Zorin OS for a average computer user, as a replacement for Windows 10?

[atxcyclist]

I have a relative with an older machine that currently has Windows 10 on it, but with the EOL looming I would actually like to get them set up with a new OS ahead of that. This is a perfectly-functioning computer albeit quite old, they use it mainly for web-based email and word processing, but no YouTube, gaming, or anything else that's heavy. They are what I'd consider computer literate but not adventurous enough to get into a jam. I tried this OS out on a machine with similar (but lesser) hardware that was laying around, and it seems snappy and the layout is very close to Windows 10; Is this a good long-term prospect with reasonable support? I've only messed around with it for about an hour and a half, but from what I've seen it looks good, and the updater is very straightforward. 

 

I tried it on a Phenom x3, with 6gb of ram, HD 3000 onboard video, and an OK SSD. They have a Phenom x6 at a higher base clock, 8gb ram, a better DRAM-equipped SSD, and probably similar HD 3000 Radeon graphics. 

[ewitte]

13 hours ago, atxcyclist said:

 Is this a good long-term prospect with reasonable support? I've only messed around with it for about an hour and a half, but from what I've seen it looks good, and the updater is very straightforward. 

With the exception of a few paid Linux versions, generally YOU are the support.  Honestly, I think Linux is better for people that know more about computers and do not want to game outside of some older titles that run well on wine/proton.

[RollyShed]

13 hours ago, atxcyclist said:

I have a relative with an older machine that currently has Windows 10 on it, but with the EOL looming I would actually like to get them set up with a new OS ahead of that.

I've done over 60 laptops, fitted an SSD and Linux Mint. For the use you are talking about, certainly no problems.

What do you mean by "older" machine? 5 years? 10 years? 15 years? I do recommend at least a 64 bit machine.

 

My partner, Windows 10 one day, Linux Mint the next and she carried on as if nothing had happened.... except MS didn't break it every month. Reliable.

[ewitte]

8 minutes ago, RollyShed said:

I've done over 60 laptops, fitted an SSD and Linux Mint. For the use you are talking about, certainly no problems.

What do you mean by "older" machine? 5 years? 10 years? 15 years? I do recommend at least a 64 bit machine.

 

My partner, Windows 10 one day, Linux Mint the next and she carried on as if nothing had happened.... except MS didn't break it every month. Reliable.

This was in the post "They have a Phenom x6 at a higher base clock, 8gb ram, a better DRAM-equipped SSD, and probably similar HD 3000 Radeon graphics. "

[atxcyclist]

8 minutes ago, RollyShed said:

I've done over 60 laptops, fitted an SSD and Linux Mint. For the use you are talking about, certainly no problems.

What do you mean by "older" machine? 5 years? 10 years? 15 years? I do recommend at least a 64 bit machine.

 

My partner, Windows 10 one day, Linux Mint the next and she carried on as if nothing had happened.... except MS didn't break it every month. Reliable.

It’s a 2011-ish computer so 64 bit and it has 8gb of ram. 

[RollyShed]

18 minutes ago, atxcyclist said:

It’s a 2011-ish computer so 64 bit and it has 8gb of ram. 

Plenty of RAM. A newish computer. There shouldn't be any problems other than setting the BIOS - TPM OFF, Secure Boot OFF.

Easy to get into the BIOS, just, while booting up, click on Esc, or F1, or F2, or F10, or, F12, or Del..... maybe.

The lack of standards in computer systems is atrocious.

 

What make and model is it?

[atxcyclist]

1 minute ago, RollyShed said:

Plenty of RAM. A newish computer. There shouldn't be any problems other than setting the BIOS - TPM OFF, Secure Boot OFF.

Easy to get into the BIOS, just, while booting up, click on Esc, or F1, or F2, or F10, or, F12, or Del..... maybe.

The lack of standards in computer systems is atrocious.

 

What make and model is it?

It's an Asus M4A78LT-M, out of an older Asus pre-built. No TPM or Secure Boot on this model. It's actually surprising it even has an AHCI mode for the SATA, probably the first generation of AMD chipsets that do.

[RollyShed]

4 minutes ago, atxcyclist said:

It's an Asus M4A78LT-M, out of an older Asus pre-built.

It could be up to 15 years old. Possibly try Linux Mint 21.3 if 22.1 doesn't seem to work.

[Ha-Satan]

I had thought about suggesting Chrome OS Flex, but I looked it up and it said "older than 2010 hardware may not be as good of an experience" (basically). So I dunno how it would perform on the Phenom X6. Probably still pretty good considering the Phenom is one of the best "pre 2010" CPUs.

[atxcyclist]

1 hour ago, Ha-Satan said:

I had thought about suggesting Chrome OS Flex, but I looked it up and it said "older than 2010 hardware may not be as good of an experience" (basically). So I dunno how it would perform on the Phenom X6. Probably still pretty good considering the Phenom is one of the best "pre 2010" CPUs.

I was under the impression that ChomeOS Flex doesn’t do great on older hardware. Also, this relative isn’t immersed in the Google platform.

 

Aside from the lack of some modern instruction sets, the Phenom X6 is capable enough for this I believe.

[MC.Morrado]

Linux Mint MATE or XFCE is good for old machines like the one you're describing. I also plan on going to Linux for gaming once Windows 10 reaches end-of-life because I don't feel like paying for an operating system. I have Linux Mint XFCE installed on a 2011 ThinkPad Edge with a 512GB SATA SSD.

 

Linux Mint XFCE also works quite well on a 2013 MacBook Air that only has 4GB of RAM.

 

But for my gaming PC I'm going with Bazzite because of Steam and the need to play games.