I need to install Ubuntu / Linux on my laptop that has a Sony Vaio i3 processor with 2 GB RAM and 500 GB hard disk. Which version of Ubuntu / Linux is best supported & easy to install codecs on?
3 Answers
If you're looking for an OS that has low spec requirements, then you're looking at one of three of the Ubuntu derivatives. Take a look at this Ubuntu wiki page for more info
- Lubuntu (LXDE)
- Xubuntu (XFCE)
- Ubuntu MATE (MATE)
All three of these would be a good choice for your laptop's specifications.
I would personally choose one of those three over stock Ubuntu (Unity), Ubuntu GNOME (GNOME3) or Kubuntu (KDE) because they have higher minimum system requirements. However, I run stock Ubuntu (Unity) on a laptop with a Dual Core Core 2 Duo @ 1.6 GHz with 2.5 GB of RAM - so it's up to you.
Once you decide which derivative you're going to go with, you've got to decide which Ubuntu release to go with.
Currently, the supported versions are:
- 12.04 LTS (And all subsequent .x releases)
- 14.04 LTS (And all subsequent .x releases)
- 14.10
- 15.04
I would personally suggest using either 14.04 LTS (because it's stable and will be supported for 5 years) or 15.04 because it's the newest version. Basically, just ignore 14.10.
As for which architecture to choose, your processor is basically assured to be 64 bit - so I would just suggest downloading the 64 bit version. The 32 bit version will work, but if you have a 64 bit CPU you might as well make use of those extra 32 bits.
For this hardware I would recommend 32-bit version of Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS.
LTS are always preferred, especially for new users. And they are supported for 5 years.
32-bit, because there is only 2GB of RAM and 32-bit version uses less RAM. 64-bit should be almost as good.
You can install the latest version of Ubuntu (15.04), but i would recommend you to install the 14.04 LTS version.See this http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/install-ubuntu-desktop