Thomas the Tank Engine Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I haven't used Linux in many years -- unless you count Android, which some people say is & isn't a distro -- but be that as it may, I'm not going to argue the point. I currently have Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on my laptop, Intel Core i7-3610QM with a 512GB Plextor M5P & 8GB of DDR3 RAM, with another 750GB HDD which is almost filled, same with the Plextor, I plan on uninstalling some games anyway that I haven't played in quite a while which will free up some more space. The laptop also has Intel's onboard GPU, as well as Nvidia's GeForce GT 640M. So, my question is, which distro should I try? I should point out as well, that I prefer KDE over GNOME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe84 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Kubuntu. Your system is powerful enough I believe you should be able to run it without any problems, however if you want a very lightweight Ubuntu based distro then try Lubuntu, which is my main OS at the moment. I've used Kubuntu in the past, like any other Ubuntu it's pretty easy and intuitive even for someone as inexperienced as myself, you can install 99% of software from the OS packet manager, therefore you won't be stuck messing with Terminal. Sometimes though you will find guides suggesting to mess with system files and terminal, I personally try to avoid them as, basically, I'd have no idea what I would be doing, and I prefer finding workarounds for problems I may encounter, or just live with them as long as they are not preventing me from doing what I want to do. Linux Mint is another good distro, I haven't used it personally, but, as far as I know, it's fast, lightweight and easy, it comes with two desktop environments, MATE, which is the lighter one but also the one with less functionalities, and Cinnamon, which I think it's the most used, has more functionalities but is also heavier, but, again, your machine seems powerful enough to run heavier environments like KDE and Cinnamon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Norris Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Well if you prefer KDE, I'd go either Kubuntu or OpenSUSE, both are solid KDE setups with minimal fuss to get it up and running. Chakra's also worth looking at as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindovermaster Moderator Posted January 6, 2015 Moderator Share Posted January 6, 2015 I'd suggest Kubuntu or Debian, and add on KDE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beyond Godlike Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I recommend Debian. Ubuntu UI is junk on their 'main' distro. Debian is what Ubuntu is based on and I find that it works alot better. Linux mint is also nice, Ubuntu based but better UI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDT Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 elementary OS duoi 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f0rk_b0mb Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 OpenSUSE 13.2 with KDE. It is by far the best I've ever used since I started with Linux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas the Tank Engine Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 elementary OS The problem that I have with eOS, is that it reminds me of Lindows, which was a dumbed down Linux distro for the average Joe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiranui Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Mint KDE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duoi Veteran Posted January 7, 2015 Veteran Share Posted January 7, 2015 elementary OS. I know you already said don't like how it looks, but I'm going to suggest it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGeorge Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Linux Mint Cinnamon Also check out this site: http://www.dedoimedo.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MS Bob 11 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Linux Mint with Cinnamon is a good looking distro. If you find Cinnamon slow or buggy, try Mint with MATE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junner2003 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I fell in love with the XFCE desktop. It is lightweight but very customizable. Currently running Xubuntu on one of my machines and can't complain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T3X4S Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 15 posts - 13 answers - thats helpful SoCalRox 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotBored Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 OpenSUSE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrian Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 ElementaryOS. It isn't dumbed down, it's prettied up. It is built on Ubuntu, so you can install KDE or Gnome or whatever you want and make it however you like. I personally like that it looks all smooth and pretty out of the box, and while I don't particularly care for Mac OS I do like the UI design that they obviously borrowed heavily from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlang Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 with your amazing system specs i would go all in and use the latest LTS kubuntu which is 14.04 and unleash every bit of KDE. 4 if not even 8 virtual desktops, 3 or 4 activities, easily.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahid Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Why don't you try Some major Linux Distro in Virtual Machines & figure out which one you like most. With those unlimited number of Distro's you will sure find one matching your preference. Gabe84 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohpep Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Fedora. Although some people say it is a clunky enterprise OS, they have refocused it to be modern in Fedora 21 with the workstation version. Here is the KDE version: https://spins.fedoraproject.org/kde/ Other suggestions would be Debian, and OpenSUSE. I would stay away from Ubuntu, though. They have done some weird/privacy compromising things (which has been discussed further here) in the past, and not to mention that it is maintained by a private corporation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haggis Veteran Posted January 7, 2015 Veteran Share Posted January 7, 2015 It really depends on your confidence level with them I think the easiest distros to use are ubuntu, mint, debian The first distro i ever used was OpenSUSE, its great and ia KDE Aergan 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aergan Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Another vote for OpenSUSE if you're after a consistent KDE experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seta-san Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 seriously. it looks like BeOS and WindowsXP had a baby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas the Tank Engine Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 ...too many different forks... A 'fork' of Linux would be a group rewriting it using only C++, therefore there are no current forks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seta-san Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 A 'fork' of Linux would be a group rewriting it using only C++, therefore there are no current forks. what? no. a fork is when someone takes a project, makes a copy of it and the new copy and the old copy go two different directions as two different projects for example; PaleMoon is a fork of Firefox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haggis Veteran Posted January 7, 2015 Veteran Share Posted January 7, 2015 seriously. it looks like BeOS and WindowsXP had a baby. You mention how crap Linux looks but that is all down to the distro and the user Take my desktop for example this was a default install and i then changed the wallpaper What the difference between this and window? (apart from some slight different icons and instead of START it says Menu?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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