How good is linux 5.2?

[Werewolfdaddy]

I came into possession of linux 5.2 red hat and was wondering if I should try to get an updated copy or if it would be okay to use it and upgrade later?

[OOPS!]

RH5.2 will work all right. Just don't expect alot of up to date features. And newer hardware not be supported well, if at all.

If it was me, depending on my hardware, I would get a newer version of my favorite distro. They are cheap (even free for the downloading, if you have a fast connection). I think it will give you a much better and happier expirence in the long run. If you are new to Linux I would recommend RH7.2, Mandrake 8.0, or SuSe 7.2 (I think SuSe is at 7.2). Personally I use Mandy8.0 right now. I like it because not only is it easy and fast to setup, but it also comes with about 1000 apps to make your 'puter useful immediatly after the install.

OOPS!

[Statica]

RH 5.2 was one of the best distros of Linux that ever was, and in my opinion everything went downhill for RHat after that. 6.1 was supposedly stable but mired with errors.

the emphasis here is of course on the word<b>was</b> a good distribution. I doubt whether you will be able to get anything to work on your computer. You pretty much have to upgrade every single component on the linux from kernel to x server to modules to ..... everything. Your hardware is rather bleeding edge yet for the x86, so choose a newer distribution if you dont want to be faced with probs on installation.

Of course linux is very modular and u can pretty much update what was a Rhat 5.2 to be at par with the latest distros of Linux component at a time (and unlike Winderz you dont need 1,339,448,112,145 reboots when doing so), but seeing as you are new to it, I agree with OOPS! on his recommendation as well

[Werewolfdaddy]

Are there any free downloads of current linux based OS?

[Statica]

Yeah <b>all</b> of them. visit their websites for download sections.