I'm looking for some advice on which Linux distribution would be best for my old laptop—it's about 10 years old and currently runs Windows 10. Here are the specs: Intel Core i5-4210U CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 500GB of disk space. I mainly want to use it for light programming, like running small machine learning tasks with R and Python, using RStudio and Spyder IDE. I also want to do some gaming, particularly Dota 2.
I've used Ubuntu in the past but I'm aware there are a lot of new alternatives out there now. While Ubuntu has a strong community and great documentation, I'm interested in something stable that runs smoothly on my hardware and doesn't require too much tweaking to set up. I've been considering the following distributions: OpenSuse, Mint, Fedora, PopOS, and of course Ubuntu. Which one do you recommend and why?
3 Answers
I personally prefer Linux Mint. It's user-friendly and gives a smooth out-of-the-box experience. While I'm not sure what comes pre-installed, you can easily set up R and Python with just a command. I recommend trying different distros in a VM or a live environment first to see which one feels right for you.
Have you thought about trying Arch? It's super customizable and compatible with what you want to do. I suggest the KDE Plasma desktop for an awesome experience. Just remember to enable Steam's Proton compatibility for gaming! Have fun exploring Linux!
Haha, Arch, the classic choice for those who love to customize! Just make sure you’re prepared; it can take some time to set up!
Check out the distro selection page on our wiki for some more insights! Also, don't forget to take regular backups and test everything in a VM first. It's always good to understand your commands before hitting Enter!
Thanks for the tips! I think I’ll stick to my original list, though. Your advice about Steam’s Proton is definitely going to help!