Linux Best version of Linux?

It's been a long time since I used Linux, but now I am preparing a rig that consumes less power just to kick about on during the daytime (no gaming).

The last time I installed Linux was probably around 2001 unless you count putting Ubuntu on an old Apple laptop a couple of years back.

I have a P2 X6 CPU (AMD) and a Quadro FX1800. What distro is the best these days?

Cheers.

 

Pretty much everything is made for Ubuntu - if you want to have least number of issues getting random software for, then you get Ubuntu. Except when you want Oracle, in that case you might need to look for RHEL/CentOS.

 

Sorry I should have pointed out I want it for -

General desktop duties (browsing the net, email, forums etc)

Music - it would be handy if I could move the D2X into the Linux rig (if it works)

Movies.

That's about it really. Oh yeah, the nicest looking one would be nice to have also. I remember some one saying Mint was great looking but that was like forever ago.

 

It's been a while since i've done anything on/with linux but last time i did it was pretty much:

Ubuntu [or derivative, such as Mint] for compatibility... If it [be it app or hardware] doesn't work in *buntu, it's unlikely to work in anything else...

Fedora for stability... [i found *buntu a bit crash-happy, especially when in a VM... Fedora less so...]

EDIT: 'nice looking' is relative, but it's relatively easy to swap between desktop environments [though you'll need to do some manual cleanup to get rid of any remnants of the old one...]

Now quick, leg it before he shows up...

 

I always liked linux mint. I have it running on an old netbook that I keep in school.

I call it the lesson planner. Contains all my science videos.

 

www.distrowatch.com is a good place to see lots of distros.

I would suggest getting something like vmplayer or virtualbox up and running on your main rig and having a play until you find something that hits the spot.

Personally the three flavours I prefer are:

Elementary OS (http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=elementary): Its nice, clean and fast.
Xubuntu (http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=xubuntu): ubuntu without Unity, which imo was/is one of the worst things ever!
Debian (http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=debian): I prefer Debian over Ubuntu server for headless stuff.

Finally though not for the feint hearted, Bodhi (http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=bodhi), which has an amazing customizable desktop however takes a while and knowledge to tinker.

OK really the final one: Remix OS, this is actual Android but with the UI tweaked for PC's, gets some good reviews.

http://www.jide.com/remixos-for-pc

As mention above I cant recommend enough setting up a vm and having a play with a few distro's until you find one that you feel at home with.

 

I used Linux Mint for a while on a laptop for my class. Got the job done well. I wasn't really fond of Ubuntu's desktop features (the launch type search thing and dock).

Looking into trying out Debian for a regular browsing/office work desktop. Thanks for the suggestions so far.

 

I heard good things about Ubuntu MATE - that's the name of it, not me trying to sound enthusiastically British.

 

For the most part the distro itself doesn't matter too much, more so the desktop environment you use. I'm a big fan of the Cinnamon desktop so I use Mint, but you can install it on Ubuntu, it's just not an official spin.
Speaking of, the official Ubuntu spins are always pretty good, especially Mate and Kubuntu (KDE). If you want lightweight desktops then Xubuntu (XFCE) and Lubuntu (LXDE) are also excellent.

My personal experience with the Gnome spin is that it's a bit crash happy, but I know a fair few who use it on their daily driver machine.

Of course you can use most of the same DE's on other distros like Fedora, Manjaro, Debian (Mint debian is pretty good), Mageia etc.

There's not really a right answer here. All the popular distros and DE's will do what you need and will be stable.

(There is a wrong answer however, and that is to use Ubuntu Unity. It still sucks in my opinion).

 

I like Cinnamon on Debian for general use, so I have Linux Mint on my dekstop. I have pure Debian Stable (usually headless but Cinanamon is on there too when needed) for my server.

Try them all, either live installs on on a VM on your dekstop.

 

Ubuntu.
If my 75 year old Dad can use it then I pretty sure anyone can.
The software store means downloads without using the terminal.
I read a comparison between Mint and Ubuntu and the guy basically ask a few of his family/friends with differing PC ability to have a go. He scored them on how easily the group got to grips with using both and surprisingly although most said Mint was more like Windows he concluded that actually they all found Ubuntu just as easy to use.

I have Ubuntu and Windows 10 on a laptop (slightly old HP) and Ubuntu is just so much quicker, for start up and shut down and in general use.

For older PC's that really struggle with newer OS's Xubuntu is great. It even made an old Dell Dimension work like it was new again.

 

Linux Mint

 

Close the thread, the question has been answered!

 

The stock Ubuntu experience is probably going to be the most straight forward. As you use it and you find you like the look of something else you can switch over. But Ubuntu is about the best starting point.

 

Mm. I always want to like KDE, but every time I use it, it drives me crazy with lots of little annoyances and I give up. Cinnamon for bling, Openbox for minimalism.

Thing is, it's pretty much accurate. If coming from Windows, Mint offers probably the most similar experience in terms of UI (like Gnome Shell offers a 'mostly similar' experience for OSX users) while Unity has a learning curve that isn't difficult, but is enough different to make long-term-non-techie Windows users panic.

While I only have anecdotal evidence, the members of my family I've exposed to Linux tend to get to grips with Mint/Cinnamon in minutes, while it's about 50/50 whether they figure out Ubuntu/Unity or panic and give up in a quarter of an hour.

But then, I've got family who freak out over a mouse that can change sensitivity levels, so... YMMV.

 

I read today that OpenSUSE will soon stop offering proprietary drivers for AMD GPUs.

 

Just a note that the stock Ubuntu experiences uses the Unity desktop manager. KDE is something else again you get it with Kubuntu I think. Anyway I've used KDE once and never again, its just the most mental of desktop managers.

 

Yeah, sorry, I had a paragraph about Unity before that comment about KDE. Where did it go?!

I used Unity for two years (always give things a good try, I say!) it always felt like a half-arsed go at an OSX-like UI that was enough different not to get called on it. What I always really struggled with was the window menu bar always at the top. I window hop too much for a 'shared' File, Edit, View etc to do anything other than drive me completely insane with frustration. Partly because some of the software I use spawns half a dozen different windows (or more, sometimes)...

That said, all of the Display Managers can be royal pigs at times - MDM freaks out eventually if the system is left for long enough, especially if CUDA is doing something on the GPUs during that time. I've never tried setting CUDA up on a system with KDM.

edit: On OpenSUSE not supporting AMD graphics any more... well, what can I say? The last time I used SuSE, I was running a FireGL 8800. That, if nothing else, is telling for my opinions of SuSE. (I use CentOS when I have to, but generally I'm not a big fan of RPM based distros. )

 

I agree the menu bar thing is stupid, but I got used to it. It is also possible to remove that behaviour and change it to a per window menu using the unity-tweak-tool in the repository.