Building a linux system

[xeonexor]

I really want to build a linux system, because i'm feed up with windoze, and i keep hearing about linux. But i dont know anything about it!!! Please if you could tell what kind of parts i would need, and what type of linux is good-(i'm a fast learner)... and i was wondering could i maybe use a nVida GeForse 4 MX 420 or a ATI Radeon 8500 video card too, cause i really dont want a sucky video card if you could help me at all please respond!!!!

[fancypiper]

Cheap Linux Box (http://www.ls.net/CheapBox.html)

Hardware Compatability Howto (http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO/)

If you seroiusly want to dive in and learn linux, I highly suggest Gentoo (http://www.gentoo.org/) .

If you want to play around and use it some quickly, go for Redhat or <shudder, I have had bad luck with it so I am going on hearsay, not experience> Mandrake or another well known "newbie friendly" distro.

You are going to have some big fun in this big, free (as in beer and speech) bazar stepping in from the Apple or Prune store.:D