALiveNF6G-VSTA \| Kingston DDR2 1 Gb RAM

September 5th, 2001, 01:46	#10
Xeven A BIG BAD BATARD™ Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 5,568	I've used both, I found mandrake easier to install and generally easier to configure, but most packages for mandrake are repacked versions of RH anyway. I guess it should have a performance advantage over RH, because it uses some compiler optimizations for x586 comps and above. But, I haven't ran any sort of benchmarks or anything.... Hey Kraelis, if you want to download [i know.. i know... not everybody has cable or dsl, hell i dont have one...]. You can find all linux distros, iso/packages and a load of other software at ftp://www.planetmirror.com..., hope this helps. __________________

September 6th, 2001, 01:01	#13
Kraelis Transcended Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Moonlight Spire Posts: 1,409	I got mine from the university too. Actually, since I knew we were gonna take Unix up a few sems from now, I pestered the dep head to give me one of those free copies they give schools. It's pretty old, but hey, it works... after a lot of hair pulling though... Mandrake's optimized, you say, huh, Xeven? I wonder it's not so popular if it has similarities to Red Hat, at least from where I am...(or maybe I don't know people who do know it...) How's the robustness of the code? Any issues with stability or security? __________________ --KrÆlis Cross Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur =============== Athlon 64 x2 3800\| Asrock ALiveNF6G-VSTA \| Kingston DDR2 1 Gb RAM

September 6th, 2001, 02:09	#14
Xeven A BIG BAD BATARD™ Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 5,568	well i havent had any major crashes (if any at all) or anything, but that's the same case as RH. With regards to optimization, there's little or no perceptible differences between the performance of RH and MD at least from running GIMP anyway... i don't really run a lot of software on linux... Robustness of code? I dunno, I mean most of the stuff from mandrake are packages from RH compiled with the "-586" option... i think... hmm... maybe someone could explain that better to me too. __________________

September 13th, 2001, 22:52	#16
Phuzzi Offending nations since '83 Join Date: May 2001 Location: England Posts: 265	European users should try www.mirror.ac.uk Very fast mirror of many distributions, as well as a lot of other things. Personally, i prefer mandrake. I've tried both.