Hey Guys! Need Some Help...
 

Hello everyone. This is my first time using this forum. Currently, I have an old Compaq computer which has been having problems running Windows XP Media Centre Edition. (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...name=c00753788) I've decided to replace the operating system with a Linux Distro, but I do not know which one is best for this PC. The specs are as followed:

Base processor
PentiumD 820 (S) DC 2.8 GHz
800 MHz front side bus
Socket 775
Chipset
ATI Radeon Xpress 200 for Intel Processors
Motherboard
Manufacturer: ECS
Motherboard Name: RC410-M
HP/Compaq motherboard name: Asterope3-GL8E
Memory
Memory Installed 1 GB
Hard drive
250 GB SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec)
7200 rpm

This PC will be used for causal browsing and maybe to do homework. Please help me choose the right distro which will run smoothly on these specs.


PS: I apologize if this should have been in the Distro section, I wasn't sure and chose to post it here

The distro that you like best is the best distro.

Try Mint - it is a popular distro.

With that processor and 1 GB RAM you have choices. However, to run well, you probably need to stick to the lighter weight desktops (definitely not KDE). I also have an XP media center with the same RAM and I can use Xubuntu quite well (that uses XFCE desktop). So, you probably should stay away from regular ubuntu, but you could easily handle Xubuntu and of course Lubuntu (LXDE) or any distros based off those. Mint is popular, but you probably need to stay clear of Cinnamon; Mint XFCE (similar to Xubuntu) would be fine and maybe Mint MATE (I'm not too familiar with mate, so others need to address that).

As for distro choice, there's no substitute for trying a few for yourself. If you can increase the RAM to 2 GB, it will run the "heavier" desktop environments. As with distro choice, DE or WM choice is a matter of personal taste.

I have 1GB, a slightly slower CPU, and no hardware graphics acceleration, so you're better off than I am!

Avoid the GUIs KDE, Gnome, Unity, and Cinnamon. Your best choice, for a reasonable selection of facilities and an interface that doesn't look too weird to an XP user, would be a distro using either the Mate or Xfce desktop.

Linux Mint Mate version will be fine and it's supported with bug-fixes for the next 5 years. You might like to look at AntiX MX for Xfce. Both distros come as a live DVD (or USB) image, so that you can try before you take the plunge and install.