Hello! My old laptops hard drive packed it in, so I got a new one and now need to flash drive an operating system on it. I think this is my time to give Linux a proper go. I tried it before for my gaming PC but switched for a cracked Windows key because I was young and not bothered to learn.
Well, now is my chance to give it another go. I’m looking for a Linux optimised for performance on an HP 255 G7. Threadbare, but not so bare that it’ll require me to do a load of complicated stuff to do the basics. I’ll just be using it for YouTube and Google docs really. Any help/advice/orders are appreciated.
Thanks!
That isn’t an old laptop, it shouldn’t have any bearing on which distro you pick. Ubuntu is solid, I’ve been mostly happy with KDE Neon. Web experience is going to the same across the board. Will you be gaming?
This isn’t an old laptop
I have it too. It’s just bottlenecked with 5,400RPM SMR HDD, in other words, as slow as it gets.
That should be an easy fix though, you can get a 512GB SSD for $25-35. In fact OP said they were doing this because the original drive failed. You’d notice a huge difference going to flash.
Yep, that’s what I did. Super fast now.
512GB wouldn’t be enough for me, and larger SSDs are too expensive. Also opening this laptop seems like a pain in the ass trying not to break display cables from teardown video I’ve seen.
And yeah, I know. I switched back from SSD after my secondary laptop failed. Going from 8-10 second boot-up to multi-minute boot-up can really be felt. That was a 16 year old laptop with such speed, by the way. SSD seems like a magic.
But surely one for lower end/older machines will be as barebones as possible?
No gaming, hopefully. Perhaps hearthstone if I succumb to it.
“Barebones” usually just refers to a machine that is not complete, missing CPU, memory, storage, for customization. I assume you mean it’s a basic/low-end configuration. Still, it seems to be a fairly recent generation of hardware. If you have a spinning disk, you’ll see a huge performance increase by upgrading to an SSD. You can get a 512GB SSD for $25-35.
If you look at minimum/suggested requirements for almost any distro, I think you’ll be comfortably above that. I looked up the laptop and it seems to have an AMD APU (similar to what’s in a Steam Deck), optional NVMe drive, 8-16GB DDR4, WiFi 5… I’m running Ubuntu 23.04 on a 2015 laptop and it’s fine, no difference at all from a current gen in Google Workspace.
that laptop is fast enough that virtually any Linux distribution will run just fine
Many of the major distros with graphical installers would work. Fedora, Ubuntu, Endeavor, OpenSuse… it’s really the Desktop Environment and the default set of apps that’s going to make the difference for you, since that’s what determines how you interact with the computer on a day to day basis.
A lot of folks feel more comfortable with an interface like their old OS and simple graphical tools. If that’s what you’re after, it’s hard to beat Mint with its default Cinnamon desktop. It is very Windows-like in its workflow except just better. It’s got great gui system tools, a good community, and it’s super easy to install.
If that’s what you’re after - easy to install and just daily drive to browse the web and use google docs - then stop reading now. Mint is my recommendation. If you’re wanting to dive in and learn more about Linux along the way, keep reading!
I don’t agree with the “acts like my old desktop” philosophy, personally. I think it tends to make people expect the system to work like their old OS, and everything is different under the hood. It’s like putting a car’s dashboard and steering wheel into a tank. The vehicles are similar in a lot of ways, but they’re fundamentally different.
So, as a constant reminder that you’re using something fundamentally different from Windows, a Desktop Environment like Gnome or KDE is a better choice.
Gnome is very different from the Windows workflow. I’m told it takes people a bit to adjust to it, but I wouldn’t know. For me, Gnome is the most intuitive DE I’ve ever used. I had the basics down in seconds. I recommend Fedora Workstation if you want to try it out. It’s up to date, has a great set of default apps, and has a strong community. I use Fedora, and I’m very happy with it.
KDE can work like Windows, if that’s what you’re after… but it can also work nearly any way you want it to because it’s so amazingly flexible that it’ll knock your socks off. The number of settings and things you can tweak, rearrange, and modify to your liking can be a bit overwhelming, but it can also be fun. I’ve spent literal hours having fun tweaking my desktop (although I always end up with something that imitates the Gnome workflow lol). It does a great job showing you how adaptable Linux can be, and how it’s all about your choices as a user. I love it, even if it’s not my DE of choice. If that sounds like your kind of fun, then KDE Neon or Fedora’s KDE spin ate worth a look.>
