Which Linux distro is faster?

[melian]

Hi,
I am considering installing Linux on my workstation to develop and run fortran codes much faster than windows. I wonder if there is significant speed difference between Linux distros. Especially between Redhat and Ubuntu or Debian. I havent used any Linux distro longer enough to have an idea about its speed while running long codes.

Thanks in advance.

[njuguna]

Far as I can tell, any can do... "harder-distros" as debian, Redhat are better. My xperience is that Ubuntu is a bit sluggish but only when running resource-demanding apps like gimp, some IDEs but it all depends mainly on your box, and what you are running at that particular instance.

It's your choice!

[nujinini]

I find this to be quite fast. Darn, I how I wish I can set-up my own arch in one of my partitions!

YouTube - How fast is Arch Linux?

[oz]

I wonder if there is significant speed difference between Linux distros.

Hello and welcome!

Theoretically, they should all run about the same, but some distributions do start and run more services and apps than others by default, so some distros do feel faster than others. From my own experience, CRUX was the one that felt faster than any other that I've tried.

[hatebreed]

I agree ozar, it's all about the services at startup. You can run a newer linux on an old setup if you just turn off some of the services that load on startup. In my small amount of experience, I found that in Ubuntu that the notification services that run on startup are pretty hungry. I have Opensuse and the same with that as well.

[D-cat]

The answer to this one depends on your computer's resources and what you're willing to do for setting it up.

I find Slackware + IceWM to be quite speedy and not requiring a ton of setup, a nice balance especially for older systems. You can get lighter and faster with the likes of Arch, Crux, Gentoo... anything you build from the ground up since you decide exactly what's built and installed, the question becomes how much time you're willing to put into the assembly of your LEGO kit.

Basically, I agree with Ozar, adding only that your hardware limits may have influence.