I have a laptop from 2014 and I’m thinking of installing Kubuntu or Arch. I don’t know much about linux but the computer is not important and is damaged so I can screw it What would you recommend? I’m thinking of something customizable (Arch) but easy to use (so Kubuntu is a good option)
If the English is not good, blame the translator 😃👍
I have the minimum requirements for both.
Edit: The computer isn’t suposed for be a daily driver. And thanks for the replies.
Try each. One of the great things about Linux is how easy it is to just hop around. Spin up a ventoy USB with those and maybe even a few other ISOs. Then boot into each one and go through the process of finding a piece of software (krita, for instance) and running it. Do a doodle of a dog and run a few filters or something. Doing so will tell you which one you like, which one your computer likes, etc.
The happy medium would be Fedora KDE
Kubuntu is a pretty solid choice. It has an up-to-date KDE, and it’s surprisingly snappy and resource efficient.
Anyone suggesting a rolling release distro to you is setting you up for failure, especially on a 2014 laptop that will absolutely not benefit from it.
Use Linux Mint. It’s still Linux, you can still
break itcustomize it as much as you want.edit: Y’all are absolutely insane to downvote this when we are talking about a NEW linux user using a 11 year old laptop.
I agree, without know how OP wants to customize, I’m assuming they want to customize the desktop GUI. If that’s the case, anything KDE will be a good starting place. They also implied they don’t mind if they mess something up, so the specs probably don’t matter for being the most resource efficient. It just needs to be hand-holdy enough to help get a little experience for them, then they can jump into a more hands on distro
I think it’s more about the specsheet than anything else. If Mint works, great! I’m just not too sure how well it will work (It should work well, but is it the best option?).
Linux Mint.
Fedora a great. Very intuitive.
If you’re new, you should go with Linux Mint. It works great, and provides sane GUIs and defaults for everything, unlike most other distros. For a newbie, it’s the best decision. I’ve personally have had 5 people on Mint so far, who were originally unhappy that I formatted away their Windows partition when I told them that “I will fix it for ya” (when they came to me with their laptop because I’m a computer person), but they came to all love Mint. They said “why wasn’t I using this before?”.
I use Linux since 1998, and I still use Mint. Sure, I have other distros installed (Debian-Testing is my default on my desktop, many other distros on my various laptops), but Mint is the one I use the most. It just works. Just because I know how to fix something in the command line doesn’t mean I want to spend time doing it, GUIs are just fine!
In fact, I’m able to easily deliver both the MacOS and the Windows look, to lure new users in with Mint, haha: https://mastodon.social/@eugenialoli/114653608461737248
who were originally unhappy that I formatted away their Windows partition
?!?!?? You can’t just do that without telling someone? What about their files?
They knew about it, don’t worry. It was our agreement. They saved their files too. :)
Seconded. And if you want to avoid the Ubuntu sh!t you can go for Mint DE (Debian edition)
I’m thinking of something customizable (Arch)
Most distributions are customizable. The reason why Arch has this reputation of being customizable is, because it comes barebones and you have to build your own distribution out of it, basically. That means you need to learn and understand Linux and how Arch works. With other distributions you can still customize them to lot of degrees, you just start with an already build and tested environment.
However, there is a new trend of so called “immutable” or sometimes also “atomic” distributions. These work a bit differently, where the system is protected and either updated as a whole or in a special way. So deep customization (depending on what you exactly want to do) can vary in those cases. An example of such a distribution would be SteamOS 3.
Then there is also the release model you choose: rolling release or LTS (also known as point release). Archlinux is in example such a rolling release, which means it gets updates and often has the newest software available. But this comes at a risk and often the user need to understand what is happening in case of a problem. Therefore I recommend a beginner to Linux a system that uses a point release system (or also known as LTS in example) instead. Ubuntu uses such a system, and many others. This means it gets security updates and little features over time, but not always the newest version of a software with the newest features. What you get instead is “stability” in the sense of not changing too much and being less risky as well.
If you are new to Linux and want an easy to use distribution that is much Arch, but a little bit easier with preconfigured environment, then I would look at EndeavourOS. But I really do not recommend an Archlinux system as your first distribution, if you want an easy to use system. There are lot of other choices to make too, like the GUI and so on. Looks like you already like KDE Plasma if you want Kubuntu in example. The question is, why are you looking for a different operating system than Kubuntu in example? Why don’t you install Kubuntu. I ask, because the answer could help in finding the right one for you.
Kubuntu is my first choice, arch is like “I know how this works, lets try.” If I need a daily driver I would choose Kubuntu. I think its pretty.
There is this concept of desktop environments on Linux. It’s basically the GUI and lot of associated applications. Archlinux does not have one and starts with a terminal and you have to enter commands and know which GUI you want, and set it up yourself. You can install the same that is used in Kubuntu, it’s called KDE Plasma. You can install KDE Plasma on most distributions, its part of what makes Linux customizable. But if you do so, you have to set it up, therefore I highly recommend a distribution like Kubuntu that has it already.
EndeavourOS in example has in the graphical installer the choice what you want to install, and one of them is KDE Plasma. So you would have Archlinux with an easy installer and configuration, with the GUI and toolset of Kubuntu.
Thanks, these coments were very good 👍
with the GUI and toolset of Kubuntu
Not entirely, for example, Discover is only good for flatpaks in EndeavourOS.
Discover is only good for flatpaks in EndeavourOS
Also not entirely ;-), for example Plasma Addons and Application Addons from KDE Store can also be managed this way. But overall I guess you are right, as its not recommended to manage (pacman) system packages with Discover. I don’t even know how to set this up, if I wanted to. Half a point goes to you. :p
I didn’t know it handled them (I’ve never used Discover) but yeah they’re not system packages so they will be OK too.
10 points to Gryffindor :)
As you are a noob, avoid arch.
It maybe great for your self esteem telling people you are an arch user, but vanilla arch is not a simple distro. it takes a lot of work.
So, unless you have a lot of linux and terminal experience try something else.
If you want to play with an arch based distro there is manjaro.
I have manjaro installed on my old Lenovo T450 for years and it works great.
Alternatively give linux mint XFCE a try. I usually install this for people who are new users of linux.
or I have MX-linux installed on the Mrs laptop. she has the lenovo T470.
install guides:
https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install.html
https://itsfoss.com/install-manjaro-linux/
https://www.debugpoint.com/install-mx-linux/
if you want to try vanilla arch
no no absolutely avoid manjaro endeavouros is a much better experience https://manjarno.pages.dev/
Agreed. I used Manjaro for 1.5 years and then switched to EndeavourOS. Not sure how long its been, maybe 2 years or so. EndeavourOS is fantastic and its closer to Arch too, but comes with some stuff preinstalled and configured so you don’t need deep knowledge and build your own distribution (unless that is what you want).
I completely forgot about endeavourOS.
I used to have it on my gaming rig. Pretty desktop.
just remembered arco-linux too, but I think thats been discontinued.
I would caution against Arch. I don’t think it breaks as often as people suggest, but you may run into a problem like steam not loading when you want to play something with your friends. That gaming session is shot unless you can fix it on the fly. After a few years you will, but you need to balance those kinds of growing pains against doing something you want to do in the moment. Don’t expect it to work the way you expect every time.
I use Garuda, which is Arch based. Pretty much every time I’ve had a problem it’s been solved by update, restart.
If you want to try and build a raw Arch system from scratch, maybe it’s still complicated, I don’t know, but there are easy Arch options these days.
I’m not going to use steam but yeah, I see what you are saying
Install a fixed distribution like Ubuntu, Leap, Debian,… and enjoy Linux and read the wikis of the chosen distribution. Once you have gained experience, install a rolling distribution.
Fedora
If you’re new to arch, I think maybe go endeavouros. A new install has update scripts and whatnot, and EndeavourOS has good documentation. Going straight into arch involves a lot of reading the docs just to even get a desktop environment running. You probably want to start with the full package.
I’m using endeavoursOS gnome.
Kubuntu will get you familiar with package management, though it could well be managed through a desktop app so you may well barely touch the terminal. But you will discover that there’s a fair bit of bloat - not in the windows sense - but apps that you may not necessarily need.
Yeah, Endeavour seems good too. 👍
But don’t be fooled. While EndeavourOS (and most other Arch based systems) is really good, it still is Arch under the hood. Which means a rolling release and a little bit more risky on updates, because of the constant updates and the newest versions. In case of a problem, you have to hunt it down, and understand what is happening and then solve it. That’s why I do not recommend casual desktop users who are new to Linux and want an easy and uncomplicated usage, not to use an Arch based system. Unless you want deep knowledge and are prepared to do stuff and learn stuff in case of a problem.
This is just a warning, so you know what you are getting into. I love EndeavourOS. But it’s not for everyone.
That computer isn’t for daily driving, its a lab :P
You could still distrohop a bit if you want. Debian (as well as mint) is stable, loads of deb packages out there. I really like Fedora (less packages for my use case but COPR is similar to AUR in that there are thousands of packages outside of the main repositories). Ultimately like they said, Arch is really out there with the rolling releases, but sometimes you’ll need to reconfigure. Recently firmware packages got split up and that required manual intervention. Haven’t had any breaks so far, so EndeavourOS is a good choice imo.
EndeavourOS is a great distro for learning I installed EndeavourOS with no knowledge of Linux and with it, now I know so much about Linux if you have zero patience and just want an operating system that works use Linux mint
I don’t think regular Arch is the best for new Linux users at all but their are a few Arch based distros with graphical installers.
I’d you are trfh savvy, the Arch install process should be ok though.
Of the 2 you suggested, u would go with Kubuntu. KDE is a very popular desktop environment and Ubuntu is solid. I’ve moved distros quite a bit but always go back to Ubuntu-based. I’ve been on Mint for the last 6 or so years.
