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View Full Version : [all variants] Which Ubuntu should I install?



Labot2001
October 16th, 2008, 02:35 AM
I'm not sure whether to install Ubuntu, kUbuntu, or xUbuntu. The installation is for an older PC. I would just be using it for internet, e-mail, and picture slideshows, but I'd like something that I can customize the UI of a bit...

Here's the PC's specs:


Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (was Windows Me)
316 MB RAM
Pentium III, 846 MHz
No Graphics or video card uses integrated
12 GB hard drive probably at 4200 rpm


Think I can get away with Ubuntu? Or should I try KDE? Or... *gulp* XFCE??

tuxxy
October 16th, 2008, 02:39 AM
I think xubuntu would be more suited to that system, XFCE is a lighter version of GNOME which is better for running on older hardware.

GNOME would be too much for that amount of RAM and KDE forget about it :lolflag:

iaculallad
October 16th, 2008, 02:41 AM
I'd say you install (x)Ubuntu for that system specs.
Minimum recommended for Ubuntu is:


Ubuntu should run reasonably well on a computer with the following minimum hardware specification. However, features such as visual effects may not run smoothly.

* 700 MHz x86 processor
* 384 MB of system memory (RAM)
* 8 GB of disk space
* Graphics card capable of 1024x768 resolution
* Sound card
* A network or Internet connection

Or if you want to explore other Distro's, I'd recommend you install Zenwalk.

HotCupOfJava
October 16th, 2008, 02:46 AM
Looks like Xubuntu would be your best bet. Not to worry. I use Xubuntu on an older machine and I like it just fine. You'll be surprised by how well it performs compared to new machines running Windows.

Labot2001
October 16th, 2008, 09:26 PM
Can you get me a link to those specs? That'd be much more helpful in the future!

Steveway
October 16th, 2008, 09:31 PM
I think xubuntu would be more suited to that system, XFCE is a lighter version of GNOME which is better for running on older hardware.

GNOME would be too much for that amount of RAM and KDE forget about it :lolflag:

While I support the choice of xubuntu, saying that XFCE is a lighter version of GNOME is not a nice thing to say. XFCE has nothing to do with GNOME despite using GTK and beeing a Desktop-environment.

snowpine
October 16th, 2008, 09:37 PM
While I support the choice of xubuntu, saying that XFCE is a lighter version of GNOME is not a nice thing to say. XFCE has nothing to do with GNOME despite using GTK and beeing a Desktop-environment.

Except that Xubuntu is not really "pure Xfce". It brings in a lot of Gnome dependencies to make it more comfortable to Ubuntu users. Compare Xubuntu with Debian + Xfce if you don't believe me. :)

Labot2001, I agree with the other posters that Xubuntu is your best choice out of those three. It is a good distro for learning Linux, and it should have the best performance of those three on your hardware. Good luck!

Steveway
October 16th, 2008, 09:40 PM
Except that Xubuntu is not really "pure Xfce". It brings in a lot of Gnome dependencies to make it more comfortable to Ubuntu users. Compare Xubuntu with Debian + Xfce if you don't believe me. :)

Labot2001, I agree with the other posters that Xubuntu is your best choice out of those three. It is a good distro for learning Linux, and it should have the best performance of those three on your hardware. Good luck!

I was talking about XFCE not about what Canonical added to it's Ubuntu version with XFCE as a Desktop-environment.