This weekend I'm going to rebuild my computer so that Linux is the only OS on the rig. Are there any pitfalls that I should be aware of? I've been using FC5 and Ubuntu for the last couple of months and feel fairly confident with most of my Linux skills, but am still a little leary about the move.
 
Thanks.

If you've been using linux already, and you are pretty familiar with how it works,  the only issue I can see is perhaps some hardware might be an effort to get going, usually the graphics card if you want to use the binary drivers from ATI or NVidia (the better of the two, btw), but the installers are much better and the online guides are so good now that installing those things are a breeze if you've had even a little experience.  
 
I'd say you're golden.  Just for S's and G's, post the specs so I can tell you if I (and others) see any pontential issues.

AMD 3800 X2
ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe
Kingston ValueRAM 1GB ECC PC 3200 x2
EVGA 7800GTX
250 GB WD SE16
 
that should be everything, plus a WiFi card that works flawlessly with Linux.

NVidia = win, just find a guide for your distro for installing the binary drivers if you run into issues.  Otherwise, everything looks great.

I plan on useing Ubuntu because what ive used it's the most idiot proof(i.e. me) distro that I've used befor.

Really, any of the newer "user friendly" distros (the various ubuntus, fedora core, suse, and some others) are about all on par with ease of use, but the thing ubuntu has that they don't is arguably one of the strongest user communities (wikis and forums) to help you do some crazy stuff or just figure out a little annoyance.

 
 
and last but not least apt-get :-D

 
I have been all Linux since 2000(redhat/fedora), and have never regreted it....  Use fedoraforum.org as your security blanket...  You can get any answer you ever need from there....  Most any question you will ever have about FC5 was probably already asked and can be found there with the 'Search' button....

 
try kubuntu instead - It uses the KDE desktop instead of crappy GNOME....

Actually, any of the good Linux online communities are a great place to look for guidance, even if it's not strictly your distro.  Ubuntu and Gentoo have really great forums and wiki's for the mundane to the bleeding edge.
 
Also, perhaps let him try both out and see which he prefers (i.e. burn both Ubuntu and Kubuntu since they're both LiveCDs and try both out with minimal investment)?  Some like the less-cluttered feel of Gnome.

 
 
Indeed :-D
 
google is your friend.
 
Try multiple distributions and use whichever ones you like best.
 
:-D

Which drivers do you use for the Nforce 4/SLI chipset?

 
 
You don't need chipset drivers for nF4 but you should use the nVidia VGA drivers:
 
http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux [...] -8762.html
 
http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux [...] -8762.html
 
http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html
 
:-D

Right, what he said
 
My k8we has the nForce 2200/2050 chipset combo and those work with the in-kernel drivers
 
Also, get the latest graphics drivers from nvidia (like linux_0 said too), it supports SLI and coolbits plus performs great.  Easy to install too.

The NVIDIA Nforce4 drivers are in the Linux kernel itself if the kernel is newer than 2.6.10. If you are wanting to use Debian Sarge stable branch or RHEL 4 with 2.6.9 kernels, you can get the official NVIDIA chipset drivers from their website.

 
 
Indeed :-D
 
Only thing is until very recently debian did not have an x86_64 version.
 
They do have one now so it should be ok if you use the latest version.
 
:-D

 
No BSOD (but you can run the BSOD screen saver if you really miss that!).
 
No more AV software (to pay for, then pay for updates).
 
No more spyware attacks (or at least less of them).
 
No more crappy shareware with half the features disabled and an expiration date (but you get to run half finished alpha software   ).
 
No more gaping security holes all the hackers know about for weeks before there is a patch available (but you are welcome to make you own).
 
No more licensing fees for software doomed to virtually expire into obsolecence within a year (but you are welcome to send a donation to your favorite project - will code for food!).
 
No more stupid search puppy.
 
Finally, best of all, you'll have to beat the hot chix off you with a stick, cuz chix love geeks. Now, I'm going to go outside and spend my Saturday off sitting on the curb, waiting for if and when those chix show up. Haven't seen any yet, but I know they are coming!
 
May the source be with you...

 
No BSOD (but you can run the BSOD screen saver if you really miss that!).
 
No more AV software (to pay for, then pay for updates).
 
No more spyware attacks (or at least less of them).
 
No more crappy shareware with half the features disabled and an expiration date (but you get to run half finished alpha software   ).
 
No more gaping security holes all the hackers know about for weeks before there is a patch available (but you are welcome to make you own).
 
No more licensing fees for software doomed to virtually expire into obsolecence within a year (but you are welcome to send a donation to your favorite project - will code for food!).
 
No more stupid search puppy.
 
Finally, best of all, you'll have to beat the hot chix off you with a stick, cuz chix love geeks. Now, I'm going to go outside and spend my Saturday off sitting on the curb, waiting for if and when those chix show up. Haven't seen any yet, but I know they are coming!
 
May the source be with you...
 
 
 

 
 
Seriously now, there is a lot of truth in the above statements :-D
 
Semper Fi Carry^H^H^H^H^H Linux on