How to partition and install Ubuntu 14.04 on an Asus Vivobook S46CA with a 20GB SSD and 1TB HDD

Question

I'm new in Linux world. My entrance is due to the awful Windows 8 which came installed by factory in my Asus Vivobook S46CA (i7 / 6GB RAM / 20GB SSD / 1TB HDD). What a bad experience.

I tried to install the Ubuntu 14.04 as a dual boot with Windows 8, but I was not successful, so I decided to erase Windows and install Ubuntu 14.04. I've done that, but as far as I understood the standard installation of Ubuntu 14.04 didn't take into consideration the existence of my SSD.

I would like to change installation or reinstall Ubuntu to use the SSD to improve Ubuntu's performance and use 2 partitions on the HDD to store photos, music and personal files. My guess is to divide the HDD in two: one of ~200GB to be used as /home for Ubuntu and another of ~800GB to use as data storage. The SSD would be used in two partitions: one of about 18GB or less for / installation of Ubuntu and another ~2GB partition for swap.

Is this partitioning scheme enough for apps in Ubuntu? Should I create another HDD partition for Linux apps/software installation? Can someone please clarify if this scheme is OK and let me know more about how to configure the partitions? Can it all be done through the Ubuntu's installation wizard?

I do not intend to use the computer as a gaming platform, but I would like to edit some home videos. That's probably the best performance that I'll need.

Answer 1

Your partitioning idea is good 18 GB for / , 2 GB for swap in SSD and 200 GB for /home. You can make a partition for user apps as much as you wish (say 100 GB) and mount it at /usr. This custom partition scheme can be done by choosing "Something else" in Installation Type

Answer 2

WHAT I'VE DONE:

For the users which find my question useful, I'm going to explain how I've done:
20GB SSD:
. 10GB for /
. 3GB for /var
. 1GB for /tmp
. 6GB for swap
I've based my partitioning on Ubuntu's official installation manual. Please refer to that document.

1TB HDD:
. 200GB for /usr
. 400GB for /home
. 400GB for /DATA (personal media files)

That has worked pretty fine (1 day after). It feels that the speed was improved. The boot loader was kept at the 1TB HDD. Thanks for the support. Everything was done using Ubuntu's 14.10 live session CD, GParted (to remove the old Windows 8 partitions and set the new partitions configuration), and the Ubuntu's installation wizard.