Athlon XP: Choosing distro/version

[a33069]

Hi, I'm new to linux. I've only run Knoppix 6.2 from a cd before in emergency and it worked fine. Other than that I've run Windows XP.

My specs are:

1gb ram
amd athlon xp 3000+ 2164MHz 512kb cache
integrated graphics

after limited research i've decided on Ubuntu.. i think. i've seen people recommend lubuntu or xubuntu(not sure if that's considered Ubuntu) for older machines, but i'm not sure what to try to run. my only demands are i need it to "surf" smoothly under a vpn(HMA). i will be editing in Gimp but nothing too demanding.

which distro/version would work well? any help is much appreciated. thank you

also, more specifically, i need it to be compatible with my wireless usb stick, a Cisco, Linksys N300

[BBQdave]

1gb ram
amd athlon xp 3000+ 2164MHz 512kb cache
integrated graphics

...lubuntu or xubuntu... i need it to "surf" smoothly... i will be editing in Gimp...

Most any Linux distro will be equally compatible with your hardware. The challenge will be hardware speed. Your best shot is LXDE (Lubuntu) or Xfce (Xubuntu).

What you will most likely experience, is decent speed with your system over all, but a slow down when running heavy resource applications, like Firefox and GIMP.

If possible, boosting your hardware to 2 gigs of RAM, will be a huge performance boost

[sammiev]

Try them on a USB stick and find what works best for you. Play with them for a few days and enjoy.

[a33069]

thanks guys. usb isn't an option as my machine wont boot that way. as for the iso dvd, can i install the distro to my hard drive with the live dvd or is there two different cd versions? im going with xubuntu btw

nvm i see. it gives you an option upon booting up to install or just run right?

[sudodus]

Booting from a CD/DVD/USB drive made from an Ubuntu flavour iso file gives you several options. The one suggested is to 'Try Xubuntu without installing'. I suggest that you also download and try Lubuntu (and compare how it looks and feels) before you decide and start installing. Lubuntu is ultra light-weight, Xubuntu is medium light-weight. So your choice depends on what tasks you want to run (need for speed in spite of an old computer), and style and user friendliness. These things are hard to really know without testing and comparing.

An alternative to the new version 13.10 (released in October this year) is the long time support version 12.04, Xubuntu 12.04 LTS, which is more stable and polished by now, and a good choice unless you have very new hardware.

13.10 has only 9 months of support (until July 2014), while Xubuntu 12.04 LTS has support until April 2015.

[mörgæs]

can i install the distro to my hard drive with the live dvd ?

Yes

It gives you an option upon booting up to install or just run right?

Yes.

Be aware that your CPU does not offer SSE2, so you can't run the latest Flash player.

I would have chosen Lubuntu over Xubuntu, but your decision.

[K7AAY]

I've run Linux Mint/Gnome2, Xubuntu and Lubuntu on 1.4GHz machines w/ 1GB of RAM. All three of those are Ubuntu based, and anything you learn about Ubuntu (except for the Unity desktop) will work for those other distros.

You can make three discs, try each one, see which you like best. Bits and pieces missing from any of those can be found with Synaptic or the Software Center... just bear in mind the more stuph you install, the slower your system gets, and some apps bring much more slowness than others. The speed of Lubuntu is established by the Lubuntu folks picking the lightest apps in their standard package.

Yes, 1.4GHz can get a little pokey sometimes, as might your machine, but you're the best person to decide whether you want to sacrifice $$ for speed by adding more RAM.