Hey, my systems are all in my sig.
For the Windows XP system change is not an option, as that PC is for family members who would whine and carry on if they didnt have it on there when they want it.

I'm currently looking for something else I can run on my Athlon XP 3000+ system, and was wondering if anyone (besides the Puppy Pusher lol) has any recommendations or advice or anything regarding what they think the "fastest" platform would be.

Heres more info as to the machine:
Athlon XP 3000+ single core 32 bit
1 GB RAM
two 7200rpm IDE hard drives (no SATA drives)
nVidia card (6600gt) only running a single display
no wireless (so i dont have to worry about issues with wireless NIC's)
wired connection straight to internet


PAST OSes USED:
This box has in the past run only:
Windows ME ------- too old
Windows XP Professional ------- I refuse to go back
PCLinuxOS 32 bit linux ------ not very "up to date" though it seemed faster than Ubuntu
Ubuntu 8.10 32bit ----- CURRENT

MY ONLY REQUIREMENTS:
-has to run BOINC fast
-has to be able to play music and videos
-has to be somewhat easy to install, I'm not a total noob but I hate having to spend time troubleshooting hardware issues
-has to be able to share files with my main box (Ubuntu 64bit 8.10) .... im using Samba currently so there should be no issues with this

I have plans to try out Puppy Linux to see how that goes but I'm open to anything that anyone has to say (positive or negative.... call me an idiot if you want to even lol)
If a new OS strikes my fancy on my Athlon 3000+ box I will consider changing over my 4600+ dual core too, but as that is my main box, I dont experiment with it like I do with the other one.. I use the weaker one as the testing ground to make sure that it's good enough for my main box.

I've tried Puppy myself, but didn't convert as it wasn't as full featured as other distros and I had a few issues with the package manager and my wireless NIC. It is definitely a fairly fast distro and boots quickly, but it just wasn't for me (besides, how often do I ever boot my computer! Crunch, crunch, crunch...).

Ubuntu used to be my standard distro to play around with, but I had several issues with different hardware at various times and currently run Debian for any linux boxes I set up (and as my persistent USB drive!) as it just seemed to work better and more consistently for the various PCs I used it on. Unfortunately, right now I don't have any linux boxes running as all of my "spare" PCs have crapped out due to hardware issues so I can't really do any speed comparisons for you. My main PC is the "family" one so Windows has to stay and I've been told that under no circumstances am I allowed to screw around with it! My persistent USB drive travels with me so I still get to use Linux occassionally.

If you want to make BOINC run faster, make sure you use the optimized apps for any project you run. Not all projects have them, but SETI's can be found here:

SETI

As well, if you really want to push your performance, you can always get into overclocking as well (just Google it if you haven't done it before - just remember "baby steps" and "testing" to get a nice stable OC).

I RUN THE POTM ON ALL 3 BOXES. RIGHT NOW THAT CONSISTS OF

P4 2.66 GHZ RUNNING PUPPY RAC 199.79 - 3023 CREDITS

P4 2.00 GHZ RUNNING XP RAC 129.48 - 2278 CREDITS

P4 1.80 GHZ RUNNING XP RAC 153.43 - 2525 CREDITS

I STARTED THE POTM ON ALL 3 BOXES AT THE SAME TIME.
CONSIDERING THE CPU SPEED OF THE PUPPY BOX, ITS NOT MUCH FASTER THAN XP.

I know that this thread has not been updated in a long while but I'm just sitting here thinking that maybe it is time that I finally got a little serious about putting Ubuntu on a box and actually learning the system properly. Now that winter is here, I SHOULD have the time to figure it out.
What does everyone recommend?
It's probably going to go onto one or two of my older boxes running dual cores.

Hi there TheHarperdragon
I would recommend downloading it and burn it to a cd then use it as a "Live CD".
You can do just about everything from the cd and even save your settings etc on the cd.
That way it doesn't do anything to the computer until you want to install it. Its a great way to get to know it before committing to it.
The best version right now is 10.10 but myself I use Super O/S which is the same 10.10 but with some extra programs, most of which are more familiar for the Windows user. Just google it.
Booting from the cd will give you internet access, burn and play cd and dvd, the equivalent of microshit office, scan and print, even run a lot of windows programs plus all the usual utilities that windows has. Its like XP with all the good programs loaded in but much better.
Hollar if you have any questions.

That Super OS does boot up pretty fast - set it up on a memory stick for now - I just may have to load it on a box and see how it runs boinc in comparison - have to get some numbers set up first.
Thanks!