Choosing OS for my Old but Powerful PC :)
 

Hi. I've got this 10 years-old computer. Still it was a pretty powerful machine back for it's age:

CPU: AMD Atholon XP 1466mhz 32-bit (not sure which one... cuz i'm too lazy to open ***** out the physical processor) -- NOTE: It is overclocked but without any voltage upping - i.e. the maximum "untrue" overclock (a.k.a the highest possible without bumping the voltage).
RAM: 768mb of DDR2 Ram (i had 1GB, But since some time my BIOS is not detecting one of the 256 chips -- i have 1x512 and 2x256)
Video Card: nVidia GeForce FX 5900zt
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Live! 5.1
Hard Drive: 80gb Hard Disk

What i want: Something media oriented and low on resources. I intent to use it for interenet, FLASH-player applications like YouTube; etc. (d@mn..), presentations, music, Image editing (i know Linux doesn't have Photoshop, but D@MN i REALLY, REALLY DISLIKE (not to use the other word) that GIMP thing!) and generally stuff like that.

I don't play games, nor i need a professional audio recording studio. But my PC is 10 years old (although pretty powerful for its age) and i want something that can support 5-8 tabs of browser without lag, to play 360p of YouTube without problems and lag, and also be at least a bit more pretty than Puppy Linux 5.4 (precise).
My work is probably not going to be on PC directly, so i do not wish something too complicated - the simple it is the better, but i've got awesome PC compatibility and understanding (i grew with one after all) so if it's worth it - i can do more stuff manually, i ain't scared of that! ;)



Now:
I've tried Lubuntu 10.04, Ubuntu 10.04, Mint 13 MATE (couldn't install on this machine), Puppy Linux 5.04 (Precise) and i do not intent to use my time forever for installing different OS'.
The reason i don't use Windows XP is that i don't have money to buy it ATM and i DON'T want to steal and build my work/buisness knowledge on stolen software anymore.
And although i like Ubuntu 10.04, i H8 the fact that i can't use basic Flash-stuff (like uploading pictures, or YouTube) in it and it gets a bit slow when things start to get hot with the tabs and etc.

Given my processor and the rest of the hardware - which OS can you suggest me?
Thank you!! :) :)

Your 10 year old computer meets the minimum requirements for any of the top distros like Debian, Ubuntu, Slackware, etc. so long as you choose a lightweight desktop environment (Xfce, LXDE) and don't overwhelm it with too many "heavy" applications at once. (i.e. choose "lightweight" applications and avoid multitasking). However, Adobe Flash is a proprietary "closed source" product of Adobe (it is not "open source" Linux software) and your computer does NOT meet the minimum hardware requirements to run Adobe Flash on any Linux distro:

source: http://www.adobe.com/products/flashp...ech-specs.html

Therefore I recommend you purchase a new computer if you wish to play 360p Youtube in Linux without problems or lag. A temporary solution until you upgrade your hardware is to first download the video to your hard drive and then watch it with your favorite media player (mplayer, vlc, minitube, etc.) which may give better quality than streaming Flash.

My PC is originally 2,7GHRZ equivalent.
I'm not sure of the exact model.
BUT - it is also overclocked... don't forget that.

ANd.. you want to tell me that since i used to run these smoothly in Windwos XP... No Linux can achieve that??
Hmm... :)

Adobe is not Linux.
Linux will run just fine on your hardware for browsing/word processing/programming/image editing/media playback using open source software.
Linux developers cannot do anything about the crappy Adobe Flash plugin for Linux because it is closed source software. (Recommend you google those vocabulary terms if they are new to you.)

Also I highly doubt the current version of Windows would run well on your hardware either. (XP is over 10 years old)

I know. But in the end of the day... IT STILL DOES THE REQUIRED JOB! :)

Is there no replacement for Flash in Linux? How so? :)
Oh, and videos do start in Puppy Linux. But quality sux for good eyed viewers.

Based on your needs I recommend Windows XP.

I had more faith... truly! ;)

And i will not use pirate copy of Windows. Eh, i might check the Linux OS myself then..

This should work for you just fine. It did for me anyhows and that computer was a PITA.

http://antix.freeforums.org/adventur...507-t3209.html

Video I made of it also

http://www.screenr.com/bMh8

Linux is not the be all end all to performance issues. What I mean is just because you install Linux, specs do not become moot.

My cellphone has a faster CPU and more ram then that machine. My android device would be more suited for flash (it has it) then your machine. Sure, it is ARM, but it plays flash without issue and tech has moved good in the last ten years.

You don't like Puppy so what can we say? It is probably the easiest/lightest thing you will find. Try it and if it works GREAT! If not then sorry.

I believe you really ARE joking to me.
Years ago we believe in Microsoft. Then we grew and found out the world wide world (hehe).
It just happens so that Linux is so proud... so advertising and "efficient" that it's better than Windows that my humble self believed so.

I read threads about people with CPUs under 1Ghz ram trying to run some linux better than windows (solved threads, mind you!)
Mine actually works like 2,7 Intel Pentium, as i said. But regardless of that i can't run Linux?? You joking me?

So as i decided to register here i REALLY had high hopes.
This is disappointment. Not so much in Linux, but in the fact that i really believed i can get away with little less work of something. No, i just gotta dig it myself again.

...that OR when i buy my laptop in the upcoming near future i HIGHLY Doubt i'd have anything to do with Linux. Marketing has it all - but except what it says it offers.


Delete the thread, please - i'm out.

There are things that will run on your box. Flash is a resource hog, it is something Linux has no control over.

And no, I am not joking. My phone is indeed more powerful then your machine. Tinker a bit, but you can't expect a miracle from an old machine. I doubt your video has any capabilities to offload the work from your CPU. So you are completely CPU bound on a ten year old chip. Good luck with that.

Moore's Law explains why hardware over 10 years old is basically garbage as an everyday multimedia workhorse:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law

However if you are looking for fun projects:

http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2007/09...-old-computer/

Lol. Dude my PC still rocks 5 times more than your tehcno-g@rbage (honestly).
Can you PC still work the way it did 10 years ago? If it does, all the best to you. But it won't even reach that m@dafucking age, i bet!

I apologize for my bit of high-arogant-demeanor last night.
But still i REALLY had higher hopes for this forum. All i heard is "bla-bla, you have old PC, bla-bla".
Dudes.. in real life you can't always have the best gadjets, but you STILL have to Find a way to make the things work.
Given said that telling me what CAN'T be done is USELESS.
If you can't speak about what CAN and will be Good to BE done, i belive you have nothing to say.

Sust sayin'! :)

And i really won't operate here anymore, no offence taken though.

I think you are a bit of a troll, sorry!

You come here on a high horse talking about your 10 year old machine like it is possibly the fastest thing on the planet... BS! My technology will beat that machine on every level possible.

Then, you say you want this machine to be a media device and we tell you it is a bit aged for that, you get offensive.

Then you respond there might still be hope on this forum? How long have you used Linux? Just wondering, because you got answers from people whom have used it for years and have the right answers. But yet you disrespect us all by telling us "Dude my PC still rocks 5 times more than your tehcno-g@rbage (honestly)". Okay, really? I mean really? I mean honestly? I mean you really think that? You probably own a 1987 Ford Escort and think it will blow everything on the road away, eh?

Anyways, I gave you good advice. Take your machine and tinker. That is the beauty of this whole thing, the tools are all a download away and yet you sit here and waste our time instead of just playing with something and seeing if you can get the outcome you desire. I have the same resources at my fingertips that you do, I have learned what I know from tinkering... Is this not an option for you for some unknown reason?

Take that blazing fast uhhhh, capable, faster then anything on this site machine and have some ummmmm fun. There ya go!