<Solved> How does Linux Mint compare to Windows XP

[likiud]

Hi I'm new here and considering Linux Mint to be my main OS.
THe biggest question for me is whether Linux Mint will perform faster or slower on my 8.5 year computer compared to Windows XP.

Here are my computer specs:
P4 3.4Ghz (Single Core)
2GB DDR400 Ram
ATI Radeon 9600XT 128mb
200GB SATA HD

This computer was bought in Dec 2003 and has been running Windows XP for a long time. I made a switch to Windows 7 recently simply because Windows XP is getting old and its going to get out of support soon. However, when I used WIndows 7, it was slow and had some driver issues.

Here's what I do with the computer:
Web browsing
Office Applications
Photo/Video editting (non-professional)
Watching Videos (HD if possible, I realize HD doesn't run too well on either XP or 7)
Email

Before I install and try it out, I want to know if its worth it to make the change. I would like performance wise to be at least on par or better than Windows XP. Also, which edition would be recommended based on my hardware specs. I won't be dual booting, and it will be on a clean install if that helps.

[kurok]

might want to check and see if that card is supported. I think it might be but am not sure. Also ATI drivers are problematic lately. So to answer your question im running a box similar to yours and would say it runs as well as xp on my machine if not a little better. IM running KDE 12 lisa and it flys on this. I have less ram and a smaller processor than yours. You could always try a live disc and see how it runs, rember it will be slower running off of the disc but it will at least let you check to see if it is compatable with your stuff.
You could try lisa I have had almost no problems at all with it. Also in a short time 13 will be comming out. I really cant wait for that one.

[sagirfahmid3]

LOL...you have know idea what the POWAAAA of Linux can do to your computer. Normally, XP uses like 300MB RAM when it is idle (all bogged down due to antiviruses and crapware); Linux on the other hand, uses 300MB when it is LOADED (and by loaded I mean you have Firefox and OpenOffice and Pidgin open at the same time). There's more multitasking power in Linux because its kernel is different and more efficient than Windows. Linux also uses less CPU power when idle (for my dual-core 2.2GHz, it uses like 3%).

You never know Linux until you've tried it. You DON'T have to install Linux, you can try it out from a CD or USB drive (Google that).
If you want the absolute lowest resource usage Linux, you should go with Linux Mint Fluxbox or Linux Mint LXDE; XFCE is a bit more better looking than LXDE; Gnome and KDE are the heavier versions of Mint. There are distributions that use even LESSER usage than Mint, but they come with the price of less user-friendliness or software choices. You can try out SliTaz, Tiny Core, Puppy Linuxes and see which ones you like, then pick and install your favorite.

[rich2005]

Before I install and try it out, I want to know if its worth it to make the change.

Use as a live DVD first, give it a good try, if the hardware works here it will work for a permanent installation. Even better put Mint on a usb and boot off that. Your old computer will not boot off usb? Investigate the 'plop' boot disk.

First of all, WinXP is not all that bad, if you can get it back to minimal installation it is worth keeping. I have one that fits in a 8 GB partition with room to spare.

Generally linux runs a bit quicker than windows on old computers, but the spec you give is quite repectable.

your quote "Here's what I do with the computer:"

Web browsing
Just the same as Win but you do not have to worry about virus and trojans. The usual browsers are available Firefox, Opera, Chrome

Office Applications
Same as Win, LibreOffice is very comprhensive but if you want "lighter" then Abiword + Gnumeric is a good combo.

Photo/Video editting (non-professional)
Having used it for many years I much prefer Gimp to PS for graphics. Dread having to use that Adobe Bloatware. Inkscape great for vector graphics.

Video Editing.
This is where I part company with linux. Avidemux within limitations is not bad. Same applies to Openshot, not so keen on the rest Kdenlive, Cinelerra etc.
That is why I suggest keeping WinXP, just do not let it anywhere near the internet. I can get my Haupauge card to capture and Womble to edit before I have set up either process in linux.

Watching Videos (HD if possible, I realize HD doesn't run too well on either XP or 7)
Well, VLC works much the same in linux as in Win. dont expect too much

Email
Thunderbird if you want big, Sylpheed is not a bad little email client.

Installation.
Set up 10 - 15 GB size partitions. one for the system and one for 'home' make what is left over into data partitions. If you keep WinXP make a NTFS partition so you can share data with linux.

best of luck

[likiud]

Thank you for the information.

I think I'll do the dual boot for now until I am more familiar with Linux. Is it possible to change the dual boot to single boot later on? I'm not a fan of dual booting and multiple partitions.

[rich2005]

Do you mean revert to windows only, or lose the windows bit and have linux only?

[likiud]

Do you mean revert to windows only, or lose the windows bit and have linux only?

I actually meant to lose the windows to only have Linux. Is that possible?

Also another thing, I was actually thinking how would LibreOffice compare with MS Office. I loaded up LinuxMint on a USB and played around with LibreOffice. At first I thought it would be pretty similar. Its similar, but not entirely. I notice the interface is a bit different making some features and tools hard to find. Also, I would like to know how is the format compared to MS Office. I use MS Office for work purposes, but I need to bring documents to work as well. At work we use MS Office, would it look any different when viewed on MS Office if I save it on LibreOffice?

[sagirfahmid3]

Ok...if you already have Mint on an USB, why don't you try it out yourself? It isn't hard to load a 20kb Word file and nor does it take long to check it yourself. Questions like this can be irritating, no offense.
I mean, in general, Word documents will work with Libreoffice, unless you don't have some Windows loaded fonts.
And also, yes, it is possible to remove Windows later on if you don't need it.

[DrHu]

Basically in a comparison with any win OS, not just Xp, I would say very well

And with it's other advantages

• Less need for any antivirus
• Less need for anti spyware
• Less need for security updates
  --although one should be up-to-date with any available; just good practice
• Less need for application updates/fixes
• Less need for browser updates/fixes
  --although again,. if it is a general browser issue, you should update
• Less concern about firewalls, system security, and user messes..

[RobC]

As mentioned, download a few ISO's, write them to a USB drive and give them a go!

If the main edition doesn't seem much quicker than XP, it might be worth trying the more lightweight editions such as XFCE and especially LXDE.

[rich2005]

@likuid
A couple of thoughts:

Dual booting:
It is not like the past when it was very flakey. I remember dual booting pre-linux and having real problems. Now whether you have just LM or a dozen OS's you will still get GRUB (probably) as a boot loader, so keeping your windows installation is no real hardship. Linux reads and writes NTFS very reliably these days and at worst just use the win partition as storage.

Partitions:
You said you do not like lots of partitions. You can get away with 2. One for LM and your 'home' plus a 'swap' partition. I would advise 3, system, home and swap. In theory linux system can go on a logical partition, I've had problems with that. Make a primary partition for the system, make an extended partition for the rest. If not starting from scratch, you will need to shrink your win partition, have a look at the LM how-to's. Defrag several times, then use something like the PartedMagic live cd.

Why do I suggest keeping your win partition, You take work home and use M$ Office. There are well recorded problems with docx and LO / M$Word compatibility. Same applies to spreadsheets and M$ macros. More M$ fault than anyone else. Alternative is to install a virtual M$ using virtual box just for the things where there is no exact linux application

lots of alternatives, best of luck

[likiud]

thank you for the advice.