Gaming Linux Recommendations?

[Jamstruth]

So on my harddrive at the moment I have a Ubuntu 11.10 partition. Problem is that it really just doens't like my laptop. I might try reinstalling but 11.10 just doesn't seem to work right to me. The main problem is that ATi's drivers just don't work with it and I have an ATi Mobility Radeon HD5650 graphics card. This means that I can't get a decent set up for it.
Does anybody have a recommendation for another relatively easy to configure Linux distro that I could get GNOME 3 and GNOME 2.x for (possibly at the same time) and somehow make my graphics card work with it? My laptop is a Sony Vaio E-Series btw which effects things slightly (I can't actually use the latest drivers for some reason so I'm stuck on the one Sony has available which are a couple of years old)

 

[The_Dragons_Mast]

Well that's weird I have a Toshiba satellite with the same graphic card & it works without any trouble . After installation you should get a notification that there are extra drivers available & you will find ati drivers which you should activate . If you missed th enotification you can still activate it by searching for Additinal driver or property drivers somewhere in the settings .

 

[Jamstruth]

The additional drivers install but no settings changes can be made. I'll try reinstalling the entire OS but tbh I'm kinda bored of Ubuntu in general and want to try something new.

 

[sweenish]

linux mint is ubuntu based, but i prefer it over ubuntu by a lot.

 

[xxNathanxx]

Scientific Linux 6.1 is the best distro ever made. Anyone who denies this hasn't used it. However, as it's based directly off RHEL, it (luckily) doesn't have GNOME3 (yet). If you want a distro with out-of-the-box support for many DEs, try Fedora 16 (which was released a couple of hours ago). Beware, even though it's released as being stable, Fedora is never, ever, stable, but if/when it breaks, you get to keep the pieces).

Out of curiosity: why would you want to use GNOME3?

 

[Selim873]

I recommend Zorin OS. It's Ubuntu based, and I honestly think it's more optimized for any computer more than Ubuntu itself! Ubuntu ran super sluggish on my netbook (Especially YouTube...). I tried Zorin OS, and it runs like a champ!! Plus, it's an OS made for people who are just moving from Windows directly to Linux, so it's interface is VERY similar to Windows, which you can actually change. You can use the look selector to change the interface between Windows 7, XP, or even Gnome Classic (What you would normally use on Ubuntu 10 and below.)

Here's a screenie!

The Gadgets are separate from the OS, if you want, just jump into the terminal and type in...

sudo apt-get install screenlets

Spoiler

 

[Jamstruth]

Decided to go for Fedora 16. Turns out the ATi drivers are having problems with most GNOME3 based systems so I will stick it out and hope a mod or something comes along. I really just want a change of scene from Ubuntu. Moving up to the slightly more challenging leagues.

Personally I don't want my Linux to feel like a 3rd rate Windows. I want it to feel different so Zorin and Mint don't appeal to me much (I know they can be customised but I'm thinking in terms of out of the box). GNOME 3 is interesting. The only real problem is its silly Window switching. Hopefully I'll be able to install Docky and rectify that though.

 

[xxNathanxx]

I think docky is available from Fedora's standard repos, so simply issuing the following command should get it installed:

#yum install docky

 

[iSubaru]

Ah Fedora, great choice, I'm Your service whenever You will need help, I too use Fedora since few years, if anything happens don't hestitate to ask

Turns out the ATi drivers are having problems with most GNOME3 based systems so I will stick it out and hope a mod or something comes along.

New Catalyst drivers are not out yet, I'm "spying" the repository day-by-day for them, so whenever they will be avaiable I will announce it
The open-source drivers are not that bad like long time ago, You can still do many things with them
Gnome3...goash ;/

Personally I don't want my Linux to feel like a 3rd rate Windows. I want it to feel different so Zorin and Mint don't appeal to me much (I know they can be customised but I'm thinking in terms of out of the box). GNOME 3 is interesting. The only real problem is its silly Window switching. Hopefully I'll be able to install Docky and rectify that though.

I can recommend checking other graphical environments:
- KDE (looks a bit like Windows tough)
- LXDE (a bit like old Windows 98 but that's just my point of look xD)
- XFCE (a bit more like OSX but again, my point of view)

xxNathanxx - I believe same will go for rectify

Also one more thing Jamstruth, do not ever install ATI Package from their site on Linux, it's too general, it's better to wait for proper Catalyst packages for certain distros