I'm looking for help in choosing a Linux distribution for my laptop, which has 4GB of RAM and an Intel Pentium CPU N3700 @ 1.60GHz. I've previously tried installing various distros like Nobara, Fedora, Lubuntu, CachyOS, and Pop!OS, but most of them have frozen often, and CachyOS wouldn't even boot up. The one that worked best for me was Pop!OS, and I found I prefer Ubuntu-based distros over the others. I won't be doing any heavy tasks, mostly light gaming and programming. What Linux distro would you recommend?
4 Answers
I recommend trying MX Linux with the Xfce desktop. I have a 2011 laptop with 4GB RAM, and I've upgraded to an SSD, which made a big difference. MX Linux runs smoothly and is user-friendly!
You might also want to explore Linux Mint with the Xfce or Bodhi Linux 7.0 HWE. Both are known for being lightweight and should work well on your laptop.
It looks like some of the distros you tried are quite resource-heavy. If you're looking for something lighter, you might want to give Linux Mint with the MATE or Xfce desktop environments a try. Xubuntu and Ubuntu MATE are also good options. If those still seem sluggish, consider using a more minimalist window manager like antiX or Puppy Linux, which can be more efficient on lower-spec machines.
With your specs, it's crucial to avoid heavy desktop environments like KDE or GNOME. Look for a lightweight distro or even just install a window manager. Something like Debian with openbox could work well if you're looking for something really minimalist.
I’m actually planning to test Zorin OS next and then maybe Linux Mint. I also think I didn’t give Lubuntu enough of a chance before! Thanks for your suggestions!