[SOLVED] Please suggest Linux distribution for not-so-powerful PC

[Passiday]

Hello,

I have purchased new laptop and it is great opportunity for my kids to become owners of my old laptop. So, I want to make clean install on appropriate distro there.

However, it's hard to decide which one. I am lazy, so I am totally not looking forward to compile programs from source. Thus, whichever distro follows one of those packet management standards (deb, rpm), will be a winner. That would allow to get and install programs quickly. Also, the good distro should have reliable packet depositories and frequent updates. The desktop manager should be lean, no need for extensive effects.

Please suggest, which distro fits those criteria. Below I have pasted my PC's hardware summary, generated by hardinfo. I am writing this post from this very PC, now with Kubuntu. But I feel that Kubuntu is not the right choice for this class of PC. Though I have switched off the desktop effects, it still feels kind of sluggish time to time.

****

-Computer-
Processor : Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.80GHz
Memory : 508MB (359MB used)
Operating System : Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS
User Name : pavils (Pāvils Jurjāns)
Date/Time : Wed 03 Nov 2010 11:08:35 PM EET
-Display-
Resolution : 1400x1050 pixels
OpenGL Renderer : Unknown
X11 Vendor : The X.Org Foundation
-Multimedia-
Audio Adapter : ICH4 - Intel 82801DB-ICH4
-Input Devices-
Lid Switch
Sleep Button
Power Button
Macintosh mouse button emulation
AT Translated Set 2 keyboard
PIXART USB OPTICAL MOUSE
Video Bus
SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad
-Printers-
No printers found
-SCSI Disks-
ATA FUJITSU MHT2080A
QSI CDRW/DVD SBW-242

[rokytnji]

Try Linux Mint 9 "Isadora" - LXDE CD (32-bit) - Linux Mint a lighter windows manager than KDE like Lubuntu Lubuntu 10.04 is now available for download | lubuntu

[oz]

Please suggest Linux distribution for not-so-powerful PC

You can also check this thread for distribution recommendations to go on lower spec computer hardware:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/cof...re-2010-a.html

[MASONTX]

Mint lxde or Lubuntu should run great on that machine.

[nujinini]

You might want to take a look at antix 8.5, just in case .

Here it is.

[tsmarks]

I use Debian on a PII 450, with satisfactory results as a server. I also have debain on a 1.7gHz AMD with less than a gig of ram. Runs two monitors and handles a dozen remote X windows no problem.

If you really want to go light, FeatherLinux.

[lugoteehalt]

Concur with tsmarks, Debian would be a good choice. The Enlightenment window manager is very fast indeed, instead of Gnome or KDE. I'd consider using Enlightenment 16 instead of 17, it's more tasteful. You could also try downloading the Elive, Enlightenment live, CD iso and installing from that.

[Passiday]

Thanks, my choice fell to Linux Mint. Nice, clean interface, good performance, too. I am sure the mentioned alternatives have their benefits, but it's very hard to test them all. So I had to make some irrational selection: the Linux Mint design is cool, too

Thanks!