I am a complete beginner in the linux world,having migrated from windows the w/end before easter. I am currently using open suse 9.1 and so far am very impressed!
what are the advantages gained from 11.1 compared to my system, which I should add is little more than a steam engine, the hardware being nearly 10yrs old:shame:
That took me back, as for benefits plenty a lot has changed since then not mention it is unsupported so no longer getting updates.
As for hardware the main thing seems to be ram, but I have heard of Suse being run on some pretty ancient things.
Easiest thing maybe to try a livecd first, you may decide to use a lighter weight desktop(LXDE,XFCE,*BOX) than KDE but I’m pretty sure someone will add I run it on xxx.
Main adavantage, 11.1 is still supported, 9.1 is dead for nearly 3 years now.
Main potential disadvantage, 11.1 needs more RAM (at least 512 MB), but 9.1 is no option even for weaker hardware.
If your hardware is too weak for 11.1 (or any other modern distro with comparable features) use one of the “slim” distros (visit distrowatch.org for more information).
On Wed, 2009-04-15 at 15:46 +0000, john lansdown wrote:
> I am a complete beginner in the linux world,having migrated from windows
> the w/end before easter. I am currently using open suse 9.1 and so far
> am very impressed! what are the advantages gained from 11.1 compared
> to my system, which I should add is little more than a steam engine, the
> hardware being nearly 10yrs old:shame:
>
11.1 has fewer security holes.
11.1 is supported.
11.1 could be very slow on old hardware.
11.1 might not even work well at all on old hardware.
If you’re not using a fat desktop (Gnome/KDE), then
I think you might want to consider looking at 11.1 (after
doing a full backup).
On 4/15/2009 11:56 AM, Akoellh wrote:
> Main potential disadvantage, 11.1 needs more RAM (at least 512 MB), but
> 9.1 is no option even for weaker hardware.
>
Only if you use Gnome or KDE.
> If your hardware is too weak for 11.1 (or any other modern distro with
> comparable features) use one of the “slim” distros (visit
> distrowatch.org for more information).
>
openSUSE is as “slim” as any other distro, it all depends on the DE/WM
you decide to use.
On 4/15/2009 4:47 PM, 69_rs_ss wrote:
> [snip]
9.1 System Requirements
Processor
Intel: Celeron, Pentium® to Pentium® 4, Xeon®, EMT64®
AMD: K6/II/III, Duron™, Athlon™, Athlon™ XP/MP, Athlon 64™
Main memory
At least 128 MB are required for the installation with YaST2 in
graphical mode; 256 MB recommended
Hard disk
400 MB to more than 2 GB (Personal Edition) or 6 GB (Professional
Edition) for the installation of all packages; 2 GB or more
recommended
11.1 System Requirements
Processor: Intel—Pentium 1-4 or Xeon; AMD—Duron, Athlon, Athlon
XP, Athlon MP, Athlon 64, Sempron or Opteron
Main memory: At least 256 MB; 512 MB recommended
Hard disk: At least 500 MB for minimal system; 3 GB recommended for
standard system
Sound and graphics cards: Supports most modern sound and graphics cards
DVD-ROM Drive (required for installation from DVD media)
As you can see the system requirements are pretty much equal. The memory
is now at a 512 recommended because of the fact the KDE/Gnome are very
resource intensive. If memory is an issue, I’d suggest going to XFCE4 or
LXDE.
Thankyou guys (and/or gals) for your comments and comparisons, I think all quite helpful. Luckily, I have made a few upgrades over the years, and have approx half a gig of ram, and 8 or 9 gigs of space on the hdd. The system reported back during installation, that I have a Celeron coppermine processor running at about 550 or 560 something. Anyway, it is running the version of KDE shipped with 9.1 with no trouble at all.
I would like to say again what a great system this open suse seems to be (albeit pretty complicated) once again thankyou all.