Background: I am a lifelong Windows user who is planning to move to Linux in October, once Microsoft drops support for Windows 10. I use a particularly bad laptop (Intel Celeron N3060, 4 GB DDR3 RAM, 64 GB eMMC storage).

I do have some degree of terminal experience in Windows, but I would not count on it. If there are defaults that are sensible enough, I’d appreciate it. I can also configure through mouse-based text editors, as long as there is reliable, concise documentation on that app.

So, here’s what I want in a distro and desktop environment:

  • Easy to install, maintain (graphical installation and, preferably, package management too + auto-updating for non-critical applications)
  • Lightwight and snappy (around 800 MB idle RAM usage, 10-16 GB storage usage in a base install)
  • Secure (using Wayland, granular GUI-based permission control)

I have narrowed down the distributions and desktop environments that seem promising, but want y’all’s opinions on them.

Distributions:

  • Linux Mint Xfce: Easy to install, not prone to randomly break (problems: high OOTB storage usage, RAM consumption seems a little too high, kind of outdated packages, not on Wayland yet)
  • Fedora: Secure, the main DEs use Wayland (problems: similar to above except for the outdated packages; also hard to install and maintain, from what I have heard)
  • antiX Linux (problems: outdated packages, no Wayland)

Desktop Environments:

  • Xfce: Lightweight, fast, seems like it’d work how I want (problems: not on Wayland yet, that’s it)
  • labwc + other Wayland stuff: Lightweight, fast, secure (problems: likely harder to install, especially since I have no Linux terminal experience, cannot configure through a GUI)

In advance, I thank you all for helping me!

I appreciate any help, especially in things like:

  • Neofetch screenshots, to showcase idle RAM usage on some DEs
  • Experiences with some distributions
  • double_quack@lemm.eeEnglish
    22·
    8 days ago

    Arch. Yes, it is a tough start, yes, you’ll type stuff on the terminal, but my good god…

    • Their documentation is the best.
    • You will learn a lot.
    • You’ll get the cool stuff before anybody else.
    • Your system will be as snappy as it can get.
    • updates? one single command is all you need.
    • your nerd friends will worship you, and your non-nerd friends will think you are a wizard.
    • Once you pass the initiation installation, your system can look as pretty as any other distro.