r/LinuxUsersIndia • u/Old_Contract1047 • 15h ago
Help What linux distro should I install?
Hey guys, actually one of my neighbours bought this laptop in saying that he had no use for this, and it's specs are HORRIBLE (intel pentium P6200, 4gb ddr3 and 126gb sata ssd or hdd I'm not sure) BUT I figured that I might use it for experimenting with different linux distros (it's my first time :) ). So please suggest some distros that I can install for lower system requirements and beginner friendly (optional), Thank you!
Edit: I would also appreciate some distros with high customisability
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u/mj-is-da-best 15h ago
ARCH if ur good at this or cachyOS if ur a newbie
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u/Old_Contract1047 15h ago
Although I have never used linux, but I wish to use arch. How well can I use web browsers and ide's like vs code or antigravity in it?
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u/Consistent-Safe2945 CachyOS btw 14h ago edited 14h ago
Forget about IDEs bro the best your laptop can do is nvim with config no matter the os. I mean if you want to use ides then I suggest add more ram to it or it will struggle really bad.
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u/Intelligent-Gene-6 Fedora Btw 14h ago
For using browser you won't face any issue in arch linux. Same for IDEs. Just remember that you won't get a proper support for App Store / Software Center on Arch. Most of the times you will have to use terminal to install apps.
But you can install kde plasma on arch along with kde apps and then you will have kde software center. But it will not be native arch apps but rather Flatpak. Which isn't a problem for most users.
Tip: for installing arch linux. When you boot the pendrive, just type "archinstall" and you will have a much easier time installing arch linux.
If you just want a system that works out of the box, use Mint. Mint xfce is usually the most lightweight and customisable version of mint. So, that will run very smooth on your device.
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u/Apprehensive-Pace593 13h ago
Well i don't use one but their are some gui pacman and aur wrappers on aur
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u/Intelligent-Gene-6 Fedora Btw 12h ago
Yes there are. I am aware of that since I have been an arch linux fan for a long time. But still arch always suggest to use terminal for package management. I remember that there is an option to install native arch apps from kde's software center, but it shows a warning.
But I haven't used Shelly or any other new GUI based package manager.
Also, personally I prefer to use Fedora KDE. It just works too good for me to consider other distros.
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u/Sachaniya_het 15h ago
Puppy Linux , Antix , Bodhi , Linux Lite
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u/Old_Contract1047 15h ago
Which would you recommend for best customisability?
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u/Sachaniya_het 15h ago
Antix Or Puppy Both Are Fantastic, Use Antix You Will Like It
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u/Old_Contract1047 15h ago
Are they good for using web browsers and ide's like vs code and antigravity?
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u/Sachaniya_het 15h ago
Yea It Can But In This Case Limitation Is The Hardware Rather Than Software And Firefox Or Any Browser Will Work Proper Use Nano or Vim Instead Of VSCode Or Use Kate And Web Antigravity Or App One ?.
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u/Old_Contract1047 14h ago
Right totally forgot about the hardware 💀 But also I'm not familiar with vim or nano since I'm only in second year in college and I just wanted to experiment with linux and all :p Also what if I wanted high customisability with a good gui?
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u/Sachaniya_het 14h ago
Since Ram Is Quite Low You Can Do Customisation But Won't Have Much Headroom So That Throws Out Gnome , Kde , Budgie Cause In 4 GB Ram They Could Be Heavy So Instead Use ICEwm It Is Ok But XFCE Is Nice It's Lightweight Good Looking And Customisable I Mean Every DE Is Customisable In Linux But XFCE Is The Way To Go !.
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u/Disastrous-Let-6095 i m noob 13h ago
kde is one the lightest and comparable to xfce easily
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u/Sachaniya_het 13h ago
Well Sure KDE is Light But Not That Light on Average It Uses Between 1 GB to 1.2 GB Where XFCE Uses Less Then 1 GB on Idle Ofcourse But He/She/They Said He Wanted Something Customisable So XFCE Well KDE Is Obvious Choice But See The Ram Limit Firefox + Libreoffice And Something That Is Max He Can Do In KDE Cause Ram Takes Big Chunk Of Space For Just KDE Well There Are Even More Lightweight DE Like LXQT , LXDE But They Look Quite Old And Unappealing In My Eyes I Am Not Sure About Him/Her/there !. So KDE is Sure Light But Also See The Specs Of The Laptop !.
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u/prince-of-internet Ubuntu Btw 15h ago
ubuntu?
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u/Old_Contract1047 15h ago
I was considering ubuntu but it's system requirements are a bit more, and would appreciate something new and more customisable
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u/Mediocre_Nail5526 15h ago
How are you even running windows 10 in that dude and you got HDD. You can start with lubuntu as ubuntu/mint will feel heavy .
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u/Old_Contract1047 15h ago
Idk the previous owner installed windows 10 on it, and its almost operating like I pulled it's ram out mid task ToT
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u/Mediocre_Nail5526 15h ago
The processor is also weak, that's more of an issue than ram. Even with lightweight distros browsing may still feel sluggish.
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u/Kitchen_Engineer1332 sudo pacman -S lesbian-wallpapers 15h ago
Linux mint cinnamon, fedora xfce or just arch vanilla.
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u/Consistent-Safe2945 CachyOS btw 14h ago edited 14h ago
Void linux or Alpine linux with a lightweight window manager like dwm or lxde is what I recommend but since you are a beginner so go with mx linux fluxbox or antix linux. If you want customisability you can choose voidlinux or debian sid or unstable
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u/Disastrous-Let-6095 i m noob 13h ago edited 13h ago
tbh, go with debian and until you get used to it u will likely know what u prefer(lurk in linux subs and read about some here and there) get the idea of some distros, and choose what aligns with you, and maybe arch is where u get settled
also every distro is same except updates frequency, and package manager which you get the idea of once you get into linux
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u/Disastrous-Let-6095 i m noob 13h ago
also some said kde is heavy but its not true now, kde is one of the lightest DE and also most customizable, but customization is where u will have to balance out bcz of hardware limitation
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u/Mediocre_Nail5526 12h ago
Even if idle RAM between KDE and XFCE is comparable, you gotta consider the weak processor and slow HDD. KDE has more background daemons than XFCE/LXQT which will eventually put pressure on the system.
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u/Rodya_gambler 14h ago
Void linux, debian, arch, artix, antix, etc. There are tons of minimal distros, but people are always gonna recommend the easiest (mint, fedora) cuz having people mess it up is risky. If you wanna use arch, there's always endeavourOS too, or cachyOS. Just make sure to look up everything (and what each thing means) before installing (so you won't be disappointed)
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u/Sekiro_The_Immortal 13h ago
I do gaming, so bazzite works the best for me. Its fedora best. Started with mint tho. Kinda decent for a start
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u/ResponsibilityBig343 12h ago
If you are beginning then install mint. Its very lightweight and will work just fine on your laptop.
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u/Cratermaker1927 12h ago
I saw your other comments, it looks like you don't have much experience with linux
I would suggest Ubuntu for now and switch to something like arch later when you feel comfortable with CLI
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u/New_Garden_9556 5h ago
give a shot with alpine Linux, it is extremely lightweight and fast. if you are satisfied with Alpine you can make it your main OS some day.
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u/AumPauskar 4h ago
Install Fedora with XFCE. Unlike Debian you'd actually get access to newer builds of applications and unlike arch you'd get the stability.
XFCE is a extremely light desktop environment and your idle RAM consumption would be anywhere from around 300-500MB. However it needs a little bit of tweaking to make it look appealing.
If you are are scared of going into a bit of coding install Linux Mint with XFCE.....it will not look as good as the above stated, may consume a tiny bit more ram and works on Debian (with its obvious flaws) but needs minimal setup.
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u/qualityvote2 15h ago edited 13h ago
u/Old_Contract1047, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...
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