Fairly new dual core, should I stick with Fedora?

[Roast0]

Hi guys I'm new to Linux. In april I bought a used as new Lenovo Ideapad 1 14 for 150€ (it was manifactured in may 2022) with:
https://www.notebookcheck.it/AMD-Raven-Ridge-Ryzen-2000-APU-3020e-Notebook-Processor.502156.0.html
AMD 3020e 2 cores 2 threads 1200 - 2600 MHz, 14nm, launched in 2020
AMD Radeon RX Vega 3 ( - 1000 MHz)
12GB RAM DDR4-2400 (expanded)
256GB / Form Factor: M.2 2242 PCIe NVME SSD
FHD TN panel
Mobo: LNVNB161216

Coming with no OS I decided to give Linux a chance, and after some research I've installed Fedora Workstation 39 with GNOME. The PC is fairly fast, after some tweaks I've become used to Linux but I feel like it could get better. I can use Firefox with multiple tabs open and do light GIMP work, but does sometimes feel a bit laggish and battery doesn't last that much (is there something that help extimate battery life in a easy way like on iOS/android?).

Do you think with this setup I should stick with Fedora or try some lighter distros like Mint, lubuntu & co? I bought this laptop for writing and doing browser/yt/office work, what would you advice? I'm opening a thread because usually the questions are about old dual cores PC, but this is recent

 

[Aristarchus]

This is pretty "old" CPU.
The only thing that you need to consider is the kernel. Most of the distros are past 2022 kernel mark so whatever you picku up, from CPU stand point will work. Not sure why "light" distros would be better though?

 

[Brickwizard]

it was manifactured in may 2022)

WELCOME
The AMD 3020e CPU to me, would indicate it was made between October 20 and September 21 and is the lowest entry level machine of that family, however it is quite capable of running any Linux distribution you choose

 

[KGIII]

The RAM looks like it'll be more or less adequate. The CPU is going to be your bottleneck.

If you find yourself with high CPU usage and things like thermal throttling, you may want to look into a lighter desktop environment.

Keep your expectations reasonable and you can run any distro you'd like, as others have suggested.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

and do light GIMP work, but does sometimes feel a bit laggish

You have integrated GPU that's also old and not like modern GPU's, so that's probable reason.

That GPU should be fine for basic video but nothing advanced stuff like video or picture editing or graphics.

 

[Roast0]

This is pretty "old" CPU.
The only thing that you need to consider is the kernel. Most of the distros are past 2022 kernel mark so whatever you picku up, from CPU stand point will work. Not sure why "light" distros would be better though?

I was referring to the many posts about old core Duo or early '10 cpus threads!

WELCOME
The AMD 3020e CPU to me, would indicate it was made between October 20 and September 21 and is the lowest entry level machine of that family, however it is quite capable of running any Linux distribution you choose

Which one would you advice on a basilar dual core machine like this? I don't know if going to a lighter (than Fedora) distro would benefit the general experience/smoothness or is a overkill move

The RAM looks like it'll be more or less adequate. The CPU is going to be your bottleneck.

If you find yourself with high CPU usage and things like thermal throttling, you may want to look into a lighter desktop environment.

Keep your expectations reasonable and you can run any distro you'd like, as others have suggested.

The CPU is usually around 90% usage during multitasking (not that heavy), thermals are around 50° about the majority of time

You have integrated GPU that's also old and not like modern GPU's, so that's probable reason.

That GPU should be fine for basic video but nothing advanced stuff like video or picture editing or graphics.

Yes indeed, in fact my sporadic Gimp use is for very basic foto editing, but that's not a problem. The lagginess I was referring to is about normal multitasking usage

Thanks for the replies

 

[Brickwizard]

Which one would you advice on

All I will say is my dell With a 2009 intel T500 CPU and only 4Gb ram chugged along quite happy with the distributions I ran on it, [I say ran as it died last weekend of a damaged motherboard] It ran regularly, Mint LMDE, Parrot Home, MX- Linux and Debian stable
These are not recommendations, Just what I use [and what I am in the process of installing on my new to me Lappy, a mid-range dell latitude 2020 vintage] but most other distributions will work just as well.

The lagginess I was referring to is about normal multitasking usage

Most of that is due to the CPU it is only a twin core and not hyperthreaded so only 1 thread per core the following is an extract from notebook checkers website

Spoiler: review

Performance


The average 3020e in our database sits close to the Celeron N4100 and the Core m3-8100Y, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. Neither of the three is a performance monster, their fairly low power consumption figures being their main advantage.


Much like the two Intel chips, the 3020e will let you binge-watch Netflix and type e-mails but anything tougher than that will bring the APU to its limits quickly.


Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are.

 

[Egzoset]

...2 cores... ...no OS...

I've found TV applications are best served with 4 cores and above on the most modest hardware. Do you want iP-TV?

...after some research I've installed Fedora Workstation...

At that level of resources as described it may not matter so much, but dealing with less capable material i found necessary to sort through many Linux varieties and it turns out Fedora simply didn't remain on my to-do list...

 

[MikeWalsh]

@Aristarchus :-

This is pretty "old" CPU.
The only thing that you need to consider is the kernel. Most of the distros are past 2022 kernel mark so whatever you picku up, from CPU stand point will work. Not sure why "light" distros would be better though?

In which case, the Core2Duo T7250 in my old Latitude must be positively archaic! I know folks still running Pentium 4s; what does that make them......prehistoric?

To me, if a CPU is still capable of doing what you need from it......no point in binning it. The planet's clogged-up enough with waste as it is; why make things worse?

Sorry, but I never understand those who absolutely MUST have the very newest of everything the instant it hits the shelves....

Mike.

 

[Egzoset]

...I never understand those who absolutely MUST have the very newest of everything the instant it hits the shelves...

Actually i was reasonably satisfied with my Insignia NS-P11W7100 Atom Cherrytrail (32/64 hybrid) tablet until i accidentally "bricked" it, e.g. by software, consecutively to getting my curiosity boosted after reading about the BiOS/UEFi settings... So i wasn't exactly submerged with enthousiasm when i acquired my new Dull NoteBook which could have cost much less without Win11 pres-installed, while the irony is that this was supposed to be "mature" as a result of its old-new/new-old topology and yet forced me to download Linux flavours by the dozen! Very little fun there to compensate for long hours of frustration.

 

[APTI]

Hi guys I'm new to Linux. In april I bought a used as new Lenovo Ideapad 1 14 for 150€ (it was manifactured in may 2022) with:
https://www.notebookcheck.it/AMD-Raven-Ridge-Ryzen-2000-APU-3020e-Notebook-Processor.502156.0.html
AMD 3020e 2 cores 2 threads 1200 - 2600 MHz, 14nm, launched in 2020
AMD Radeon RX Vega 3 ( - 1000 MHz)
12GB RAM DDR4-2400 (expanded)
256GB / Form Factor: M.2 2242 PCIe NVME SSD
FHD TN panel
Mobo: LNVNB161216

Coming with no OS I decided to give Linux a chance, and after some research I've installed Fedora Workstation 39 with GNOME. The PC is fairly fast, after some tweaks I've become used to Linux but I feel like it could get better. I can use Firefox with multiple tabs open and do light GIMP work, but does sometimes feel a bit laggish and battery doesn't last that much (is there something that help extimate battery life in a easy way like on iOS/android?).

Do you think with this setup I should stick with Fedora or try some lighter distros like Mint, lubuntu & co? I bought this laptop for writing and doing browser/yt/office work, what would you advice? I'm opening a thread because usually the questions are about old dual cores PC, but this is recent

The system seems fine. I am a big Fedora person and once it is set up it works great. Keep using it. Your only problem is the CPU is a bit weak. I sell refurbed I5 4 core systems for $200. You will have to deal with the slow CPU otherwise looks good.