Which Linux would be best for an old computer and a new Linux user?
 

Can you look at my system specs and let me know which flavor of Linux you would recommend?

System specs:

Power Supply: 550w
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4400+
Clock Speeds: Max: 2300MHz 1: 1000MHz 2: 1000MHz
RAM: 2GB Capacity
Hard Drive: 160GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7050 PV / NVIDIA nForce 630a
Sound Card: Realtek High Definition audio


I would like something user-friendly (my younger sister (15yo) will be the primary user) that can run Steam.

At the moment I have antiX on it, but after days of messing around in the terminal the Steam client is still crashing. After uninstalling and reinstalling through the terminal, it won't connect to the Steam network. When I try the command [steam --reset] it says the bootstrap is missing.

I'm throwing in the towel. All I want is an OS that functions well on the computer and runs Steam so I can play games with my sister.

Thanks in advance to all answers.

Well, if all you're going to be using it for is Steam, you might want to give SteamOS a try (just be aware as it is still beta)

A close second choice would be Ubuntu as it is Valve's distro of choice, and is supported by Valve pretty well. Also gives better than average performance, especially compared to the "the world's most advanced operating system"...even on Apple's home turf.

There's only so much an older CPU and video card can do to play Steam-delivered games (some of which might require new hardware to be playable with decent graphics and performance).

antiX already is supposed to be rather lightweight and ideal for older computers; if you're having issues with the Steam client on antiX there I'm not sure if a "fuller-featured" system will be any better.

However, if you don't have anything you need to back up on the machine, I'd try experimenting with a few different distributions to see what works the best; you could always be pleasantly surprised.

I'd give Linux Mint 17.2 MATE a go, as well as maybe Lubuntu (LXDE-based Ubuntu) and/or Ubuntu MATE, and see if things appear any better or worse. In any of these, I'd also recommend trying to enable the "proprietary" nVidia graphics video drivers (if available), which can make a big difference in gaming performance.


Good luck!


strick

antiX works fine but there's something wrong with the Steam download. It crashes once I try to login. My problem with antiX (and why I'm looking into other OSs) is the lack of google results. I could probably get Steam to work through antiX, but I can't find much on how to do it. Everything is targeted towards other Linux systems. So I figured I'd try something else.

I have tried Ubuntu and it kept freezing whenever I tried to use more than one application at once. Since everyone in the family multitasks I figured it wouldn't work out.

I just finished making a disk for Lubuntu and I am currently making on for Linux Mint. I will test them both out.

SteamOS looks interesting, but it makes me nervous since it's so new. I'll keep it in mind for the future if other OSs fail to work the way I want them to.

Also, I realize most games will require newer systems. The only game my sister wants to play at the moment is GMod. I personally wanted to upgrade the hardware, but my mom doesn't have the funds for it right now. So I'm doing what I can for her without needing to buy anything.

Hi...

Let us know how that goes. :)

Regards...

http://sparkylinux.org/tag/gameover/

Nuff said.

I really like the look of Linux Mint, so much so that I installed it to try Steam. Once again I get to the login and it starts to connect, then crashes and brings me back to the login screen. I'm thinking there must be something wrong/missing with my driver. Does anyone know what to type in the terminal to check this? It's an old graphics card, so maybe I need to install something to update it?

Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 7050 PV / NVIDIA nForce 630a

Hi...

My GeForce 6150SE on my desktop system does pretty well considering its age. ;)

Have you tried installing Nvidia's proprietary driver yet? If not, try the easy instructions here. :)

Regards...

The ppa repository stuff gave me a long list of warnings. It's asking if I want to continue and I honestly have no clue if I should.

What should I do?! Should I continue following the instructions? The last thing I want is to crash this computer making it completely unusable...

Open the system settings on Linux mint. Go to the part about hardware drivers, the icon looks like a little pci card. Install the nVidia legacy drivers, not the newest drivers but the legacy ones. You should be good after that with the graphics card.

Hi...

Wow, I didn't expect these kind of messages! Yes, stop here and try using the driver manager instead, as mentioned here, (although you may be using a slightly newer version of Mint.) Do a search on the OS if you can't find it. If this doesn't work, let us know. :)

EDIT: jkirchner's instructions should work on finding the driver manager. I would install at least version 304, if it's available. ;)

Regards...

Thank you! That was incredibly easy! I've been messing around with this stuff for days and with one click Steam is working!!! It crashed the desktop, but after rebooting everything is working fine!

Thanks to everyone who gave me recommendations! I really like Linux Mint, but if it's too much for my system I will look into the Sparky Linux Game Over. Nothing is set in stone. :D

You're welcome, glad you got it working. :)

If you would, please mark this thread as "SOLVED" by clicking on "Thread Tools" directly above your initial (first) post on this thread. Thanks!

Regards...