Most efficient linux distro?.

spoonbadger

Howdy all. I'm looking for a minimalist, non-resource-intensive linux distro (or versions of distros).

I'm dual-booting a slightly outdated version of ubuntu with windows Xp, and ubuntu feels sluggish in comparison.

Anyone got any ideas?.Or maybe ways to optimize my current OS?.

Thanks!.

Karoma

What spec. is the PC?
Try a different window manager, that are easier on resources -Look into Fluxbuntu, Xubuntu, Icebuntu or installing the associated windows managers (Fluxbox, XFCE, IceWM)

Orion

How miminalist do you want? PuppyLinux and DSL are two of the smallest ones around.

But if you want the functionality and pre-installed apps then try a different desktop environment as Karoma suggested. Xubuntu is probably the best bet - XFCE is pretty minimal. In Ubuntu you can install 'xubuntu-desktop' from Synaptic and select Xubuntu at login to try it out.

ethernet

If you want a performance boost, consider compiling your own kernel. It's quite daunting but there are some good guides online. Happy computing.

spoonbadger

Pc is a 3/4 year old dell. 3.2Ghz pentium 4. 1 Gig of ram. 128mb ATI graphics card.

I was kinda considering compiling my own, but i dont have the time or skill .

I'll try a simpler window manager and see what happens. Those two look interersting macros, but i'd probably be sacrificing a lot of compatibility etc. I dont need a small hard-drive footprint, just something efficient .

Thanks for the suggestions all!.

FruitLover

That spec should be able to run Gnome OK, but I'd say the graphics card is the bottleneck. Have you made sure all the fancy graphics stuff is turned off?

Thomas_S_Hunterson

echo

ethernet

You're not using Wubi by any chance? There seems to be some performance hit when using this as opposed to a native installation.

I've ran the GNOME desktop environment on very similar hardware but with 2 GB RAM. It was very smooth and no noticeable sluggishness (and on an IDE hard drive). Idle, it uses around 300 MB RAM.

evercloserunion

4.1 GB RAM is a lot, GNOME shouldn't be running slow on that. I'm no expert but I second the guy who said your graphics card is the problem. Try the graphics thing.

If you still want a more lightweight distro though I would recommend Xubuntu. It's a decent compromise, it's got all the basic features you'd need and is basically just a more plain version of regular Ubuntu. Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux are smaller again but also more minimalist in terms of features etc.

dioltas

I hear Archlinux is supposed to be pretty efficient. Bit more to setting it up than ubuntu though I think. Can't vouch for it myself, haven't tried it. As said already DSL and Puppy are very minimilist. All depends on the functionality you need. I used to have DSL installed on a 128 mb usb key, which I thought was kinda cool. Still have it somewhere.

An Fear Aniar

dioltas wrote: »

I hear Archlinux is supposed to be pretty efficient. Bit more to setting it up than ubuntu though I think. Can't vouch for it myself, haven't tried it. QUOTE]

I've got Arch with Xfce on top of it on one of my partitions, definitely really good and really fast. Arch takes a bit of setting up though (no compiling involved) but the Arch Wiki is very clear and simple. The package manager is top class as well. If you want speed, that's definitely one way to go.


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An Fear Aniar

dioltas wrote: »

I hear Archlinux is supposed to be pretty efficient. Bit more to setting it up than ubuntu though I think. Can't vouch for it myself, haven't tried it. QUOTE]

I've got Arch with Xfce on top of it on one of my partitions, definitely really good and really fast. Arch takes a bit of setting up though (no compiling involved) but the Arch Wiki is very clear and simple. The package manager is top class as well. If you want speed, that's definitely one way to go.

Another option is Zenwalk. That doesn't hang about either.


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codecrunchers

hi,
You could also skip the runlevel 5 (GUI) bit and work from the shell... but for browsers, office suites etc.... I would always go with a custom kernel and something like fluxbox.

Alan

stylers

that spec should easily run Gnome or KDE, even with the graphics card.. if you really want to trim it down a bit, then Xubuntu would be the weapon of choice..