[techmi]

Currently, I have Windows 10 on my HP G62 Notebook but is Ubuntu faster? If so, do you guys recommend switching my current OS to Ubuntu?

Specification;

• Processor - Intel Core i3 M330 2.13 GHz 2 cores 4 threads (Arrandale)
• RAM - 4GB (3,80GB usable)
• Graphics Card - Intel HD Graphics 1st Gen 64MB VRAM (HDMI and VGA port)
• Hard Drive - SanDisk SSD Plus 480GB

Any answer would be pretty much appreciated.

[dlalonde]

Sure you can! Those are good specs except I'd consider getting a bit more RAM. The issue is that Ubuntu uses Gnome which is takes a lot of RAM. It used to be really bad but the Gnome team really made a lot of optimizations so it's a lot better now but I've used it with 4GB and it became annoying. If you can get 6 or 8 you should be fine.

Now I don't know how much you know about how Linux works but the graphical interface, or desktop environment, is independent from the OS itself. So, you have several options if you can't upgrade your RAM. One of the most popular alternatives from regular Ubuntu is Ubuntu MATE. It uses the MATE desktop environment which is a fork of Gnome 2 that was the main desktop environment before 2011. It's lightweight and very customizable.

If you're just coming from Windows and never tried Linux before, I'd highly recommend starting with Linux Mint. Under the hood, it's based on Ubuntu but they removed a lot of thing that most users don't need and added several others that make it way more solid especially for beginners or for people who don't want to tinker with it and just install it and use it. And with Cinnamon (the main Linux Mint desktop environment) it will be very familiar in comparison to Windows. They also have a MATE version but the Cinnamon version is a lot more appealing and modern.

Lastly, bear in mind that you probably won't find the same software you're used to on Linux. You can't use Office or Photoshop for example although you can obviously use Office Online. There are no official tools for using OneDrive or Google Drive and the unofficial tools are not that reliable. You'll find many of the same browsers (Chrome, Firefox and MS Edge soon, etc.).

But it's a great alternative and contrarily to what it once was, it's super user friendly now. You won't have to hunt for wifi drivers and such.

[me just saying]

I agree with the previous post. You should have no problems with your computer and Go with linux mint cinnamon. It is considered one of the best for beginners. The last time I used ubuntu, it had Unity on your desktop for navigation and IMO, it is bad and confusing if you don't know the names of the apps and software you want to run. Linux mint is more like windows and very easy to setup.

If you are a gamer, then it might be best to stick with windows. You can stream from most major video sites but the sites will not provide support if you have issues. Some windows programs will run on linux using wine. If you had not done so, you can run linux from a usb or disk to see how well your computer can handle it.

I have been running linux for almost 15 years and have it installed on all four of my computers. Only one dual boots with windows and the only time I run it is to make sure it is up to date and to help with responses to win10 related questions. I keep it just in case...