Solus vs Manjaro

[lekkerlinux]

Which is the best non technical, get out of your way option? Solus or Manjaro?

 

[wizardfromoz]

Solus is a Linux distribution built from scratch. It uses a forked version of the PiSi package manager, maintained as "eopkg" within Solus, and a custom desktop environment called "Budgie", developed in-house. The Budgie desktop, which can be set to emulate the look and feel of the GNOME 2 desktop, is tightly integrated with the GNOME stack. The distribution is available for 64-bit computers only.

GNOME and MATE DEs also available.

Manjaro, on the other hand, is Arch-based.

There will be some difference in behaviour and command syntax between the two.

Both can be good with Games.

Wiz

 

[arochester]

Try both?

 

[lekkerlinux]

Try both?

I only have one desktop PC and am a bit reluctant to play around to much. Earlier this year I tread out a Debian based distro and it froze and broke beyond use. All I had late on a Friday evening was a CD with Ubuntu 14.04 on it from 2014. Had to install that and use it to download Lubuntu 18.04. Lubuntu is great on my 2012 PC, but a little too boring.

I have read a lot about Manjaro and Solus, but there are so many opinions. One guy wrote a review in which he called Solus the most stable rolling release Linux distribution. I can't member if that was before the Ikey guy left who started that project.

My biggest concern would be if the system breaks after a update, but at least I'll keep a CD of Lubuntu for a worse case scenario.

Solus looks like the most practical option because it has only what I need without many programs that I will never use.

 

[lekkerlinux]

There will be some difference in behaviour and command syntax between the two.

Both can be good with Games.

I am just looking for the most stable rolling release of the two, with good hardware support for my 2012 PC. Every few years when I install a point release, I have to put my CD collection back on my PC again.

I think I will not be returning to much gaming again. I tried Warzone 2100 and it has simple graphics but complex game play. I can't even remember how to control large groups of units like in Age of Empires, long ago and far away.

 

[wizardfromoz]

...with good hardware support for my 2012 PC

... and that is a good criterion to judge by, and what Linux is more suited to, supporting equipment as it gets older

Mate, you'll know, the longer you are with us, that I don't "bag" (that is, put down) any Linux Distro. Each has its own merits, its own fans, and sweat from the brow of the developer/s invested in it.

Solus uses a different packaging system - eopkg - to other Distros, and I am unaware whether you can install Timeshift onto it. Timeshift is my "liferaft or lifejacket".

With Manjaro, it is easy.

An advocate for Solus is likely @Fishy ... he put it on his, his wife liked the look of it, and she put it on hers.

Your call, and hopefully we have your back.

Wiz

 

[Fishy]

wizardfromoz is correct all I run now is Solus. / / / Technical humm I would not call myself technical at all, with that I will cover most of mine as quick as I can while giving a bit of background on my computers specs. Hope this helps and does not create confusion.
By default - I mean point left click, next question point left click then I leave it alone.

I am not afraid to try different installs of Linux once I found out there was so many different variations. I started with Linux Cinnamon Mint , tried XFCE just because I wanted to. I tried Manjaro twice on 2 different systems I could not get it to install properly by default on either 1. I have since tried a bunch of Ubuntu now, as I have moved on to even more laptops in my home. With Ubuntu I could get them to install and run on most of the laptops by default settings without any changes done by me, I have loaded Lubuntu / Xubuntu / kubuntu / Ubuntu budgie - cosmic cuttlefish, bionic beaver and I forget what the other was. Out of all the many different versions of Linux I keep coming back to Solus, I now even have it running on an old Acer Notebook with 1.0 gig single core processor and 2 gigs of memory, it runs surprisingly well.

wizardfromoz was also correct when he said I converted my wife from Windows 10 to Linux.

She loves how clean it looks, the speed of boot up and shut down, and all the thousands of ways it can be customized. She runs Solus Budgie on her Dell laptop, her lappy is AMD A-8 7410 with 8 gigs of ram.

As of now I personally have Solus Budgie running on 1 Desktop PC and 4 laptops. I have installed on 3 friends laptops. Everyone seems to like it for what it is, I myself love it because it is free and every Friday it updates. Solus is a rolling release any and all updates take place on Friday, unless there is an issues then it has skipped to the following week a couple of times. Solus comes in 3 DEs Gnome / Mate / Budgie I use the Budgie on everything as of right now, for the simple reason no matter which I am at everything is in the same place. I only install Solus Budgie on friends so if they call with a question we are looking at the same thing together. There is now offered for use a Testing version of Solus KDE I have tried to get it to install and run on my older laptop with no luck. I don't know when they plan on calling it an Official Stable Release for Solus KDE Plasma.

From my own experience I have not found a noticeable difference from the AMD single core 1 Gig to the Intel Dual Core 2.5 Gig or my Desktop AMD Quad Core 3.8 Gig all of them run everything I have used in Solus very well. You will all so find the crew at Solus to be willing to help with what ever the questions might be. Again my experience first hand this Forum is probable the best Linux Help Forum on the net with the Solus forum right on their heels in second. I won't toss shade at the other forums I have visited because most not all but most are doing it for free ........ with that said you can't really complain when something is FREE of Charge.

If you have any questions lekkerlinux don't hesitate to ask away I will do my best to find an answer.

 

[lekkerlinux]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. My CPU is a AMD A10-5800k with a 2 Gig graphics card.(Radeon R6670). I also have 8 GB Ram and only use 3 GB, when I surf the web.

At the beginning of this year I switched from a very reliable Ubuntu14.04 based system to Debian 9 KDE based distro. It worked beautifully, even though the startup and shutdown was slower. Then it started freezing up and broke.

I am using Lubuntu 18.04 now and will keep it for a few months, it's just a little bland, as far as the looks are concerned.

Just in closing, if the KDE 4.8 DE, ran slowly but surely on my system, will Budgie be a little lighter? The Budgie desktop look just right for my taste, not too distracting nor too bland either. O yes, Solus have programs like Rhythmbox and Firefox I use most of the time included by default.

One last thing, do you know if the game 0 A.D. can be found in the Solus software center? I just play it sometimes to stress test my graphics card.

 

[Fishy]

Oh I forgot - only because I have not used it. The repository has Lutris and WINE that can be installed to game with.

 

[lekkerlinux]

Solus uses a different packaging system - eopkg - to other Distros, and I am unaware whether you can install Timeshift onto it. Timeshift is my "liferaft or lifejacket".

Yes thank you Wiz, I just looked that up. To update Solus it's just sudo eopkg upgrade? I only know the Debian based sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade commands. For some reason in the Ubuntu 14.04 I used previously and Lubuntu 18.04 currently, the update notification stops working after a while.

I have gotten great practical advice on this forum, like using a 80mm fan on my old graphics card, so I can use it again. I also got a heat sink fan unit for my APU from Deepcool (Gammaxx 200T) which is much bigger than the standard cooling solution.

I just want to get the ideal Linux distro now. Lubuntu is okay for now, but Solus Budgie looks like something I will use for years.

 

[Fishy]

Ok I just did a quick Google and Wikipedia search for 0 ad - it actually has a Linux version.

Regardless of which 4 DE in Solus you pick they all auto update everything Friday for me it is Friday morning due the devs all live in Europe and I am 6 hours behind them.

All the software that can be added can be found from the MENU the in Settings or search for Software in the built Search Menu.

My game I like to play - I got the Linux version / download in my documents , then right clicked it did the extract to here. / then just open it from inside there when I want to play. It runs without a flaw, I did no tweaks nor did it need any terminal commands for anything .

 

[lekkerlinux]

Thanks Fishy, I just know that the 0 A.D. website mentioned many Linux distros on their website and how to install the game, but not Solus.

Is the Budgie desktop lighter on system resources than KDE?

 

[Fishy]

Thanks Fishy, I just know that the 0 A.D. website mentioned many Linux distros on their website and how to install the game, but not Solus.

Is the Budgie desktop lighter on system resources than KDE?

Give me until tomorrow and I can tell you as I am writing this reply I am burning the Solus KDE to USB so I can take it for a test drive on a 1.2 gig dual core with 4 gig of DDR 2 Ram.
If that can run it there should be no trouble running on most all 64 bit platforms. As far as the sizes all of the ISO are under 1.9 iso file regardless of choice, once installed you can add or remove to suit your desire. I removed a bunch of stuff off that little notebook to get it to run a bit better, but on my desktop pc I added a ton of stuff. It is mostly personal choice that will decide end user results.

ISO writer is all most 50 percent complete. - - - while I wait I will get that game for linux and see if it will load and run it on desktop pc.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5 minutes
update for your 0 A.D. game
I believe it is part of the games software repository inside Solus Software center. Most all things that are made or will run with Gnome or in Gnome will run and or work on Solus because it has a bunch of Gnome base to it.

 

[Fishy]

See if I am close to your question about 0 A.D. and Solus, is this by chance the game ?

If so it is in Software Center then inside Games.

 

[wizardfromoz]

BIG like on #7, @Fishy , and what a great way to standardise helping your friends.

BTW Fishy, if you have not discovered it yet, if you start to type in eg @wiza it offers autocomplete options that result in @wizardfromoz ... also pings us if we have our alerts set right, that someone is mentioning us, as I did with you. Handy for unusual UserIDs. Is some Distros and Firefoxes I use, I just click the offered option, and others, doubleclick.

Cheers

Wiz

 

[atanere]

Out of all the many different versions of Linux I keep coming back to...

Agree with @wizardfromoz, @Fishy, and @arochester, and you hear the same advice over and over again regarding Linux: Try some! Then try some more! We all have different tastes and likes and dislikes.... and the only way to really find the Linux of your dreams is to search and discover the one that "feels like home." (And, of course, the one that works well with your existing hardware.)

It takes a little time, but the journey also teaches various installation methods, partitioning, differences between BIOS and UEFI, sometimes a bit about proprietary drivers, differences between desktop environments, differences between package management systems (yum, apt, pacman, etc), and so on. It is not an overnight journey... but the time you take with these early lessons is well spent.

Cheers

 

[Fishy]

BIG like on #7, @Fishy , and what a great way to standardise helping your friends.

BTW Fishy, if you have not discovered it yet, if you start to type in eg @wiza it offers autocomplete options that result in @wizardfromoz ... also pings us if we have our alerts set right, that someone is mentioning us, as I did with you. Handy for unusual UserIDs. Is some Distros and Firefoxes I use, I just click the offered option, and others, doubleclick.

Cheers

Wiz

I did not know that - old dog learned a new trick.

 

[wizardfromoz]

#16, nice summary, Stan ... have you been sneaking a peek at my Linux Philosophy notes from Wizard 101 ??

Wiz

 

[lekkerlinux]

See if I am close to your question about 0 A.D. and Solus, is this by chance the game ?

If so it is in Software Center then inside Games.

That's the one I'm talking about, I wish the developed could go faster because it's only in Alpha. Thanks for the legwork, Fishy.

 

[lekkerlinux]

Give me until tomorrow and I can tell you as I am writing this reply I am burning the Solus KDE to USB so I can take it for a test drive on a 1.2 gig dual core with 4 gig of DDR 2 Ram.

Yes thanks, Fishy. What I meant was, if my PC can run KDE without much trouble, could it run Budgie too?