I'm planning to breathe new life into my somewhat old laptop, which has the following specs: an Intel i5-5200U processor, 8GB of RAM, an Nvidia 940M GPU, and a 500GB SSD. As a long-time Windows user who's diving into Linux for the first time, I'm looking for recommendations on an easy-to-use distro that will allow me to browse the internet, write documents, and watch videos without much lag. I also want to dual-boot with Windows 11 since I occasionally need it for Adobe applications. Any advice on suitable distros that fit these needs would be greatly appreciated, along with any resources or guides for dual-booting!
2 Answers
I recommend trying out different distros with a "Live" version before committing to an install. This way, you can see which desktop environment you like best without any risk. A good place to test is DistroSea, and you might also want to get a Ventoy Stick to make trying multiple distros easy. Just boot from USB and you're good to go! When you're ready for a full install, make sure to back everything up first. Good luck!
Given your hardware, I think Linux Mint could be a solid choice. I've had great experiences with it on older machines. The 21.3 Cinnamon version is still actively supported and works well without giving me issues like some newer versions do. Just ensure you're comfortable with the Nouveau driver for the Nvidia GPU. It handles everyday tasks pretty well!
That sounds like a great way to explore! Any recommendations on specific distros to try?