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Best Linux Distros for Netbooks?
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Best Linux Distros for Netbooks?

MrAndroidMrAndroid Member
edited December 2011 in General

Hi,

We all know Linux works far better on Netbooks then Windoze, since its general geek knowledge, however I was wondering what is peoples opinions on the best Linux Distro for Netbooks (or BSD Derivatives), and reasons why

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Comments

  • SpeedBusSpeedBus Member, Host Rep

    ChromeOS ? Hexxh Builds.. or try JoliCloud, works great.

  • Mon5t3rMon5t3r Member
    edited December 2011

    Linux = Slackware or Zenwalk.

    BSD = dragonflyBSD.

    reason : i think they are still the best distro who can compress package greatly. and sidenote for Zenwalk, they are support BFS natively. :D

  • Debian?

    Thanked by 2Aldryic yomero
  • AldryicAldryic Member
    edited December 2011

    I've been using Debian+fluxbox on my aspire one with no troubles. Gave Android Honeycomb a try, but that was just a disappointment.

  • AdamAdam Member
    edited December 2011

    My setup = Aspire One dual boot:
    Windows 7 Enterprise
    Ubuntu 11.04 (gnome classic + no effects)

    (In regards to Windows. Have to have it to be able to play 1080p vids)

    But. I've been thinking of adding Debian to the mix (only used Debian server in the past).

  • Thanks for your replies,

    I'm looking for a distro that won't require much UI changes from the install, since I'm a terrible designer.

  • Well, UI and Distro aren't exactly tied together, so you have some leeway there. KDE3 also runs quite nicely on a netbook, KDE4 does decent, you just need to disable many of the desktop effects.

    So pick a distro that you're comfortable with, and then go with a window manager that suits your needs.

  • Slitaz might also suit your Netbook ;)

  • I have one of those eeepc's with only a 4gig SSD. Kind of limits the options. I loaded a modified Ubuntu known as eeebuntu. It's now morphed to Aurora OS. It's at auroraos.org/

  • I'm using puppy linux on my netbook and it feels like a supercomputer :)

  • @maxexcloo said: Debian?

    No more discussion

  • I have Kubuntu 12.04 installed on Lenovo IdeaPad S205. My older netbook (Advent 4211 aka MSI Wind U100) run aptosid.

  • I'm considoring Xubuntu.

  • At this moment I'm using Archbang on a dell mini 10v.

  • MY two cents would be Slax. Get a live copy and give it a go. Yes it can be hard drive installed and yes I know how to do so. You can grab a copy here.

  • I gave Arch a go, but would prefer something that at least has the basics out of the box, and doesn't require me to hunt for wireless drivers.

    Also does anyone know the configuration that most Distro's use to show a black screen until the Window manager loads, I want to at least see init.d etc to see what its booting.

    Thanked by 1drmike
  • KuJoeKuJoe Member, Host Rep
    edited December 2011

    @thekreek said: At this moment I'm using Archbang on a dell mini 10v.

    +1 HERE! If the Arch Linux developers weren't so screwy I would have stuck with Arch myself. It works nicely, just don't update anything once it's working because the devs like to remove things from the build because they personally don't use them.

    In my netbook experience (I've been using them as my primary workstation since 2008) any distro with LXDE or XFCE will work like a dream. XFCE looks nicer, but LXDE is faster. My main reason that I use Windows 7 is due to lack of support for my dedicated video processor in Linux (Broadcom Crystal HD) but from what I have read it is now supported in Linux so I installed Debian 6 + XFCE and so far I hate Debian as a desktop, switching back to Fedora + XFCE tonight.

    Personally, I like minimalist OSs so Arch Bang was perfect for me (no icons, no start menu, nothing extra).

  • You can try AntiX based on debian testing and Mepis with Fluxbox and IceWM
    http://antix.mepis.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

    Needs only 84 mb ram!!!

  • KuJoeKuJoe Member, Host Rep

    @corpus said: Needs only 84 mb ram!!!

    Why so much??

  • how much do you use with fedora+xfce ?

  • seraphkzseraphkz Member
    edited December 2011

    So is it safe to say Ubuntu is not a good distro for netbook/laptop? I haven't seen it mentioned that often in this thread.

  • AldryicAldryic Member
    edited December 2011

    Ubuntu is fine, it's the window manager you have to be careful of. The latest KDE or gnome may chug a bit if you try to enable all of the fancy effects.

    Edit: In fact, if you enjoy Debian but don't want to spend the time configuring wlan0, /etc/network/interfaces, etc, then Ubuntu/Kubuntu would be a good choice for you.

  • XeoncrossXeoncross Member
    edited December 2011

    @Daniel said: We all know Linux works far better...

    Totally with you.

    @Daniel said: ... on Netbooks then Windoze

    Now you lost me. Netbooks were built for Windows XP. I use a customized version of Windows XP SP3 and get a very usable product.

    I can run my vm's with debian and ubuntu or still have enough power on my single core N270 atom to play my FPS games. My bluetooth, Wifi, 3G, and webcam, all work great.

    Now, what I just said only holds up for low-end netbooks. I have a whole other opinion once you change platforms since windows is retarded. ;)

    Thanked by 1AuroraZ
  • Meego here on an old AA1 (1GB RAM/8GB SSD vintage).

  • i'm using Ubuntu Lucid Lynx on my Asus netbook.

  • @Xeoncross said: Now you lost me. Netbooks were built for Windows XP. I use a customized version of Windows XP SP3 and get a very usable product.

    Exaaaactly. IMHO my netbook works better with Windows XP.

  • @yomero said: Exaaaactly. IMHO my netbook works better with Windows XP.

    I've tried lot's of "netbook" linux distros, most (UNR,Meego,jolicloud,EasyPeasy ) of them felt slower than winXP. I've tried Chromium and android too, but I didn't like them. the only linux distro I liked and still like is the Puppy(Lupu), it works very fast (entire OS can sit in the RAM) works with ubuntu binaries and has the all the drivers installed (wifi,card reader,3g etc.) I have yet to try Arch, but since I'm already satisfied with Puppy, that would have to wait. The reason why I can't leave XP, except for the windows exclusive software(the OP is asking for Linux afer all) is It's still better at ~HD video playback. I would love to go ubuntu with the latest gnome or KDE for the best software and community support but XP outperforms(maybe an understatement?) it and has more programs. So I'm still here in between Linux and Windows on what works best for netbooks. I'd love Linux to win completely but XP still has it's place for netbooks. but if the OP wants a linux distro, for the third time I say: Puppy Linux.

  • KuJoeKuJoe Member, Host Rep

    For netbooks Windows 7 > XP

    I used to use Windows XP but the performance I get from Windows 7 is amazing. Boot times are shorter by 10-15 seconds with 7 over XP, HD streaming video is much smooth, and response times are better with every application I use. I can open and run 3-4 VMs in VMWare Player while still watching HD videos on YouTube without a hiccup. :D

  • @KuJoe what netbook are you using? I'm using AA1 with 1 gb ram and atom n270 cpu the boot times are shorter on win7 but it consumes battery faster (just a bit) and nothing changed in video playback (still dropping frames @ some 720p x264 vids) and it runs or at least feel a bit slower due to more frequent swapping(anyone else experienced it?) on same usage.

  • KuJoeKuJoe Member, Host Rep

    Originally I was using an HP Mini-Note 2133 (2GB RAM, 1.6GHz VIA C7-m) and while I wasn't able to do HD playback with it, I was able to watch YouTube but only on Windows 7. Battery life remained the same at ~4 hours.

    On my current HP Mini 210 (2GB RAM, 1.5GHz Atom N550) my battery life is ~9 hours on both XP and 7 (~8.5 on Fedora and Arch Linux for some reason). I'm not able to watch Netflix in HD fullscreen on either but windowed is fine with 7 and a few 720p and 1080p test files skipped on XP in fullscreen but the same videos run fine in Windows 7. Opening up Adobe Photoshop, Outlook, and starting up a VM are where the speed is most noticeable.

    I just finished installing Fedora 16 XFCE so I'll test it out and compare it to Windows 7. From what I've read I'll finally be able to do HD playback in VLC. :D

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