Switching all pcs to a new Linux which one?

Operating Systems & Open Source Linux
1

Okay so I want to change my computers distros around to something a little more productive so I'll explain what each is for then decide on that

Desktop - Gaming and vms also videos so I would like a distros with performance over everything 

Laptop - More for experimenting with and playing some light games such as dont starve also programming and again youtube so maybe a slight bit more on stability than bleeding edge but still rather bleeding edge

Cubieboard2 - my tinkering arm deviceI have yet to fully experience I want to add an ssd with this over nand flash so I would like to be at the razor edge here as this is for.pure tinkering and messing I would love deviant because it's soo light but deviant is a bit too old for me.

Ideas please? I was thinking manjaro/Mageia/fedora

2

If you are somewhat experienced with Linux and good at problem solving, I would recommend Gentoo for everything. A lot of people would disagree with this, but let me explain my reasoning:

Performance:

  • Gentoo's focus on compilation over binaries means that you can achieve the best possible performance (no "one size fits all" implementation).
  • Since Gentoo can be configured using a minimalist philosophy, you're not going to end up with a bloated operating system.
  • Gentoo's USE flags concept allows installations to be the epitome of "bare-bones" setups. No unnecessary components of a package will be installed if you configure USE flags optimally.
  • Gentoo's binaries when compiled will load faster, consume less memory and overall be more far more efficient than anything else offered by an alternate distribution.

Experimentation:

  • Due to Gentoo's emphasis on source-based configurability, Gentoo can be deployed on embedded systems, desktops, servers, even on cluster systems.
  • The fact that you can compile your own packages leads to a multitude of ways to experiment with settings like compilation, USE flags, user-defined scripts, etc.
  • Pretty much any Linux distribution is ideal for programming.

Stability:

  • Use Gentoo Hardened to achieve high security and stability.
  • Pick the most stable releases for each package you use.
  • Incremental updates are useful compared to infrequent massive updates from a debugging perspective.
  • Gentoo's community tends to be more knowledgeable than other distribution communities. Therefore, if you need help fixing a problem or making improvements, the community will be a very beneficial source of information.

The key to one's success with Gentoo is the degree of problem solving they are willing to undertake to get what they want. If you're not going to invest sufficient time to build your system from scratch, then Gentoo is not a viable option.

3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjGSMUep6_4

 

You know what to do :P

4

I think I'd try gentle on Cubieboard2 if that's possible I'm not really at gentle level but I would love to try as an experiment as said tinker device :) others I need bit more stability

5

Mageia is nice as an alternative for Fedora/OpenSuSE. There is nothing like a professional RPM distro to have the best of both worlds. Everything just works, and is easy to configure.

Fedora is nice because it has everything, but it's not nice because RedHat is constantly doing stuff that shows that they have a hidden agenda. They're constantly messing with the repos etc. Besides that, it's still arguably the best desktop distro for productivity, because everything just works immediately, it's the most bleeding edge but also the most stable, and it's clean and very practical.

Debian Testing is an alternative if you don't mind solving all the problems other major distros solved more than a decade ago to get started. After the initial time consuming setup, Debian doesn't have much updates besides security updates, so it's pretty easy going. But it is time consuming and nerve wrecking to get going. Ubuntu takes that time consuming initial setup away, but Ubuntu just doesn't work, I've tried, as I always do, and Ubuntu Core 14.04 is pretty decent, but Canonical's Ubuntu is just a complete mess, which is sad really, because if you would have asked the same question before Ubuntu 12.04, I would have most certainly answered Ubuntu. Kubuntu is pretty nice, but it lacks that productivity focus. Xubuntu is probably the most productive Ubuntu Core based distro, and arguably the nicest. Mint is also a complete mess, Cinnamon is going nowhere apparently, and where the community distros of Ubuntu iron out Canonical's bugs, Mint seems to make them worse. Pretty useless distro.

Gentoo is a commitment, if you want a productivity focus, it may not be the most evident choice, although if you go binary on it, it also has the equivalent of delta RPM for efficiency.

I'd stick with Manjaro if I were you. It really has everything for a non-enterprise gaming user, it's based on Arch, which has the most software available for desktop use and server use, it's fast, and it's not US based, which is becoming an ever stronger advantage these days.

6

Just like to add zoltan most rpm distros don't work with my laptop they all seem to cause that weird white screen issue I talked about a whole ago,, only korora runs it mageia fedora and opensuse all cause the issue strange and a shame really