I’m resetting windows 10 on my Thinkpad T580 for work but would like to create a partition for linux. It’s an older laptop and really chugs through games like Minecraft or RuneScape but I enjoy playing relaxing games while I listen to audiobooks at night. I grew up using windows which is why I’ve mostly used Ubuntu and ZorinOS in the past but I’d like to expand my horizons to something like kubuntu. I value good UI/UX design and something lightweight for my old potato. Any recommendations on Linux distros?
** Thanks for all the input! I tried Fedora first but it felt kind of clunky to me. Then I tried out Mint xfce and it’s right up my alley! I can run a separate Firefox profile right off the task bar that runs outside of my VPN which is perfect for Netflix and other sites that have issues. So far loving how customizable it is. Minecraft runs ok off GDLauncher, and lutris is really cool. I forgot I had a boat load of old GOG games that are perfect for this laptop. I really fucking love Linux 😆
Stick to the main distros unless you have a specific reason to use a novel one. Despite its drawbacks, KUbuntu is great and I definitely recommend it. Once you find a thing or two you don’t like about it, you can swap to a distro that does those things differently and you’re off to the races :)
PS Linux can breathe new life into a laptop, but if apps are too intense for your hardware it won’t magically give you more RAM… With the exception of Minecraft Prism Launcher + Fabulously Optimized, then your Linuxtop turns into a NASA supercomputer
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KDE is surprisingly lightweight these days. Maybe try the Fedora KDE spin. Or if you need it even more light weight: the LXQt spin is also not bad.
MX Linux.
Imagine Linux Mint Debian edition, but it isn’t green and there are a lot of useful GUI tools. It’s also so near to actually being Debian that you can just install things meant for Debian on it. It also runs a backported kernel for modern graphics driver and chipset support so you get your stability and your performance all in one.
I’m not sure how lightweight Fedora is, but it’s currently my favourite distro. The harder choice for me is the desktop environment, I’m currently using KDE, however Gnome looks more modern.
@Fenix @Triage8420
+1 on Fedora with KDE
If you want to shake things up with an arch derivative you can try EndeavourOS, there are a lot of different DEs you can choose straight from the installer
You can’t go wrong with KDE neon. Highly recommend it. You get all the latest KDE features with the stability of Ubuntu. Lots of Kubuntu users have all migrated already.
Manjaro
I’m using pop os, but it I build a new PC I might switch to fedora or steamos
Part of me wants to use HoloISO (community SteamOS) on a future PC and plug it in to the TV for my partner, but another part of me is Living in hope that official SteamOS 3 will *finally* be released by valve *any day now*
MX Linux would be my recommendation for older computers. It’s Debian-based so it should be fairly familiar if you’re used to *buntu-based stuff. Maybe Linux Mint XFCE but I’ve found it to be verrrry slow on my old Dell Inspiron.
I’m using Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop on a Thinkpad older than yours, and everything works fine for me. I’ve seen somebody saying that the Xfce edition is slow for them, but maybe the MATE one is lightweight enough for you.
XFCE is usually lighter than MATE, whoever is saying it’s slow has done a goofy
I’m a Linux vet who’s been around the block. I’ve tried all the major distros, used Gentoo for a few years, Arch the same, and a bunch of smaller distros.
Nowadays, I just want my computer to start up and run my programs with as little fuss as humanly possible. I’m far too lazy to rice or optimize anything, and I have little patience to troubleshoot the next big awesome thing.
Consequently, I use Kubuntu with Wayland. It chugs along and does everything I need it to.
Basically the same thing here, but with Fedora Workstation. I had my fun, now I just want to work in peace without having to fiddle with something every few weeks.
Fedora is a good choice. It is stable while being fairly up to date. The only issue is that (I think) proprietary drivers aren’t included by default.
This is true but I’ve only had issues with Nvidia drivers, which wouldn’t impact OP.
But definitely worth a word of caution for anyone else new to Fedora following this thread.
My vote goes to OpenSUSE Tumbleweed. It’s a beautiful system, and the most stable rolling release I’ve ever had the pleasure of running. I’ve tried so many different distros, and I always end up coming back to OpenSUSE.
I’m personally using Kubuntu because a lot of programs I like are built for Ubuntu already and while I’m fine with messing with building from source for some things, for most, I like my binaries prebuilt on a distro package service. Also I like KDE Plasma.
Linux Lite is worth a look, it’s designed for old machines as well as folks moving over from Windows.
Edit: Porteus is another good lightweight distro to checkout. It’s light enough to run off a USB but can also be installed on the hard disk. It has KDE, Xfce and Cinnamon environment options too.
