I am thinking of changing a Linux distribution what are my options

Tarq

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I would like to use programs similar to my Adobe XD and I have slow general performance and severe comment. What is the appropriate distribution for my device specifications and given that it is close to using Windows
Code:
tarek@Inspiron-N5110:~$ inxi -Fxxxrz
System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-64-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0
  Desktop: Xfce 4.14.2 tk: Gtk 3.24.13 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm4
  dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20 Ulyana base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal
Machine:
  Type: Portable System: Dell product: Inspiron N5110 v: N/A
  serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 8 serial: <filter>
  Mobo: Dell model: 0PPW8P v: A09 serial: <filter> BIOS: Dell v: A09
  date: 09/30/2011
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-2670QM bits: 64 type: MT MCP
  arch: Sandy Bridge rev: 7 L2 cache: 6144 KiB
  flags: avx lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 35122
  Speed: 798 MHz min/max: 800/3100 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 798 2: 797
  3: 798 4: 798 5: 798 6: 798 7: 798 8: 798
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics
  vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:0116
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa
  resolution: 1366x768~60Hz
  OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 3000 (SNB GT2)
  v: 3.3 Mesa 20.2.6 compat-v: 3.0 direct render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Family High Definition Audio
  vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0
  chip ID: 8086:1c20
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-64-generic
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL810xE PCI Express Fast Ethernet vendor: Dell
  driver: r8101 v: 1.035.03-NAPI port: e000 bus ID: 05:00.0
  chip ID: 10ec:8136
  IF: enp5s0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Dell
  driver: ath9k v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 09:00.0 chip ID: 168c:002b
  IF: wlp9s0 state: up mac: <filter>
  Device-3: Qualcomm Atheros AR3011 Bluetooth type: USB driver: btusb
  bus ID: 1-1.4:7 chip ID: 0cf3:3005
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 698.64 GiB used: 27.87 GiB (4.0%)
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Hitachi model: HTS547575A9E384 size: 698.64 GiB
  speed: 3.0 Gb/s rotation: 5400 rpm serial: <filter> rev: A50A scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 337.57 GiB used: 27.87 GiB (8.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda5
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 55.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list
  1: deb [arch=amd64] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
  1: deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
  1: deb http://mirrors.evowise.com/linuxmint/packages ulyana main upstream import backport
  2: deb http://mirrors.isu.net.sa/pub/ubuntu-releases focal main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://mirrors.isu.net.sa/pub/ubuntu-releases focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://mirrors.isu.net.sa/pub/ubuntu-releases focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Info:
  Processes: 326 Uptime: 4h 34m Memory: 7.68 GiB used: 5.74 GiB (74.7%)
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash
  v: 5.0.17 running in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.0.38
tarek@Inspiron-N5110:~$
 


I would like to use programs similar to my Adobe XD and I have slow general performance and severe comment. What is the appropriate distribution for my device specifications and given that it is close to using Windows
Code:
tarek@Inspiron-N5110:~$ inxi -Fxxxrz
System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-64-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0
  Desktop: Xfce 4.14.2 tk: Gtk 3.24.13 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm4
  dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20 Ulyana base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal
Machine:
  Type: Portable System: Dell product: Inspiron N5110 v: N/A
  serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 8 serial: <filter>
  Mobo: Dell model: 0PPW8P v: A09 serial: <filter> BIOS: Dell v: A09
  date: 09/30/2011
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-2670QM bits: 64 type: MT MCP
  arch: Sandy Bridge rev: 7 L2 cache: 6144 KiB
  flags: avx lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 35122
  Speed: 798 MHz min/max: 800/3100 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 798 2: 797
  3: 798 4: 798 5: 798 6: 798 7: 798 8: 798
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics
  vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:0116
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa
  resolution: 1366x768~60Hz
  OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 3000 (SNB GT2)
  v: 3.3 Mesa 20.2.6 compat-v: 3.0 direct render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Family High Definition Audio
  vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0
  chip ID: 8086:1c20
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-64-generic
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL810xE PCI Express Fast Ethernet vendor: Dell
  driver: r8101 v: 1.035.03-NAPI port: e000 bus ID: 05:00.0
  chip ID: 10ec:8136
  IF: enp5s0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Dell
  driver: ath9k v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 09:00.0 chip ID: 168c:002b
  IF: wlp9s0 state: up mac: <filter>
  Device-3: Qualcomm Atheros AR3011 Bluetooth type: USB driver: btusb
  bus ID: 1-1.4:7 chip ID: 0cf3:3005
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 698.64 GiB used: 27.87 GiB (4.0%)
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Hitachi model: HTS547575A9E384 size: 698.64 GiB
  speed: 3.0 Gb/s rotation: 5400 rpm serial: <filter> rev: A50A scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 337.57 GiB used: 27.87 GiB (8.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda5
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 55.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list
  1: deb [arch=amd64] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
  1: deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
  1: deb http://mirrors.evowise.com/linuxmint/packages ulyana main upstream import backport
  2: deb http://mirrors.isu.net.sa/pub/ubuntu-releases focal main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://mirrors.isu.net.sa/pub/ubuntu-releases focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://mirrors.isu.net.sa/pub/ubuntu-releases focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Info:
  Processes: 326 Uptime: 4h 34m Memory: 7.68 GiB used: 5.74 GiB (74.7%)
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash
  v: 5.0.17 running in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.0.38
tarek@Inspiron-N5110:~$
You need to open your task manager and find out what is using all of your memory.

Code:
Info:
  Processes: 326 Uptime: 4h 34m Memory: 7.68 GiB used: 5.74 GiB (74.7%)

Shows to have basically 8.0 GB of installed memory.
(7.68 GiB) (used: 5.74 GiB) (74.7%)

Something is using a lot of memory and that is why you have slow performance.
 
Intel® HD Graphics 3000
might be using too much or too little RAM?

you using intel graphics driver?
 
You need to open your task manager and find out what is using all of your memory.

Code:
Info:
  Processes: 326 Uptime: 4h 34m Memory: 7.68 GiB used: 5.74 GiB (74.7%)

Shows to have basically 8.0 GB of installed memory.
(7.68 GiB) (used: 5.74 GiB) (74.7%)

Something is using a lot of memory and that is why you have slow performance.
I don't know to analyze that data
1617832761555.png
 
Do you really need 9 browser(?) windows open? 8 GB of RAM is plenty, unless you have a ton of stuff open.

Choosing a different OS isn't going to have much of an impact. Changing your behavior will. Close applications unless you need them open. That's really the only solution that doesn't involve spending money to buy more RAM.

Also, it helps to sometimes close those windows and reopen them. Browsers love to take, and keep, RAM. Close 'em once in a while and have fewer open.
 
Is Brave a memory hog? I've got 9 tabs open just now in Chromium and I am using 1.5gb of ram.

Or are those 9 brave browser windows all full of tabs?

I'm not sure how you know where to click for what, and another 10-20% of the panel is dedicated to date & time!! It would drive me crazy!
 
Is Brave a memory hog?

Yes, depending on what it has open inside it can be even worse. It's a browser. They all like RAM and some sites are absurdly heavy.
 
Do you really need 9 browser(?) windows open? 8 GB of RAM is plenty, unless you have a ton of stuff open.

Choosing a different OS isn't going to have much of an impact. Changing your behavior will. Close applications unless you need them open. That's really the only solution that doesn't involve spending money to buy more RAM.

Also, it helps to sometimes close those windows and reopen them. Browsers love to take, and keep, RAM. Close 'em once in a while and have fewer open.
You are right
Now the overall performance is fast with a big difference
But what about this?
Intel® HD Graphics 3000
might be using too much or too little RAM?

you using intel graphics driver?
An answer to your question
Yes, I opened about 9 pages in the Brave browser, but each page has only one site and not several sites, and the general performance was hysterically heavy, suspension and slow
Is Brave a memory hog? I've got 9 tabs open just now in Chromium and I am using 1.5gb of ram.

Or are those 9 brave browser windows all full of tabs?

I'm not sure how you know where to click for what, and another 10-20% of the panel is dedicated to date & time!! It would drive me crazy!
 
Last edited:
Yes, depending on what it has open inside it can be even worse. It's a browser. They all like RAM and some sites are absurdly heavy.
Not pages within the browser but a single site, but as you say these sites look ridiculously heavy
 
An answer to your question
Yes, I opened about 9 pages in the Brave browser, but each page has only one site and not several sites, and the general performance was hysterically heavy, suspension and slow

Does it not do tabs? Can you look at the package manager and check if Brave is a 'snap', by any chance? I've just looked it up in discover and I can only see it as snap.

After reading some comments on here (by KGill and someone else) I've realised you probably want to avoid that resource-wise. I've just been removing Notepad++ and Opera because they are both snaps. I even guessed Opera must be a snap before I looked it up because I remembered it took a Windows-esque time to load.
 
You need to open your task manager and find out what is using all of your memory.

Code:
Info:
  Processes: 326 Uptime: 4h 34m Memory: 7.68 GiB used: 5.74 GiB (74.7%)

Shows to have basically 8.0 GB of installed memory.
(7.68 GiB) (used: 5.74 GiB) (74.7%)

Something is using a lot of memory and that is why you have slow performance.
Have a look here
 
I even guessed Opera must be a snap before I looked it up because I remembered it took a Windows-esque time to load.

Opera can be had in .deb format.

Not pages within the browser but a single site, but as you say these sites look ridiculously heavy

Using tabs will be less resource intensive.
 
Thank you! It opens so much quicker it's unreal. And "sudo dkpg -i package.deb" is added to my notepad!

'sudo apt install gdebi'

It'll pull in a bunch of dependencies - but it's worth it. You can then right click on an app to install it. Later, you can right click on that same .deb and uninstall it. You can even grab a newer .deb and remove it via the right click > open with > gdebi menu.

gdebi is awesome.
 
Does it not do tabs? Can you look at the package manager and check if Brave is a 'snap', by any chance? I've just looked it up in discover and I can only see it as snap.

After reading some comments on here (by KGill and someone else) I've realised you probably want to avoid that resource-wise. I've just been removing Notepad++ and Opera because they are both snaps. I even guessed Opera must be a snap before I looked it up because I remembered it took a Windows-esque time to load.
Where's the package manager
Guide me and I will do it for you
 
Where's the package manager
Guide me and I will do it for you

I think it's just terminology confusing you here. I just meant the program you used to install Brave. If you look up brave in that you might be able to see the repo it came from. There's probably an easier way to see (i can also check by looking at the process location to see if it's snap/whatever).

My version of Chromium is a snap actually, although it weirdly doesn't seem much worse than Chrome and not slower than any other application.

What is your RAM use when you boot (without loading brave or anything else)?
 
I think it's just terminology confusing you here. I just meant the program you used to install Brave. If you look up brave in that you might be able to see the repo it came from. There's probably an easier way to see (i can also check by looking at the process location to see if it's snap/whatever).

My version of Chromium is a snap actually, although it weirdly doesn't seem much worse than Chrome and not slower than any other application.

What is your RAM use when you boot (without loading brave or anything else)?
I am not an expert
Give me the command line
Direct me to whatever you want
I think you want this
Code:
tarek@Inspiron-N5110:~$ inxi -Fxxxrz
System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-64-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0
  Desktop: Xfce 4.14.2 tk: Gtk 3.24.13 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm4
  dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20 Ulyana base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal
Machine:
  Type: Portable System: Dell product: Inspiron N5110 v: N/A
  serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 8 serial: <filter>
  Mobo: Dell model: 0PPW8P v: A09 serial: <filter> BIOS: Dell v: A09
  date: 09/30/2011
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-2670QM bits: 64 type: MT MCP
  arch: Sandy Bridge rev: 7 L2 cache: 6144 KiB
  flags: avx lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 35122
  Speed: 798 MHz min/max: 800/3100 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 798 2: 797
  3: 798 4: 798 5: 798 6: 798 7: 798 8: 798
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics
  vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:0116
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa
  resolution: 1366x768~60Hz
  OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 3000 (SNB GT2)
  v: 3.3 Mesa 20.2.6 compat-v: 3.0 direct render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Family High Definition Audio
  vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0
  chip ID: 8086:1c20
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-64-generic
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL810xE PCI Express Fast Ethernet vendor: Dell
  driver: r8101 v: 1.035.03-NAPI port: e000 bus ID: 05:00.0
  chip ID: 10ec:8136
  IF: enp5s0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Dell
  driver: ath9k v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 09:00.0 chip ID: 168c:002b
  IF: wlp9s0 state: up mac: <filter>
  Device-3: Qualcomm Atheros AR3011 Bluetooth type: USB driver: btusb
  bus ID: 1-1.4:7 chip ID: 0cf3:3005
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 698.64 GiB used: 27.87 GiB (4.0%)
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Hitachi model: HTS547575A9E384 size: 698.64 GiB
  speed: 3.0 Gb/s rotation: 5400 rpm serial: <filter> rev: A50A scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 337.57 GiB used: 27.87 GiB (8.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda5
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 55.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list
  1: deb [arch=amd64] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
  1: deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
  1: deb http://mirrors.evowise.com/linuxmint/packages ulyana main upstream import backport
  2: deb http://mirrors.isu.net.sa/pub/ubuntu-releases focal main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://mirrors.isu.net.sa/pub/ubuntu-releases focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://mirrors.isu.net.sa/pub/ubuntu-releases focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Info:
  Processes: 326 Uptime: 4h 34m Memory: 7.68 GiB used: 5.74 GiB (74.7%)
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash
  v: 5.0.17 running in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.0.38
tarek@Inspiron-N5110:~$
 
I have an idea.

The next time your computer is running slow, I want you to open the terminal.

First, I want you to run:

Code:
free -h

Then, immediately after, run this:

Code:
sudo sh -c 'echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches'

Then, after that, run the "free -h" command again so that you can see how much, if any, RAM has been freed up.

What the command does is it sorta-intelligently drops caches, the buffer, and frees up some swap. It's not a magical incantation, but it may get you back some resources without having to close stuff and lose track of what you're working on.
 
I am not an expert
Give me the command line
Direct me to whatever you want
I think you want this

I am certainly not an expert. It seems you've installed Brave from deb and not snap though so you can ignore my previous comments.

You likely don't require great skills to find the root of your problem, or any trawling through command lines. You've just gotta open a process manager (or run inxi) when you start up to see how much RAM you are using (when you are doing nothing),

If when you boot up you are using 1GB of RAM, then the problem lies with something you are doing (such as opening 9 separate windows of the Brave browser and running a bitcoin miner in each one).

I am not an expert but I always have an idea of how much RAM i'm using, or how much something should be using. Things should make sense even to a layman. Ableton or VMware might use 1GB+ of RAM, but my plank dock would be removed if it used more than 50mb.
 

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