Would it be wise to install Ubuntu 10.10 on Dell E1505 and what is the best next option?

Question

I am worried that this thing will run slowly. I plan on making the most of the OS. If I stick with 10.10, then I plan on following this:

http://www.unixmen.com/linux-tutorials/937-things-to-do-after-installing-ubuntu-1004-lts-lucid-lynx or something similar for 10.10.

Do you believe that the E1505 laptop can handle such a beast? If barely, then what are some good approaches to tuning the Ubuntu OS to make it run faster?

I will install XUbuntu if I have to, but I am not thrilled about the idea (because I think it comes with less stuff).

What is the major difference between the two by the way? Also, would it help if I recompiled the kernel after installation? I have heard that it is a major pain to do that and it can break things.

Let me know if you have questions.

Answer 1

I am worried that this thing will run slowly.

Do you believe that the E1505 laptop can handle such a beast? If barely, then what are some good approaches to tuning the Ubuntu OS to make it run faster?

Your system should be fine. 512MiB RAM might be a bit tight, but shouldn't be a problem, unless you run really heavy apps (such as Eclipse, or OpenOffice with many documents open at once).

If you run into problems, you can always throw out stuff that consumes too much RAM. The nice thing about Linux is that it's modular.

I will install XUbuntu if I have to, but I am not thrilled about the idea (because I think it comes with less stuff).

What is the major difference between the two by the way?

The difference is just that XUbuntu uses a different Desktop environment (XFCE), which is more light-weight but with a bit less features. There's no reason to worry about other software; you can install the same software as on Ubuntu, as the same programs will run on both.

Also, would it help if I recompiled the kernel after installation? I have heard that it is a major pain to do that and it can break things.

This used to be necessary, but that's no longer the case. You only need to recompile if you have special drivers that need it (which is rare).

Ubuntu should be fine. Have fun!

Answer 2

if you're really worried, use xfce instead of gnome, it is better for systems with minimal resources and will let ubuntu run much better. You don't need to run Xubutu for this, its just preconfigured this way, ubuntu is capable of running with just xfce.

Answer 3

I'd recommend Xubuntu. It can run everything Ubuntu does - the only difference is the desktop manager.

Just be aware that 10.10 is still in Beta so you mileage may vary. The stable release will come out on October 10.

Answer 4

Ubuntu is like any other system gets more slow as long as you keep loading it with software..

512MB RAM will make the running of Windows apps slow a bit (using Wine or PlayOnLinux) for example.

Ubuntu is so much faster than Windows and for your processor (Intel Core Duo Processor T2500 at 2.0 GHz per core) the installation and running of the system will be fast and you'll like it but as I said don't install lots and lots of software that you dont need.

Screenlets eat a lot of memory, too (I use Google Gadgets instead).

By the way, Ubuntu 10.10 is still Beta which means that it still has some bugs, why dont you use Ubuntu 10.04.1 instead?