shughard

I have been playing with Gentoo in virtual box.

I have to say I have learned a lot about linux.

That being said holy **** does anyone actually do this to them self for their primary OS? I have been messing with it on and off for two days and still don't have gnome running. Its not that it is too hard or complex to understand. It just seems to take a really long time. It also seems that the documentation can be vague or incomplete.

Right before this I did a manual command line install with ubuntu 9.10 and it took no time at all.

What I want to know is this are the performance improvements you are supposed to get from Gentoo really worth it? Or is Gentoo just the linux distro for people into S&M.

I am not trying to hate on anyone's choice of distro or OS. I feel the best part of linux is the freedom of choice it gives you. What is right for me is probably not best for others. I just want to hear what others have to say about Gentoo.

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Mr Pink57

A lot say that compiling everything will give a performance boost, however it is a small boost. The main point is you install only what you want initially which gives a fast overall OS. This is great for older computer to but the bain of that is it takes a very long time to compile on older computers.

I use Arch Linux and have for quite some time now, it's not my main desktop OS but it's my main laptop OS and take it everywhere. Granted in Arch I am not able to set all my compile flags so I do have some excess junk but I'll take that over trying to compile on my old laptop.

pink

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shughard

I haven't tried arch yet so I just downloaded the iso.

If only having the programs you want installed is the main advantage I am going to stick with ubuntu. It is easy to do a command line install with ubuntu and control what packages you want from the start. I plan on reinstalling my HTPC this way. I am trying to decide exactly what packages I will need. Any recommendations?

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thiussat

I actually had a more difficult time getting Arch to run than I did Gentoo. Sure, Gentoo takes longer to get working, but if you follow the manual, it will work. I never did get X working on my Arch install (always got some error).

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gonX

I always found Arch easier. I had Gentoo running on my laptop for who knows how long, until I discovered Arch. Now I went Arch on my desktop too, because it's simply just easier to mess around with (and I could really care less about deps)

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hybrid-kernel

tried multiple times in vbox, didn't succeed. I do want to use it, but I guess I'm just not ready.

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drelyn86

not worth it IMO.

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never tried it, I'll stick with arch

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shughard

For anyone wanting a minimal install of ubuntu with gnome check out this thread:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1155961

for a minimal install of ubuntu with xfce check out this one:

http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?is...090504#feature

I have tried both of these in virtual box and they both worked well. When you are done you have a nice tight set up with just the packages you want and nothing extra. If you use the 64bit version you will have a kernel already optimized for your cpu.

From what I understand this will give you almost all of the advantages of gentoo and arch with a lot less headaches.

I also used one of these for the install:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In...tion/MinimalCD

If you have a fast internet connection it is great because it downloads all the current packages. When you are done you don't have to wait for 290mb of updates.

Pick command line install and it will set you up with a command line only setup like the first step of gentoo or arch. Then you just add which ever packages you want and nothing you don't.

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adramalech707

i love gentoo i just started using it two weeks ago and luv it....on my laptop i have seen better performance gains over ubuntu and i use xfce4.6 and am not really into desktop effects so i gained in the fact that i hardly use half the crap ubuntu has on it....it uses less space and with the custom kernel i am like wow....my laptop definitely gained in performance...

when ever someone asks me "I want to learn about linux." i always tell them use gentoo...if you can get gentoo installed from scratch not livecd and also research and understand everything you will know the ins and outs of linux os....

not always is the easiest path the best....

i wouldn't bag on the other distros and i believe other distro's atleast debian/ubuntu for servers are the best....

debian especially is good...very stable...but unlike ubuntu isn't bleeding edge so very stable if u run a lenny server...

i am a developer and so gentoo just works for me...

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