I’m resetting windows 10 on my Thinkpad T580 for work but would like to create a partition for linux. It’s an older laptop and really chugs through games like Minecraft or RuneScape but I enjoy playing relaxing games while I listen to audiobooks at night. I grew up using windows which is why I’ve mostly used Ubuntu and ZorinOS in the past but I’d like to expand my horizons to something like kubuntu. I value good UI/UX design and something lightweight for my old potato. Any recommendations on Linux distros?
** Thanks for all the input! I tried Fedora first but it felt kind of clunky to me. Then I tried out Mint xfce and it’s right up my alley! I can run a separate Firefox profile right off the task bar that runs outside of my VPN which is perfect for Netflix and other sites that have issues. So far loving how customizable it is. Minecraft runs ok off GDLauncher, and lutris is really cool. I forgot I had a boat load of old GOG games that are perfect for this laptop. I really fucking love Linux 😆
I’m using Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop on a Thinkpad older than yours, and everything works fine for me. I’ve seen somebody saying that the Xfce edition is slow for them, but maybe the MATE one is lightweight enough for you.
XFCE is usually lighter than MATE, whoever is saying it’s slow has done a goofy
I like XFCE. It feels like a retro early 2000s-like gui and is up to date enough to be reasonably usable. Would be nice if there was a way to get a search bar in the start menu and window snapping (that thing where dragging Windows to the edges of the screen makes them resize to take up half the screen).
Look up Whisker Menu for XFCE to get search
XFCE supports window snapping. Just go into Settings manager -> Window Manager and at the Advanced tab, you will have the option to check Windows snapping