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View Full Version : Which Is Lighter On Resources For A Netbook?



Throne777
October 19th, 2011, 11:23 PM
I've just got a little netbook that I'm using as a secondary computer to do little things like web browse, respond to emails, maybe mess around on Google Docs, Skype and stuff like that. Nothing intensive.
Currently I have Meego installed on it, and it's pretty good. However, I was wondering if Ubuntu 11.10 would be better instead. While I like MeeGo, the fact that it might be dead in the water is troubling, and while it's a relatively fresh install it won't be the end of the world if I switch OS.
However, is 11.10 going to be a lot more intensive on the little netbook than MeeGo is? (if it is, I'll stick with MeeGo). I've also found MeeGo to be a little buggy, which is a shame because it's a nifty little OS.
The netbook is a Toshiba NB100.

(If you know of any other good Linux distros for a netbook, do say)

koleoptero
October 20th, 2011, 12:16 AM
Xubuntu 11.10 is light but not lacking in options. I'd definitely recommend it for a netbook.

ilovelinux33467
October 20th, 2011, 12:19 AM
xubuntu 11.10 is light but not lacking in options. I'd definitely recommend it for a netbook.

+1

garvinrick4
October 20th, 2011, 12:28 AM
Download a Lubuntu and install on a USB and run in Live usb to see if you like it. I got one install I keep to see what
is up with it. I like it, like anything takes a bit of looking at to set up so as to be comfortable. I run a panel
on left a bit oversized with my Favorite apps. I take the bottom panel to the top and no panel on bottom.
Uses under 500 meg of Ram all the time it seems. With your processor i would most likely run all Flash
in SD instead of HD and run any you tube in 240 instead of 360 or 720. That would seem like only time
processor would get up near 100%. Is worth your time any which way you look at it though.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lubuntu

makitso
October 20th, 2011, 12:51 AM
I run Lubuntu on my little Gateway Netbook. I use the Xcompmgr composter for light weight 3d and use the Cairo dock to make a really sweet fast system.

dniMretsaM
October 20th, 2011, 01:02 AM
Lubuntu is a nice light distro. Xubuntu is on the heavy side of light, but could still be usable depending on your netbooks' specs. You could also check out some of the distros made to be super light like SliTaz, CrunchBang, or Puppy. Puppy is pretty nice, and it works with all Ubuntu packages.

wolfen69
October 20th, 2011, 03:58 AM
Lubuntu is a nice light distro.

I agree. I'm running it on my acer aspire one, and it's as fast as greased lightning.

kvvv
October 20th, 2011, 04:43 AM
I would recommend Lubuntu or Crunchbang.

drawkcab
October 20th, 2011, 04:58 AM
Mint Debian Edition (xfce or even Gnome 2.x) is currently my atom n270 distro of choice

I still think ubuntu 10.04 netbook edition is better than unity

Xubuntu
Lubuntu
Crunchbang (xfce or openbox)

^^^^It's hard to go wrong with any of these

krapp
October 20th, 2011, 05:18 AM
Crunchbang Openbox is probably the lightest user-friendly distro around...

Paqman
October 20th, 2011, 08:02 AM
Unity 2D runs perfectly well on netbooks, so unless you're a bit obsessive about resource use I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Throne777
October 20th, 2011, 08:25 PM
Unity 2D runs perfectly well on netbooks, so unless you're a bit obsessive about resource use I wouldn't sweat it too much.

So far I've found it pretty sluggish, especially trying to run something like the Software Centre.

I'm downloading CrunchBang as I've never heard of it before and I'm a sucker for trying new distros. Though should I be worried that it has a warning on the download page about not being stable (which seems odd considering it says it's almost entirely built from debian)?

snowpine
October 20th, 2011, 08:34 PM
I'm downloading CrunchBang as I've never heard of it before and I'm a sucker for trying new distros. Though should I be worried that it has a warning on the download page about not being stable (which seems odd considering it says it's almost entirely built from debian)?

CrunchBang is a one-man project with no corporate backing. He put the disclaimer there so he "can sleep at night."

http://crunchbanglinux.org/forums/topic/2/the-crunchbang-linux-disclaimer/

Good luck with CrunchBang, come say hi on the forums! :)

vicshrike
October 20th, 2011, 08:39 PM
No worry, #! is based on Debian Squeeze and is the definition of the word stable, but if you want, you can make it go CrunchBang!

Flymo
October 20th, 2011, 09:03 PM
I run Lubuntu on my little Gateway Netbook. I use the Xcompmgr composter for light weight 3d and use the Cairo dock to make a really sweet fast system.

+1!

We find that Lubuntu runs a bit better in netbook hardware than Xubuntu, typically. I do prefer Xubuntu, slightly. It has built-in compositing if that's what you like, but Lubuntu is the lighter installation, and can be tweaked as above most effectively.

inearlygaveup
November 10th, 2011, 09:58 AM
We use this on our Aspire One

http://www.ubunut.com/netbook

Primefalcon
November 10th, 2011, 10:01 AM
I wouldn't really call Xubuntu light anymore tbh.... Lubuntu is the best spin for a light desktop IMO....

Nytram
November 10th, 2011, 02:00 PM
I'm running Arch & Gnome Shell on my modest netbook (1.6 single core, 2gb ram) and it works really well; not great but good enough for me.

I say not great because it's sometimes a little slow when searching for applications, but I rarely use this feature and have all my main apps on the favourites bar.

Gatemaze
November 10th, 2011, 02:22 PM
Crunchbang openbox for the lightest minimalistic, which is the current very recent update on my asus 1005ha. Previously I was running ubuntu 10.04 since the beginning with no complains. I would imagine lubuntu and xubuntu would be two other options.

PuddingKnife
November 10th, 2011, 04:43 PM
Windows 7?

Seriously, I hope that power regression in the kernel gets fixed soon.

BrokenKingpin
November 10th, 2011, 07:00 PM
Xubuntu 11.10 is light but not lacking in options. I'd definitely recommend it for a netbook.
++

That is what I am running on my netbook and it runs great.

Lubutnu would also be a good fit, but I don't find it all that much faster than LXDE in practice, and Xubuntu has a lot more options and is easier to configure.