I'm looking to switch from Windows to Linux because my old laptop is painfully slow after the latest update—taking about 12 minutes to be usable! I want to streamline my digital life, so a lightweight distro might be ideal. I'm going to use Linux daily, but I'm overwhelmed by the options available after using a distro chooser. Some of the recommendations include openSUSE, Devuan, Rocky, Knoppix, MX, elementaryOS, Xubuntu, Redhat, MATE, Pop!, Mint, Void, Manjaro, Gentoo, Arch, Solus, Crux, and more!
My laptop is an HP Spectre from around 2015 and mostly just sits idle until I need it. I want to focus on productivity tasks like web browsing, word processing, and organizing files. I also use multiple browsers (Edge, Chrome, and Firefox) for different tasks. A MacOS-style GUI would be preferred, but I don't need gaming support. Speed is crucial—I'll need to move quickly between tasks without distractions. Additionally, I need to keep a small Windows partition for some special car software I use, so a distro that can be installed on a small partition is necessary.
I'm familiar with the Linux terminal from previous work and have tinkered with Ubuntu, Kali, and Fedora, but I don't want to be stuck reading endless guides just to do basic things.
2 Answers
Honestly, the best way to find the right distro for you is to try out a few! Use a Virtual Machine or a bootable USB stick with LiveUSB images to give them a test drive. Here's a quick start: check out Debian and Linux Mint for stable experiences. You can boot them from USB without fully installing, which is super convenient! Jump in, experiment, and don’t hesitate to ask more questions as you go along! 😊
Given your experience and need for stability without much reading, I'd suggest going with Mint. It's user-friendly and generally works well right out of the box. Even though it doesn't look exactly like MacOS, it’s a solid choice. By the way, what are the specs of your laptop?
I have a 2.2GHz Intel Core i5-5200U with 8GB of DDR3 RAM. I think I upgraded to a bigger SSD about 8 years ago. I’ll definitely give Mint a go! My main requirements are simplicity and minimal bloat—GUI design isn’t a huge deal for me.