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GSVRasputin
29-09-11, 08:42
Good Morning,
I was hoping that you folks could give me a couple of suggestions for a notebook distro. I would prefer some that has KDE or LXDE desktop environment very low power consumption, I have been using PClinuxOS, Mandriva and OpenSuse on my Acer 4820T and they work well but I find that they are a little sluggish this may be caused by the KDE bloat-ware though. Been thinking about WattOS R4 but not sure as they use chromium 12 (it has major power issues).

Any Ideas except ubuntu or lubuntu or kubuntu would be great.
Plan9
29-09-11, 08:50
If you want something easy to install: Linux Mint
If you want something more hands on but nimble: ArchLinux
GSVRasputin
29-09-11, 09:07
Of course Archlinux is an option, but not Linux mint. I have a strong dislike for Deb systems, I really can't explain why I don't like them I just don't.

Archlinux is a great distro, just not sure about it for my laptop.
Plan9
29-09-11, 09:35
Of course Archlinux is an option, but not Linux mint. I have a strong dislike for Deb systems, I really can't explain why I don't like them I just don't.

Archlinux is a great distro, just not sure about it for my laptop.
I run it on my laptop.

I will say you need ethernet for the initial install (it's easier than arsing about with wifi in the console), but after that you can pretty much do whatever you want.
GSVRasputin
29-09-11, 10:03
Might just give it a go this evening, while I am trying to study for RHCSA.

Thanks :thumb:
Plan9
29-09-11, 10:43
Also make sure you follow this guide:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners'_Guide

ArchLinux's online documentation is very good so even seasoned users like myself follow these guides

If the initial set up time is more than you can be bothered with yet you still fancy giving Arch a spin, then there's always http://chakra-project.org/
It's basically an Arch-based distro with KDE4

I personally prefer building my system myself - you know what gets installed and avoid what you don't want, plus when I last tried Chakra the project was still very much in it's infancy so was a touch on the buggy side. However as it's a live-cd installer, you can give it a try without committing to it.
GSVRasputin
29-09-11, 12:19
Nah I was using Chakra for a while last month and found it lacked in some areas, e.g while running from a USB Pen you could not save changes for the next boot, also there was a serious issue with the installer that failed shortly after the disk partitioning.

The reason that I didn't really want to go for Arch is I like for my laptop to just work out of the box. I got bored running Gentoo and Solaris as you always need to compile everything to meet your system and set up, I am under the impression that Arch was similiar in this aspect. Nice though that maybe for a Desktop or Server, I was thinking that on a laptop that would get on my nerves.

As I said, I'll give it a go tonight.
Plan9
29-09-11, 12:29
Nah I was using Chakra for a while last month and found it lacked in some areas, e.g while running from a USB Pen you could not save changes for the next boot, also there was a serious issue with the installer that failed shortly after the disk partitioning.



That was the same fault I was having last year. Glad to see they fixed it hehe.


The reason that I didn't really want to go for Arch is I like for my laptop to just work out of the box. I got bored running Gentoo and Solaris as you always need to compile everything to meet your system and set up, I am under the impression that Arch was similiar in this aspect. Nice though that maybe for a Desktop or Server, I was thinking that on a laptop that would get on my nerves.

As I said, I'll give it a go tonight.

You can compile everything for Arch if you wanted, but few people bother. Most people just pull binaries using pacman. So you get the power of Gentoo plus the ease of Debian (which I know you're not a fan of deb, but if you don't want to compile from source, you either have RPMs (which are awful), Debian packages or ArchLinux's binary tar-balls).
GSVRasputin
29-09-11, 12:42
RPM's are what I am used too. I shall have a play around tonight and post my results. My house mate is a big fan of Arch, so I have some back up if it all goes pete tong.

thanks again
Plan9
29-09-11, 12:53
RPM's are what I am used too. I shall have a play around tonight and post my results. My house mate is a big fan of Arch, so I have some back up if it all goes pete tong.

thanks again

Excellent

Let us know how you get on and if you have any other questions:)
Lorem-Ipsum
29-09-11, 14:48
I must say I do like .deb based systems..... but not ubuntu. Crunchbang is a lightweight debian based distro and can be very nice.

If you want an easy, all inclusive archlinux install try archbang.
GSVRasputin
30-09-11, 09:37
sorry last night my house mate suggested that we go "bird" watching, so I got decidedlly drunk.

Tonight's the night though!
Plan9
30-09-11, 10:42
sorry last night my house mate suggested that we go "bird" watching, so I got decidedlly drunk.

Tonight's the night though!

haha I hope you spotted some nice tits ;)