Which is the best Linux distro for a 5 year old pc ?

[marX]

I have Mint 10 and PCLInuxOS 2010.12 KDE minime with me but neither of them works perfectly.
Mint is having trouble with the onboard SiS 760 graphics and PCLinuxOS can't 'open' my mobile phone for tethering.
In Mint, even using the LXDE flavour, there is severe display issues like ghosting, freezing and sometimes resolution getting stuck at 800x600
But, in PCLinuxOS, the display is ok (there are some strange dark lines appearing randomly but no other issues), its the networking component which is causing the problem. It detects my mobile phone but can't tether. Says can't open 'ttyACM0' !

I had installed Mandriva 2009.1 two years before which I had to remove later which was working perfectly. So, I'm wondering whether I should go for Mandriva or some other distro. Personally, I don't like Mandriva's looks but its the only one which worked perfectly leaving alone Windows XP.

One more thing, Ubuntu from 7 to 9 didn't work in my system, always had display issues like the one I'm having with Mint. That implies all the distros based on Ubuntu won't work ?
So, please don't recommend any 'buntu !

BTW, my system is a compaq with AMD 3200 64+630 mb ddr ram+SiS 760 onboard gfx

Should I go for Mandriva 2010 LXDE or some others like Sidux ?
Please help

[lauren]

Hi!
Especially concerning 3G (UMTS)-USB modem: Since a couple of years I was testing those modems; result: no problem with Gnome (even the "old" CentOs 5.3: within 2 seconds Net without making entries!!), problems with each KDE-version (Mandriva, openSUSE, PCLinuxOS, ...even Mint 10 KDE!),
no problem with Mint 9 LXDE.
I first would try (live mediums) Isadora LXDE, afterwards PClinuxOS Gnome.

[marX]

Hi!
Especially concerning 3G (UMTS)-USB modem: Since a couple of years I was testing those modems; result: no problem with Gnome (even the "old" CentOs 5.3: within 2 seconds Net without making entries!!), problems with each KDE-version (Mandriva, openSUSE, PCLinuxOS, ...even Mint 10 KDE!),
no problem with Mint 9 LXDE.
I first would try (live mediums) Isadora LXDE, afterwards PClinuxOS Gnome.

So...I should checkout the PClinuxOS Gnome, right ?

What about the LXDE flavour ?
Does it use gnome's network manager or it have a 'native' one (in PClinuxOS lxde)?

[det4100]

If video is the only problem with your Mint install, and we are talking about a desktop, not a laptop, then you might want to get yourself an old or cheap video card and install it. I have always had video issues with SiS video chips. I have a bunch of old PCI - AGP video cards laying around just for this reason when installing Mint on older machines with on board SiS video.

Might free up some of that RAM also.

[lauren]

Hi!
Here you can see an overview (all distributions): http://distrowatch.com/
Maybe Sabayon is a good choice (new kernel): http://www.sabayon.org/

[marX]

Hi!
Here you can see an overview (all distributions): http://distrowatch.com/
Maybe Sabayon is a good choice (new kernel): http://www.sabayon.org/

After reading some reviews, I get a feeling that its more of a 'cutting edge' distro !
May be I'm wrong but for my old system, I guess its a bad idea !

Can you please tell me why you recommended it ?
I don't mean to be rude...just want to know why
Also how is the 'E17' ?

Thanks for the reply, BTW

If video is the only problem with your Mint install, and we are talking about a desktop, not a laptop, then you might want to get yourself an old or cheap video card and install it. I have always had video issues with SiS video chips. I have a bunch of old PCI - AGP video cards laying around just for this reason when installing Mint on older machines with on board SiS video.

Might free up some of that RAM also.

Heh...can you trade one for an Amazon gift card

You know its almost impossible to get an AGP card but.. ..I think I saw a box with 'Nvidia FX 5500' @a Lenovo showroom here !
I'm sure they would try to price it too high but lemme see !

One thing I can't understand is the fact that I played Sins of a Solar Empire with WINE on Mandriva 2009.1 on my SiS onboard graphics !
Also played F.E.A.R on the Win XP SP3 @DX8 without much problem too and now I can't even type docs @OOo without freezing the display !!!

[lauren]

Hi!
I' ve tested Sabayon/ KDE on a new computer - it works fine, detects all hardware ; the new kernel could be an argument; but I don't know something else.
As I wrote, I would first create a live Isadora LXDE , test it, and afterwards PCLinuxOS Gnome.
With Mandriva installed I once (some years ago) had many problems and I don't know how the support is (some developers of Mandriva created a new distro, Mageia, as far as I remember).

[marX]

Hi!
I' ve tested Sabayon/ KDE on a new computer - it works fine, detects all hardware ; the new kernel could be an argument; but I don't know something else.
As I wrote, I would first create a live Isadora LXDE , test it, and afterwards PCLinuxOS Gnome.
With Mandriva installed I once (some years ago) had many problems and I don't know how the support is (some developers of Mandriva created a new distro, Mageia, as far as I remember).

As I said above, mine is a very old pc and in an another thread, many warned me not to try distros like Ubuntu coz they are updated more frequently and the compatibility of less mainstream, old parts may be broken. That is why I asked you why is Sabayon an option for me.
Also I have 2gb capped data plan. So, downloading and trying out each distro might be costly !!

So if you say Sabayon is better than Ubuntu and supports older hardware, then its Sabayon for me. Else it is PClinuxOS gnome or LXDE !

[rdonnelly]

I have LMDE installed on three 5+ year old machines, I have never seen them run faster then they have with Debian. If you go from Mint 10 to LMDE on an older machine, you will think you had a hardware upgrade. And why worry about older hardware compatibility, Linux is not Windows, old hardware is always supported in every distro, and usually better supported then the new hardware.

[lauren]

Hi!
Sorry, I don't know enough about Sabayon.
But I had installed LMDE - only a few days (hardware problem).
Again: Try Isadora LXDE.

[grey1960envoy]

@Lauren; My computers... windows ist nicht vorhanden. LMDE vorhanden Windows verboten But as for the OPs question I had an old IBM 8183 that had 256 mb Ram and it ran Mint 9 Isadora Gnome fairly well (better than XP)

[marX]

I have LMDE installed on three 5+ year old machines, I have never seen them run faster then they have with Debian. If you go from Mint 10 to LMDE on an older machine, you will think you had a hardware upgrade. And why worry about older hardware compatibility, Linux is not Windows, old hardware is always supported in every distro, and usually better supported then the new hardware.

I had Mint 10 LXDE but the display issues forcing me to abandon it. While I was typing this, it hung on me !!!
I had to turn off the power !!

And yeah, I won't be getting any Ubuntu based distro coz their gfx driver for sis is crap !
I had enough of them (Ubuntu 7.10, 8.10, 9.04, Mint 10).

[wayne128]

I have LMDE installed on three 5+ year old machines, I have never seen them run faster then they have with Debian. If you go from Mint 10 to LMDE on an older machine, you will think you had a hardware upgrade. And why worry about older hardware compatibility, Linux is not Windows, old hardware is always supported in every distro, and usually better supported then the new hardware.

I had Mint 10 LXDE but the display issues forcing me to abandon it. While I was typing this, it hung on me !!!
I had to turn off the power !!

And yeah, I won't be getting any Ubuntu based distro coz their gfx driver for sis is crap !
I had enough of them (Ubuntu 7.10, 8.10, 9.04, Mint 10).

Sound like your hardware did not play well with buntu family.
May be kernel does not play well with your hardware.

But it worked well on Mandrive/PCLOS, yet you do not like Mandriva.

Well you know what was the rpm source. thus why not try rpm kernel?

1. Fuduntu, this is Fedora 14 based with gnome, current version 14.9
2. Scientific, which is RedHat based

for Debian based, I can think of Mepis and Knoppix.

Another avenue, Slackware based,
Salix
Zenwalk
Vector

[marX]

I have nothing against Mandriva, its just that I didn't like their icon scheme...sort of unfinished and broken !

Let me read some review of the distros you mentioned, off I go !!

Thanks for the reply !

[marX]

Double post Edited !

[lauren]

Hi!
http://forum.sabayon.org/viewtopic.php?f=86&t=20887:

The "_E17" in the file name refers to a release with the Enlightenment 17 desktop environment*. E17 is fine for both beginners and experienced users. It is designed to be fast and lightweight whilst looking attractive, and is another desktop environment that should work well with less powerful PCs, such as netbooks or older PCs. Nevertheless it is a full-featured desktop environment and emphasizes good looks. * According to the strict definition of the term 'Desktop Environment', E17 is actually a Window Manager and Desktop Shell. In practical terms, it's a desktop environment!

[marX]

Guys, I can get either Scientific Linux (based on Redhat) or Mandriva 2010.12 out of a tech magazine but I can't have both. I need to make that choice now !
Which one I should select ?

I'm a mech engr btw so I'm guessing Scientific Linux might be more useful ??
How is Redhat's hardware support ?

Thanks in advance !!

[wayne128]

Guys, I can get either Scientific Linux (based on Redhat) or Mandriva 2010.12 out of a tech magazine but I can't have both. I need to make that choice now !
Which one I should select ?

I'm a mech engr btw so I'm guessing Scientific Linux might be more useful ??
How is Redhat's hardware support ?

Thanks in advance !!

You can always download from their site. Unless you have bandwidth issue.
Also you had Mandriva before, why not go for Scientific?

By the way, the term Scientific is just a distro name, it really had nothing to be with being 'scientific' or have lots of 'scientific stuff'.. haha, read their details to learn some more

Anyway for me, I do not have bandwidth issue so I download a lots of Linux OS.

[mikhou]

Why not try Puppy Linux? They've got every version that has ever been produced out there for downloading, and it's small, light, and fast. If you feel like you need to get an older distro to work with your older computer, you can.

mikhou

[richnbernie]

There is no Best, only what you like Best.
I just put Mint 7 Gnome in a desktop purchased new the end of 2003. 1.4g CPU and 1gb ram. Runs ok. I put in a wireless pci card and good Internet connect. Love the Mint.

rich