Installing Ubuntu 13.10 on Compaq CQ58

[dominic.prkr]

Hi All,

Hope you are all doing well.

I am am fairly new to the forum and to Ubuntu itself, so new in fact that I do not have a machine currently running it. I have recently decided to swap over from Mac to Ubuntu and was hoping I would be able to get some advice.I have previously installed Ubuntu, albeit a very old version, and I would like to get more involved in the culture. I am very excited about it.

I am looking at purchasing a Compaq CQ58, and after reading through the forums and posts I see that it is compatible with Ubuntu. I was hoping to find out if I would be able to install the latest version, 13.10, as all the forums including the www.ubuntu.com/certification (http://www.ubuntu.com/certification) only show the version 12.04.

I am an aspiring programmer and really interested in getting deep, down and dirty with Ubuntu and any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Again, thanks in advance.

[sudodus]

Welcome to the Ubuntu Forums :-)

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/laptop/3464776/compaq-cq58-review/

The previous link states that the computer is not very powerful, so I suggest that you run a lighter desktop environment than standard Ubuntu. Try Xubuntu or Lubuntu, and you will get a fast and responsive system.

Try 12.04 LTS for the main 'production' system, unless the drivers for graphics and wifi won't work. Then try the newest version, 13.10. LTS means long time support, and is available for Ubuntu, Xubuntu and Kubuntu (12.04).

You can make a multi-boot system and try several flavours and versions of Ubuntu as well as other operating systems. These test systems need only 8-12 GB (per system). The new system under development 'Trusty Tahr' will also get LTS. It can be found at http://iso.qa.ubuntu.com/ and the Ubuntu +1 Forum (http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=427)

[dominic.prkr]

Hi sudodus,Thank you for the welcome and the feedback, greatly appreciated. I was looking at the Compaq for a budget system so that I can continue with my programming. If you feel that it is not powerful enough I did consider stretching my budget a little and investing in an HP Envy M6 as a longer term option. This I do know will run 12.04.Also thanks for the info regarding LTS, good to know. Hopefully following the forums and getting more involved I'll be able to find my feet in time.

[sudodus]

Well, the CQ58 will be good with a light desktop environment, but I would recommend a more powerful computer if you want to run standard Ubuntu with Unity or Kubuntu.

HP Envy M6 with Intel core i5 is fast enough for any of the Ubuntu flavours. AMD graphics will probably work fairly well with the built-in driver, but there are issues with the proprietary drivers for some of the chips/cards if you want advanced features. I have better experience of nvidia. I suggest that you check/ask in a separate thread about the graphics, particularly if you want advanced graphics.