The absolute newbie!

English Open Chat
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dear (future) friends!

after being a windows user for almost 20 years i finally decided to take the step towards Linux (at least as a dual boot system), something i was thinking of doing for some time now. The problem was and still is: i know nothing of Linux (except what i read here and there in the process of gaining information over the past few months).

I want to 1) “learn” linux “thoroughly” and 2) in time, once learned it good enough, make my contribution(s) to the linux community. But in order to do so, i must first learn it!

And that’s where i need your help! Before i jump to my questions, a short info on my PC: (a 9 year old system)

intel core 2 duo 2,40 GHz E4600 (64-bit), 3GB SDRAM, 1 TB hard drive (NEW), 2GB ASUS nVidia GeForce GT630 Graphics Card.

Running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. Partitions on hard drive: 3 partitions for windows (200 GB each) and 350 GB unused for my future linux system (my plan is: 50 or 60 GB /root, 5 GB /swap and the other 300GB for /user).

Q1. What is your recommendation for an absolute newbie: openSUSE, Ubuntu, or Linux Mint? Regarding ease of use, available software/packages and whether thay can be installed easily.

Q2. in connection with question 1: is my system sufficient for a 64-bit version of the above mentioned distributions? From the system requirements pages of the distributions i get the idea that Linux Mint (Cinnamon) or Ubuntu (Unity) would run faster on an older pc like mine? probably due to KDE? (seems it’s using lots of RAM?)

Q3. As i will use my first linux for daily work until i get to at least intermediate level, which distribution comes with more hardware drivers, multimedia codecs (audio and video) and pre-installed software (like office suite, pdf readers)?

and…

Q4. i am a physicist and learned fortran. but i started learning c++ and might learn other programming languages along the way. which distribution has the most compilers and/or IDE for those programming languages? (if that question makes sense!?)

Note: from what i read in other forum entries; i would prefer a stable distribution, one i can use for a long time. maybe one i can update easily or - if updating can cause crashes/malfunctioning - one i can use without updating.

i thank you all in advance for your help and advice and for taking your time to answering those questions. :slight_smile:

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Welcome
You system will be fine for most Linux distributions but, as in Windows, there will probably be limitations on what you can do in video.
You basically ask conflicting questions.
If you want something with everything to suit your hardware, Mint is reckoned the best for newbies. But, as you are a physicist, you might be better with Scientific Linux which is based on RedHat.
openSUSE is a good all round distribution with a bias towards those who are not complete newbies; but it has some of the most friendly forums. So you might get better support from openSUSE.
According to the Unix and Linux System Administrators Handbook, SUSE has the best documented config files and I found that these are also distributed with openSUSE.
Hope that gives some food for thought.

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Your system will run just fine with openSUSE 64-bit. Also, I think that openSUSE is good for beginners, despite what others may suggest. But, with your background, I do not think you can even be classed as a beginner: I fully expect you will be pleasantly surprised at how much you do know, already, and at how quickly you will pick up the rest.

For the record: I have installed openSUSE for complete newbies – not just to Linux, but some even to computers – and they have picked up anywhere from “good enough” to quite advanced.

For most, it has been a relatively smooth transition (or, as the case may be, a smooth first time for using a computer).

Note that I have installed for several different age groups, including old fogies (even older and fogier than me – and, yes, there are some of those;)). Most of the latter are of the type who, until I set them up, swore on their highest oath possible: “You will never get me within 20 feet of one of those confounded contraptions!”

Most of the latter now spend hours a day on their confounded contraptions communicating with old friends and relatives – via Facebook, mostly – who they haven’t been in touch with for years.rotfl!

Keep in mind, as John said, this is about the friendliest, most helpfull, and constructive forum communities on the internet.

Looking forward to interacting with you.

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  1. Honestly - Mint
  2. Avoid Unity, Mint with Mate is Good, but actually I find openSUSE Leap 42.2 KDE even better performance wise
  3. Mint
  4. All compare well IMO

Updates: Are necessary. Do not run a system online without keeping it updated. Mint does offer a 3 stage option for updates, meaning you opt for minimal updates that just apply necessary security patches.

However, I still prefer openSUSE and have far less issues with update management than with Mint (I manage quite a number of Mint machines for customers).

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For an absolute newbie I would maybe recommend Ubuntu but this is the OpenSUSE forum and there is nothing wrong with Suse for newbies. I would give it a try. IMO it caters to advanced and new users, yes. If you read a little bit on the Wiki it will be quite self explanatory what to do.

Your PC is just fine for OpenSUSE and even for KDE. I am convinced that Unity would be heavier than KDE on the same hardware of yours. Personally I use Xfce but you can choose from an array of desktops on Suse. You can try Gnome and there is also Mate.

It is true that Mint or Ubuntu is easier with the codecs but they are all available on Suse. You just have to add Packman following tutorials on this forum or the Wiki.

Why do I recommend OpenSUSE to a beginner? Because it is very stable (Leap version) and still quite recent regarding the applications and in the process of installing and using it you will learn some things, too.
And last but not least it has a great community.

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Hi there and thank you all for your replies guys (john_hudson, Frase_Bell, caf4926 and tinylagarto)

i’m aware that programming and multimedia may sound contradictory (@john hudson), but basically what i’m trying to do, using linux mainly for programming and other serious/scientific stuff. it would just be great to watch a movie/DVD on linus instead of having to switch over to windows. i’m not going to convert linux into a multimedia studio… at least not yet :slight_smile:

in the meantime, would also be nice to have a “good looking” and for a newbie familiar desktop.

hmmm. when i look back, maybe that’s really much to ask for.

perhaps i will download a few distro’s and use them as a live cd just to have an idea about them.

Thanks again @ everybody. i’ll keep posting, hopefully soon as an advanced member as you are

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Welcome. I think, as mentioned above, you will be really surprised how user friendly Linux is now. With your list of requirements and as a newbie I believe openSUSE will be a good option for you for programming and playing music/videos (just enable the Packman repo in YAST… search the forums for this… and how to get everything for that.). It looks good out of the box also.

If you need a lot of scientific stuff then either Scientific Linux (nor really so newbie friendly but is used by CERN and others) or a Debian based distro maybe Mint, maybe Ubuntu or even Debian itself, although that can be more difficult with codecs etc.

As for learning Linux. There is a wealth of info in our Forums. The Arch Wiki (I don’t recommend Arch for newbies as it is very cutting edge) is fantastic. There is a Debian handbook from their site and I understand Gentoo have very good wiki (again the distro is not for newbies). I would also recommend a couple of magazines namely Linux Format and Linux Magazine. They can be expensive but come with dvd’s with distros to try.

As an aside, I have installed Linux on all my family’s computers and offer it to friends. No-one has complained about it. In fact my daughter, who is an artist won’t use Windows or Apple… and even my Mother in Law has taken to it like a duck to water at her elderly age.

So, Good luck and I wish you all the best in your Linux adventures.

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Just adding my 2 cents to the already good answers…
I used openSUSE as my very first Linux (alas, too many years ago…) and my learning curve was very steep, so with your background I wouldn’t worry.

openSUSE Leap is rock solid (even 42.2 in the Gnome flavour apparently), crashes on updates are very rare if any and updates can generally be reverted just in case.
The only “non newbie friendly” feature IMHO is the repository structure, especially for non-OSS packages like codecs, proprietary video drivers and the like, but once you manage YaST-Software and get used to it it’s all downhill…

My test system (see signature) is even older and thinner than yours and the only things I cannot seriously do there are video editing, running virtual machines or relatively heavy compiling-building or number crunching: but this is fairly independent of distro and even worse with Win…

40-50 GB for /root is more than enough for the default install, 20-25 may be enough if you choose the EXT4 filesystem; 5 GB swap seems overkill, 3GB is what you need with 3GB RAM, even less if you don’t plan on using suspend-to-disk (AKA “hibernate”).

Looking forward to read you in the Forums, you’ll find this community to be VERY supportive and not afraid of newbies :wink: