Recommended Linux OS for Inspiron 1520

Question

Hi Guys,

Which is the best linux OS for Inspiron 1520 ???

Configuration in detail

Base Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 Processor (1.8GHz,800MHz,2MB L2 cache)

Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium - English

Memory 2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]

Keyboard Internal Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY)

Video Card nVidia® GeForce™ Go 8400M GS with 128MB DDR2 dedicated graphic memory

Hard Drive 160GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive

Modem 56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter - UK

Optical Devices Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including Software

Wireless Networking Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini-Card - Europe

Primary Battery Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)

Dell System Media Kit Resource DVD - (Diagnostics & Drivers)

Colour Choice Jet Black Colour with Matte Finish & Integrated 2.0 mega pixel web camera

LCD 15.4" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™

Thanks,

Raj

timothyb89 · Answer

If you're into (too much) user-friendliness, go for Ubuntu (http://ubuntu.com/). If you want something that actually has software that'll get you started with Linux and keep you going (and going, and going...), and also has one of the best installers out there (puts Vista's to shame), go for openSuSE. If you want eye candy, get SuSE Linux Enterprise Edition (free like all the other ones I've mentioned) or Sabayon Linux ( www.sabayonlinux.org), which is the official distribution for Beryl (see: this or this) If you find that those are not 'for you', grab a copy of VirtualBox ( VirtualBox.org) and try out any other of the popular distros such as Fedora, Xandros, Freespire, Mandriva, Debian, and Zenwalk.

Message Edited by timothyb89 on 07-25-2007 10:12 PM

ByCo · Answer

My favorite is SimlpyMEPIS 6.5, the ISO can be downloaded from mepis.org but you might prefer something else. I would suggest that you try several different distributions. There are many that are available as a live cd such as Ubuntu Live, SimplyMEPIS, Knoppix and many more. With a live cd you can run it completely from the cd without installing anything to your hard drive. That way you can test each one to see what works best with your hardware and which one you like the look and feel of the most. Distrowatch.com keeps track of most Linux distro's and has links to each one's home page and support forums.

I recommend SimplyMEPIS because, from my experience, it does the best job of automatically detecting and configuring hardware. There's a very good chance that it will have everything working "out of the box" without you having to do any tinkering.

floba · Answer

I would prefer 'Linux Mint 3.0' (see 'http://linuxmint.com/' ) over Ubuntu because it ships with better multimedia-support out-of-the-box (including DVD-playback). Furthermore it is based on Ubuntu 7.04 'Feisty Fawn' and its repositories, which means you can download and use all the software available for Ubuntu hassle-free. Maybe 'PCLinuxOS 2007' (see 'http://www.pclinuxos.com/' ) is an alternative for you as well... If you want to know about the many different Linux-distributions that are available out there (including lots of reviews) have a look at 'http://distrowatch.com/' .

tashmooclam · Answer

Linux mint is Ubuntu but a little bit prettier and more complete. I would recommend this to anyone. I have Ubuntu and the required downloads of Flash, etc. may take forever if you do NOT have DSL or faster. I was sweating because I was looking at a new OS, opened windows onto ubuntu forums to read howtos, etc. etc. It was unnecessary if I had installed Linux Mint instead. If you have DSL or faster, it is not difficult, but why hassle with it? Linux Mint.

meuge · Answer

I have just installed Ubuntu 7.04 on a system that seems pretty much identical to yours. The installation took about 45 minutes, and all devices were detected and configured automatically. Wifi, and 3D worked perfectly after activating the 'restricted drivers' as requested at first boot.

meuge · Answer

@tashmooclam wrote:
Meuge, Which Ubuntu 7.04 did you install? "PC" (32 bit) or the "64 bit" version?

The 32bit one. There are still a lot of problems with the 64-bit version... but that's common to both Windows and Linux (I mean, there isn't even a 64-bit Flash).

tashmooclam · Answer

Meuge, Which Ubuntu 7.04 did you install? 'PC' (32 bit) or the '64 bit' version?

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Recommended Linux OS for Inspiron 1520

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