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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Alright, you know what? I'll be switching. (kbin.social)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hello there. I'm a beginner so keep that in mind. I have an old laptop (something like 10 yo). It has an HDD, 4 gigs of DDR3, an i3 4th gen 1.7
GHz and an NVidia Geforce 710M (Windows Game Ready Driver 391.35 WHQL which I think doesn't support Wayland). It also has CSM BIOS so yeah. It has the option of UEFI but the GeForce (I think) doesn't support it.

Currently, it has Windows 10 on it, but it has been veeeeery sluggish. I'm planning to upgrade the RAM to 8 gigs and upgrade to an SSD, but (even if I upgrade those parts) I don't want to use Windows anymore, at all.

So, I have a few options. (kinda in order)

Linux Mint
Fedora, though idk if the 2 GHz requirement is a big problem
Pop!_OS
MX Linux
Debian
Ubuntu and its flavors
Zorin OS
and maybe Solus? though the same problem with fedora.

Yeah yeah ik, all of these except Fedora and Solus are Debian/Ubuntu based.

DE options: (again, also kinda in order)

KDE Plasma (love the looks of it, though is my hardware enough?)
Cinnamon
XFCE - LXDE - LXQT (because of "lightweightness" :D)
Budgie
5. GNOME too heavy
These are some options for me. If you have any more suggestions, let me know. Also, are there any compatibility issues with my system for the distros/DEs?

Thanks for the replies in advance.

(Note: this was also posted in the m/[email protected] magazine and the r/linux4noobs subreddit. don't ask why im still on reddit, it's because of Infinity for reddit.)

(Another note: If you saw this post before, it's because of /kbin's issues. I reposted it because no one saw it before.)

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Ubuntu is SLOW on a HDD (has to do with the packaging format they use), I'd personally recommend trying fedora 1st and if that's also too slow, MXLinux is great. Solus recently got revived, but it's still got issues so I can't really recommend it for a 1st distro... And finally, if even MX doesn't run perfectly, try AntiX, the best Linux distro for really low-end PCs imo.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (2 children)

i've taken to running apt inside eatmydata, makes it run way faster since it doesn't call fsync constantly. granted, you could end up in an invalid state if the power goes out, but that's what UPSs, laptop batteries and backups are for :)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Well uhhhhhhh, when my "laptop"s plug is pulled out or the power goes out, it's dead :D. might need a battery change or an ups...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Definitely get a battery change. Lithium batteries that old can become dangerous and even explode.

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