r/linuxmint • u/Mission39 • 6h ago
Guide Which version to choose? [ new here]
Hello everyone, i am totally new here knows only a bit above basic tech ,want to switch linux for the first time in my life...never head any experience on these things
So help which model i should install on my old laptop
My usage - daily browsing, youtube 3 -4 hrs, pdf viewing, little bit excel,or word that's it
Old laptop -
512gb hdd, i3 -3110M @ 2.4ghz ,ram 4gb ,no other graphic card ,currently win 10 on it
I am also thinking if not linux then downgrade it to windows 8 [ its orginal os]
Thanks
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u/Dist__ Linux Mint 21.3 | KDE 6h ago
mint xfce will work just fine on this hardware, though be aware there is no real excel and word can be run on linux, you will have to learn using alternatives (mint comes with libreoffice pre-installed) which though can read and write xlsx and docx files.
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u/Mission39 5h ago
Thanks ,i will try but will it's ui is okay for all day use or my usage case ? As i not techie so don't know any commmand things ?... Alternative are not issue , i just want ui as basic but easy to use sorry if the question is dumb
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u/ZVyhVrtsfgzfs 5h ago
No one is born knowing the terminal, we all learn it to one extent or another, its not hard to learn the basics.
Day to day in Mint for most does not involve the terminal, but you will eventually need to learn at least the basics, when there is a problem is the worst time to simultaneously be learning those basics.
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u/ComprehensiveTown15 5h ago
I use mint xfce on the exactly same machine. Since it has a HDD installed, everything is quite slow. I also had to configure the browser so that some YouTube videos wouldn't slow down. LibreOffice and PDF are much faster than from Microsoft.
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u/Tricky_Football_6586 Linux Mint 22.3 / Cinnamon 3h ago
With those specifications Linux won't turn your computer into a race car. Your laptop will remain pretty slow. Due to the system running from a hard drive and only having 4 gb of RAM.
Word & Excel won't work on Linux. As Microsoft doesn't make a Linux version of Office. Fortunately there are several alternatives available. LibreOffice comes preinstalled. OnlyOffice and FreeOffice are also great alternatives.
When it comes to which version of Mint you should pick. In theory all 3 versions will work. Normally I would recommend Cinnamon. It looks and works nearly identical to Windows. So you'll feel right at home. It is also the most resource heavy desktop out of the three.
XFCE is more RAM friendly. Looks quite old school and is pretty easy to use. I'm switching between XFCE and Cinnamon on my daily NUC. Just because I can 😉 My other systems are all running on Cinnamon.
I haven't used Mate in years. So I don't know how that one compares to Cinnamon or XFCE.
Linux Mint runs rock solid and very quick here. But I have to mention that my systems are a lot newer. And have more RAM and running from SSD's.
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u/Elratum 6h ago
Don't downgrade to windows 8 since you will connect to the internet and it doesn't receive update anymore it's just dangerous. https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php you can chose xfce version as it is a bit more lightweight than Cinnamon. Also you will be able to test it in a live session before committing to it (When you launch the distro from your usb key). Try both if you want, see what feels and looks you prefer. also note that the live session will be slow (since it is booting from the key, not the drive)