Best Linux distros for power users, gamers, newbies and more

What kind of user are you? Take a step back and ask yourself what you need from a Linux distribution.

Before you embark on a distro adventure, it's worth giving some thought to the kind of Linux user you are.

The answer isn't as obvious as you might think, and which distribution you do choose will have an effect on that distribution's future, and indirectly, that of Linux.

You might have a preference for open source-only distributions, for example, or you may prefer proprietary drivers and codecs to be pre-installed. If you're choosing a Linux distribution for another person, or for a group of people, that decision is going to be even more important.

A typical group of office workers are unlikely to have used Linux before, and your choice is going to affect their perception of the operating system. Those first impressions count.

Software not distributions

But there's only so much mileage you can get from ploughing through distribution lists and trying live CDs. If you're choosing a distribution for family or friends, it's the choice of easily accessible software that's likely to be the governing factor, and not necessarily the distribution's design or philosophy.

This is made tricky because most people are aware of the names of commercial applications for proprietary operating systems, but not their open source equivalents, and it's your job to make sure those applications are available.

Your target might be a student, for example, and it's going to be absolutely essential that the applications and resources they require are available from the distribution you choose for them. There are distributions tailored specifically for students, but these are nothing more than a clever bundle of relevant applications, rather than an overall design that makes a student's life any easier.

In these cases, a student would be better off sticking with mainstream distribution, and making sure there are enough applications available for the tasks they want to achieve. If your target is disabled, usability might be your biggest concern.

Rather than choosing a distribution for accessibility, it makes more sense to choose the best desktop environment and find a distribution that's most effective at bundling that desktop environment. If you're a KDE fan, for example, it's not going to matter how great the standard Ubuntu desktop is, you're going to want a KDE-based distribution, and that doesn't necessarily mean Kubuntu.

You may find that Mandriva offers a better solution, and Xfce users may want to try Linux Mint for the same reason.

Over to you

When it comes to your personal experience, you need to make a note of those applications you rely on, and what you find most effective in your typical working environment. If any of those notes resonate with our own conclusions, you've found an improvement in your perfect Linux distribution, and you should give it a go.

Finding which distributions work and which don't is like mapping a sand dune. You don't see the movement, but this time next year your favourite distro might not be here. For that reason, it's always worth finding a couple of systems you like, and if the worst happens you can always jump ship.

Your choice: 64-bits or 32?

The number of bits your CPU has affects your system's performance and its capabilities. For many years we've been stuck with 32-bit CPUs and 32-bit distributions, but most recent processors from Intel and AMD have been capable of 64-bit operation for a while. AMD's 64-bit chip was released in April 2003, for example, and all of Intel's popular Core 2 Duo line of processors are capable of running in 64-bit mode.

The problem is that most of us have carried on running 32-bit distributions on those processors. To take advantage of 64-bit operation, you need a 64-bit specific version of your distribution. Most provide one, but until now there hasn't been a good enough reason to switch.

Proprietary software, such as Adobe's Flash, can't simply be recompiled for 64 processors because they're closed source. Instead they run in some hideous compatibility mode, which isn't normally all that compatible.

Fortunately, things have changed. Adobe released a native 64-bit version of Flash with version 10, and most other software is following suit. The result is that if your distro offers a 64-bit version, and you have the hardware to run it, we think it's time to switch.