You know, at one point, all of this starts to get annoying, I need to use linux and I want to learn how to use linux (mostly because windows is so expensive), but these things just make me wonder if maybe i should just give up. Windows (at least for now) is just so much simpler to use and so much better. It might be bloated and it might not be perfect (security holes) but I've never had any major problems with it, except for ME; plus you get so much more support.
Yep, But in your case, that's not Linux's fault. It's ATI's.
For the most part, if you get properly supported hardware you'll never have to worry about drivers, modules, kernels or anything like that. It's part of using a minority operating system. Buy a Intel or a Via motherboard, and your stuff would of worked the first time with little or no effort from yourself. The only real thing that sucks is lack of support for high end video cards. ATI's support is worse then nothing right now. Nvidia's is decent, except if they had open source versions you wouldn't even have to download the drivers from Nvidia's website.
The sucky part about Linux is that it requires effort to understand and get running sometimes. The plus part is that it's powerfull, no restrictions on what you can do with it (you want to lend your install cd's to a friend? They want you to do that. Try that with Microsoft and they'll refuse to even let you actvate it.) Powerfull programming/developement tools. Powerfull network and server technology. Lots of high quality apps for free. Community driven. The more you know about computers, the more Linux is usefull to you. It's a OS by hackers for hackers. No viruses, no worms, much higher security is possible then with most other operating systems. etc etc etc.
If your more circumspect in what hardware you buy then it's childs play.
For a AMD-64 setup:
Via-based motherboard (aviod the cheap shit), Nvidia video card, any harddrive, onboard video card.
For a cheapo setup:
Mid-priced via motherboard with onboard video.
Intel setup:
Intel cpu, intel motherboard,
Aviod ATI graphics, and Nvidia motherboards (worst case about nvidia motherboards is the nforce downlaod and install. It may seem like a small thing, but after a while you get realy tired of doing that).
My setup:
2400+ AMD
1gig ram
80gig harddrive, 120gig harddrive. Both WD 7200rpms with 8meg cache
Nvidia 5900 XT video card (outperforms even the x800 ATI card in linux)
ATI Wonder TV VE (bttv-based card, much different then the All-in-Wonder cards)
WinPVR-250 TV capture mpeg2 card (ivtv drivers, won't work with digital cable/sattalite, unless you use a tv set top box + a IR blaster)
19 inch CRT, 17 inch LCD.
Audigy 1 sound card (top of the line/easiest to get going in Linux. I have full features, use digitial out into a sony home theater receiver. Except of course for Creative special effects stuff)
1 cdrom burner
1 DVD combo drive (I use command line mencoder/mplayer for all my multimedia ripping/playing/streaming/capturing needs.)
Games I currently playing: Ut2004 multiplayer, Doom3 single player, and am a beta tester for Vendetta online.
Art apps: Gimp, Inkscape, Scribus, Blender, Povray. other stuff
For TV I use a remote 800mhz celeron box I got for free for a Mythtv frontend.
Gnome 2.6 desktop (debian unstable)
And bunches of other stuff.
My next computer is going to be SMP setup, definately. Nowadays I have no less then a half a dozen different applications going at the same time. With dual CPU's + kernel 2.6's newer scedualling capabilities I ought to be able to do things like rendering a 3-d image + play doom3 (maybe). At least multitasking will be better.
check out this guys recommendations.
so on and so forth.
If you realy want to run a ATI card there are lots of help out their on the internet. I don't use ATI, and never have (although I'd drop Nvidia in a second if ATI releases good OSS drivers, even if they were slower).
here is one
If you have the ATI drivers already install completely and have the module loaded,
here is a sample Xorg configuration file. You can use that for the basis of modifying your Xorg.conf file correctly. Hope that helps. If I was a ATI user, I'd probably have more usefull information.
If Linux is frustrating to you, don't worry about it. You can always come back in a couple months, and it will more then likely be a little bit easier and better. Especially if you trade away that ATI card.
