Suggest an OS

[starbug7]

I have an old netbook which has the following specifications:-
Intel Pentium B950 @ 2.10GHz processor ,2GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz,Generic PnP Monitor (1366x768 @ 60Hz),14-inch LED display,Hitachi 320GB Drive.
I feel that Windows 7 is the best OS for this device and I'd like to install a new OS which is somewhat Lightweight,Highly Fluid,and has an AWESOME Design.
I would use this device for heavy browsing(5-10 tabs),listening music,watching heavy file sized videos.
So,can anyone Recommend me the right OS?

 

[Puffnstuff]

With only 2gb or ram you won't be doing heavy anything with it including browsing and the specs are very low end. I would suggest that you buy a new laptop with windows 10 rather than spend money on an operating system for that unit. If you really want to just buy an os then buy an upgradable version of 7 if it is cheaper than 10 and perform the in place upgrade to 10. If you don't like it roll back and at least your hardware will be able to clean install to 10 later for no charge. Otherwise you'll have to spend even more money to buy 10.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I think I'd give 10 a shot.

Both because 8(.1)/10 tend to run slightly better then 7 on lower end hardware, and 10 (with the fall update/version 1511) supports memory compression. Which will help you get the most out of those 2GB RAM.

If you're willing to try something completely different, Linux Mint is pretty nice.

 

[sbpromania]

I second the advice about Windows 10. You can give it a try and see how it is working, and if you don't like it, there's always Linux (considering your activities).

As for Linux, you can go with Mint, Elementary OS or LXLE.

 

[JackMDS]

Few years ago I used Win 7 Starter for similar laptops, it works well for everything but Video (Movies and similar content)..

The Video issue is Not solvable with any OS because the old (especially Intel) Video chipsets can not handle fast Video No matter what.

So check first the Chipset in the laptop before you invest in the "old geezer".

 

[Insert_Nickname]

The Video issue is Not solvable with any OS because the old (especially Intel) Video chipsets can not handle fast Video No matter what.

So check first the Chipset in the laptop before you invest in the "old geezer".

It's a Pentium B950, so it's Sandy Bridge based. Which means the IGP* is integrated into the CPU, and quite capable of HD h.264 decoding.

*Essentially a HD2500 with a few features disabled.

 

[ArisVer]

I find my notebook accomplishing these very easy with W8.1. Adding more memory will help.

 

[ArisVer]

The graphics are identified as Intel HD Graphics by the Device Manager, the Intel Graphics and Media Control Panel, CPU-Z and GPU-Z. HWiNFO says its Intel HD Graphics 2000. I have connected my 23inch x1080 with the notebook screen and its good enough with some lag at times.

 

[sweenish]

I wouldn't buy an OS for hardware that old.

I would use any distro that uses Cinammon or KDE. Probably Ubuntu or Fedora or Mint. Or SuSE.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I wouldn't buy an OS for hardware that old.

I don't know, I wouldn't spend windows license money, but I'd certainly encourage the OP to make a donation to whichever linux/illumos/bsd distro they put on it. Pay it forward if you can afford it!

I would use any distro that uses Cinammon or KDE. Probably Ubuntu or Fedora or Mint. Or SuSE.

The nice thing about Ubuntu and Fedora, especially, is that they come in so many flavors. I think Fedora and Kubuntu's KDE Plasma 5 desktop looks top-notch, but it might be a bit heavy for someone running only 2 GB of RAM.

Luckily, they both come in lxde and xfce flavors as well! Lubuntu and Xubuntu, and various Fedora Spins.

 

[sweenish]

I don't know, I wouldn't spend windows license money, but I'd certainly encourage the OP to make a donation to whichever linux/illumos/bsd distro they put on it. Pay it forward if you can afford it!

Good point.

The nice thing about Ubuntu and Fedora, especially, is that they come in so many flavors. I think Fedora and Kubuntu's KDE Plasma 5 desktop looks top-notch, but it might be a bit heavy for someone running only 2 GB of RAM.

Luckily, they both come in lxde and xfce flavors as well! Lubuntu and Xubuntu, and various Fedora Spins.

Also a good point.

I suggested those DE's based on the OP, but 2 GB might be the minimum allowed. MATE could be a good compromise. I kind of wish lxqt would hurry up and officially launch.

Although I think I have Debian running Cinammon in a VM with only 2 GB and it's performing pretty well. My virtual hardware probably still outclass's OP's laptop, though.

 

[pigsty]

For reasons I can't explain, I feel obligated to chime in here. I use Linux Mint Rafaela (17.2) with the XFCE desktop environment on several old laptops and a few netbooks, some with only 1 GB of RAM, and I am amazed by the performance. There is an excellent guide for tweaking Mint XFCE to make it work even better, you can find it with a simple Google search. Take it for a spin around the block and put that old hardware back to work. I use various Linux distros just for the hell of it (LXLE, Zorin, Elementary and Puppy), but Mint XFCE is my daily driver.

 

[DustinBrowder]

Windows XP. It does everything the new systems do, but its memory footprint is only 250mb, win 7 and later all use around 1GB of memory on their own.

 

[Mem]

Windows XP. It does everything the new systems do, but its memory footprint is only 250mb, win 7 and later all use around 1GB of memory on their own.

XP is a dead OS so I would not even waste my time installing it, as to alternatives I think Linux distros like Mint, lubuntu would be great.

 

[Magic Carpet]

You guys keep debating but the OP seems to have disappeared. Without his/her input, it's gotten useless to make further recommendations.

Windows XP. It does everything the new systems do, but its memory footprint is only 250mb, win 7 and later all use around 1GB of memory on their own.

Yeah, XP could be an option but without technical expertise may be not the best. I know these toys ram can easily be upgraded. With 4-8 gigs of RAM, any modern Windows/*nix should be fine.

 

[ninaholic37]

I feel that Windows 7 is the best OS for this device

So,can anyone Recommend me the right OS?

I think this is a riddle and the "right" answer was already part of the question.

 

[John Connor]

Don't listen to the crap about not being able to browse the Internet with only 2 GB of RAM. I have a netbook with XP SP3 that I use as the kitchen kiosk. I have an external monitor, mini bluetooth keyboard and USB mouse attached. It has PhoneTray, a Teamspeak server, Pale Moon, Firefox, Imunet, and a Filezilla SFTP server where the storge is on a 15 GB SD card. I can browse the Internet just fine. Especially with me using uBlock (Not the Origin version) in Pale Moon. It's slower to load than a normal PC of course, but it works. And I can play YouTube videos. But I also use the addon in Pale Moon called YouTube All HTML5. But I had to modify the install.rdf file to get it installed. HTML5 works a lot better in YouTube. Firefox you would have no trouble.

You may want to try Windows 7.
http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/19716-best-version-windows-7-netbook.html

I also clone my netbook with AOMEI Backupper from a USB stick. You have to boot AOMEI first and then right away plug in the destination USB stick for the clone. If both USB sticks are plugged in, you may not be able to boot AOMEI Backupper.