448MB RAM - Xubuntu vs. Lubuntu

[Dry Lips]

Hi boys and girls!

I'm installing (X/Lubuntu) on a machine with only 448 mb RAM
and a 2GHz processor. I'd definitively prefer Xubuntu, but if it'll
be very sluggish I'll go for Lubuntu, because it is important that
the machine runs at a decent speed...

So which should I go for? Is 448 mb RAM enough for Xubuntu?

[raja.genupula]

Lubuntu can be run with as little as 128 MB of RAM, but requires 256 MB of RAM to install from the graphics installer.
so better to go for it .

Once installed, Xubuntu 11.04 can run with 256 MB of RAM, but 512 MB is "strongly recommended"

for any other details
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xubuntu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lubuntu

[Soul-Sing]

got Zenix via virtualbox. naise!

[Dry Lips]

Lubuntu can be run with as little as 128 MB of RAM, but requires 256 MB of RAM to install from the graphics installer.
so better to go for it .

Once installed, Xubuntu 11.04 can run with 256 MB of RAM, but 512 MB is "strongly recommended"

for any other details
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xubuntu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lubuntu

Thanks for your reply! I've got a couple more questions:

From the wikipedia article you linked to:
“As of the Xubuntu 11.04 release the developers now "strongly recommend" 512 MB of RAM to use Xubuntu. This is the same as is recommended for Ubuntu 11.04 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_11.04)."

1. What, Xubuntu is as resource hungry as Ubuntu nowadays?
Would perhaps other xfce-based distros run faster than Xubuntu.
(Debian, Mint, Fedora?)

2. Would Xubuntu run noticeably faster on 448MB RAM if I installed
10.04 instead of 11.04?

3. I'm installing this to the computer of someone who is inexperienced
with computers in general (my mom.) Basically, what she needs is
OpenOffice, Firefox, Shotwell Photo manager... In what ways are
Lubuntu limited compared to Xubuntu. Are there any programs that
won't run on Lubuntu?

[raja.genupula]

got Zenix via virtualbox. naise!
virtual box installation and pc installation both cant give same performance right ? PC installation going to have effective performance as compare with VBox .

[Dry Lips]

got Zenix via virtualbox. naise!

Yeah, zenix would be lightweight, but I think it probably would be
a bit too difficult for my mother. She needs something that is pretty
much straight forward.

[Elfy]

You could build it up from a minimal cd - just install what you want.

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal

As far as choosing I would be inclined towards making two partitions to install to and one swap then install both and see - it's not going to take that much longer to do two installs - there's not really any need to do all the updates until you've decided which to go for.

Edit - you will at least then know which one is 'really' best for your situation - not what the specs tell.

[raja.genupula]

Thanks for your reply! I've got a couple more questions:

From the wikipedia article you linked to:
“As of the Xubuntu 11.04 release the developers now "strongly recommend" 512 MB of RAM to use Xubuntu. This is the same as is recommended for Ubuntu 11.04 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_11.04)."

1. What, Xubuntu is as resource hungry as Ubuntu nowadays?
Would perhaps other xfce-based distros run faster than Xubuntu.
(Debian, Mint, Fedora?)


i dont think so about other , xubuntu is faster

2. Would Xubuntu run noticeably faster on 448MB RAM if I installed
10.04 instead of 11.04?


this thing xubuntu team noticed already , 512 recommended for better performance

3. I'm installing this to the computer of someone who is inexperienced
with computers in general (my mom.) Basically, what she needs is
OpenOffice, Firefox, Shotwell Photo manager... In what ways are
Lubuntu limited compared to Xubuntu. Are there any programs that
won't run on Lubuntu?

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lubuntu/Applications

[kerry_s]

put her on the cloud.
http://www.jolicloud.com/

if my grandma can figure it out, i'm sure your mom can.

[drawkcab]

Lubuntu is probably what you want. I would add Thunar if you need to browse fileshares on the network.

The other option is to upgrade the ram. Xubuntu runs really well with 1-2 gb of ram.

[Dry Lips]

Lubuntu is probably what you want. I would add Thunar if you need to browse fileshares on the network.

The other option is to upgrade the ram. Xubuntu runs really well with 1-2 gb of ram.
Probably, yes.
I checked out Xubuntu in VirtualBox with 448 Mb ram allocated,
and I wasn't impressed by the speed. I do know that VirtualBox
isn't the same as a proper installation, though . Lubuntu on the
other hand ran just fine.


You could build it up from a minimal cd - just install what you want.

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal

As far as choosing I would be inclined towards making two partitions to install to and one swap then install both and see - it's not going to take that much longer to do two installs - there's not really any need to do all the updates until you've decided which to go for.

Edit - you will at least then know which one is 'really' best for your situation - not what the specs tell.

Thanks for the suggestion. Would Ubuntu Minimal install + Xfce
be lighter than Xubuntu? The thing is that my mother has poor
eyesight, so I need a DE that supports big flashy icons.

I guess I could install Lubuntu/Xubuntu alongside each other to
check out which suits the machine best. But on the other hand I
need to preserve the installation of XP, and HD space is limited,
so it would be easier if I just installed one of them. Perhaps I'll try
Xubu first, and if it is too slow, remove it and go for Lubuntu.

@raja:
Thanks for the Link. Lubuntu is a great distro, we'll see which one
I end up with. ;)