[stilz]

Hi guys,
I've recently obtained an old laptop with Win 98 installed on it. I'd like to switch to Linux, but I don't know which distribution is the fastest and/or most suitable for a laptop, so I'd like to ask for recommendations.
Also, I've tried to run epsxe 1.6 on it with FF6 and got a avg. of about 45FPS using Pete's D3D video (software plug-in is slower for me) and Pete's sound plug-in with everything set at min. Is it possible to have ~60FPS on this with sound (which relates to my first question), or do PSX emulators run slower on Linux?
Thanks!

spec.:
K6-2 475mhz
192MB RAM (pretty nice)
Trident blade (or something) video /w 4MB (apparently supports D3D)
~5GB HDD

 

[mikeshoup]

For slower machines, if you're familiar with linux, Debian would probably be really good.

You may wish to ask over at tuxemu.com/forums Most everyone there is knowledgable with linux, and we even already have a thread going about which distro is right for you : http://tuxemu.com/forums/index.php?topic=37.0

 

[Esturk]

Well if you want to run FFVI full speed on that, use Zsnes. Seriously, as there is a Linux build of Zsnes too.

 

[mikeshoup]

And you could use my article on building zsnes if you didn't know how:
http://www.tuxemu.com/index.php?action=articles;art_id=26

 

[stilz]

to mikeshoup: I'll check them out; thanks for the quick tips!

to Methos: Mainly I'd like to know which Linux to use but I should explain about the FFVI part. I'm playing it on my PC and I'd like to be able to continue "on the go" as well, and certainly for other games if indeed I'm able to make it run ~60FPS. Thanks nonetheless .

 

[scottlc]

mikeshoup: There's not really any need to compile from source. Tools such as apt, yum etc... are so much quicker and takes care of all of the dependencies. Especially since the guide is targeted towards less experienced users.

As for a recomendation, you might want to try Ubuntu Linux (Debian based) with something lightweight such as XFCE instead of GNOME.

http://www.ubuntulinux.org/

 

[stilz]

Actually I have very little experience with Linux, but I'm ready to try them (esp. after having taken Unix this semester ).
Yesterday I remembered that I had a Knoppix 3.x CD and quickly tried booting it with the laptop. I got epsxe to run but it's significantly slower than it was on win98, and another thing is that I cannot open the configuration for the video plug-ins. Any ideas?
Thank!

edit:
Just something I'm wondering. For those "OS on CDs", has any distro started using DVDs instead? Aside from the increase in size, there is also, if i'm not mistaking, an advtange of faster read speed.

 

[scottlc]

Live CDs are always going to be much slower than an HD install. One thing to remember is that since your graphics card is relatively obscure it perhaps doesn't have excellent hardware support.

 

[mikeshoup]

scottlc, how is a GeForce FX 5600u obscure?
Also, you have to realize not every distro packs zsnes as a binary package, in fact most don't. The guide was designed for everyone to run. Novell, Fedora, etc, don't have zsnes binaries

 

[cooliscool]

I believe Scott was referring to his laptop's GPU.

 

[scottlc]

Yes, I was refering to "Trident blade (or something) video /w 4MB (apparently supports D3D)". Also, I had no trouble finding a zsnes RPM for Fedora. Ubuntu certainly has zsnes in it's Universe repository.

 

[cooliscool]

Uh.. yeah, the Trident Blade was his laptop's GPU.. :???:

 

[scottlc]

Also, this thread belongs in Software Discussion.