Best Linux distro for hard drives?

[ROBOCRIPPLE]

I'm looking to turn my cheap Intel NUC (BOXNUC6CAYH) into an HTPC, running a desktop Linux distro, not a distro that is made specifically for HTPCs (such as OpenELEC). Mainly, because I want to use it with adblock software and VPN service.

 

Thing is, I don't have any spare SSDs laying around, but I have plenty of laptop-sized HDDs. After booting Windows off an SSD for years, I would never want to go back to HDDs for Windows. I've used Ubuntu in the past and I really like the clean, bloat-less boot and log-in of the OS, so I may as well give that another go for booting off a hard drive. Sure, it may not be very fast, but at least it is perfectly usable after log-in. Still, I would like a faster boot and log-in, if possible.

 

Which Linux distro would you recommend which:

• is low on system resources,
• has a graphical user interface like Ubuntu,
• boots as quickly off a hard drive as Windows 10 off an SSD,
• is compatible with Firefox or Chrome, which are compatible with adblock software,
• I can install proprietary drivers with ease, to eliminate screen-tearing, and
• I can use with a VPN service such as NordVPN, even without the app.

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, ROBOCRIPPLE said:

boots as quickly off a hard drive as Windows 10 off an SSD

Why not ask for the moon from the sky as well, if you're going to be asking for the impossible?

[2FA]

Alpine Linux is by far the lightest distro you could install, but you'll need to install the user interface (such as XFCE) manually after install.

[Bacon soup]

arch linux and gentoo are super customizable and can be made to be super fast. Clear Linux is made by intel, for intel, and wastes all other linux distros in benchmarks. https://clearlinux.org

[CactusMan]

The distros don't really matter here since you just need to limit the boot time.

 

Start by installing a minimal distro that just gives you the basics(like arch and alpine) and then working your way up to a gui.

 

If you don't want a cli interface to start, try for a distro with a lightweight graphical environment(like xfce, lxqt, lxde, or just a window manager) like Lubuntu, Xubuntu, or Manjaro.

 

For proprietary software/drivers, both should be fine. I find that managing proprietary drivers to be easier on Manjaro. Since Manjaro is based on Arch you also get AUR support along with the Arch Wiki, meaning you'll get a first class distro manual.

[jpenguin]

SparkyLinux, SolydX/K or Xubuntu if you don't want to go for arch or funtoo.

Fedora has LXQT/LXDE/XFCE spins as well

[EvilChuck]

If time and learning new things is not a problem, definitely go with Arch Linux or at least with Manjaro if you want a GUI out of the box.
They're super fast and these are really bloat-less.
Ubuntu on relatively new machines it seems fast (it is), but actually it is bloated unless you search for the minimal iso install.
But then you begin with the same barebones cli environment like Arch Linux.
Arch Linux has the best wiki by far.
It has tons of guides about almost anything:

• Creating and optimizing ext2/3/4 partitions, btrfs
• Optimizing boot times
• Login automatically in cli environment and/or GUI
• Learning about systemd
• And more

The very downside is that it is a bleeding edge distro, so every time you decide to update the system be careful to not break something.
It's not unusual that a new version of a package of something creates a conflict with another package when the prior version does not.
The best way to prevent that is to go to Arch Linux webpage and see which are the news before commiting the update.

[wasab]

If there is an operating system that undercuts windows by that much, Microsoft would've been out of bussiness. 

[Gegger]

GalliumOS? it's made for chromebooks, so it's pretty lightweight

[prajwal sagar bhandari]

hope i could reply you here. i am for the hunt. i would notify here if i succed to find your requirements.

 

[SilverSoul]

The guy who suggested alpine is right. It's compiled with musl libc and is probably your best bet. If you want your boot time to be ssd like then get a ssd.

[Alexeygridnev1993]

No matter what distro you use, absolutely do make sure you set swappiness to 1, to make sure your system does not use swap partition unless absolutely inevitable. If your swap partition is on a slow hard drive, that is something which can slow down your system substantially:

 

sudo sysctl vm.swappiness=1

[Giganthrax]

I was in the same situation, wanted to avoid investing in an SSD for my old laptop. I went with Lubuntu and a 5400rpm HDD and it works perfectly fine. It takes a few seconds longer to open programs, but aside from that it doesn't feel like I'm using a HDD at all. 

 

So Lubuntu definitely gets my vote. I'm using the 18.04 version, but I assume the 20.xx would be the same.