Recomend me a Distro..

Long story short:

I have a Gateway P-7811 FX with no SSD/HDD.
I need a version of Linux to run off an SD card.
Anybody have a disrto/version recommendation?

Gleaning:
https://www.linux.com/news/software/applications/810295-the-top-11-best-linux-distros-for-2015
https://www.linux.com/news/enterprise/systems-management/846633-best-lightweight-linux-distros
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/

Ubunutu, Arch, MATE, Puppy...idk. I haven't used Linux before but it doesn't look difficult. Just need something to use for browsing/media. FireFox, VLC, GIMP and Audacity on for now. Gaming? I doubt it, but I'll experiment for the fun of it.

Want to avoid "horror stories" like laptop/hardware overheating, not working, not shutting off, running at full-blast uncontrolled, etc..

Thank you.


Sincerely,
Bravo

 

Several options. I personally like Zorin and Linux Mint, clean and easy to use.

 

Probably Ubuntu or Zorin or Linux Mint if you're new to Linux - I would recommend Ubuntu, it's the most popular and has the most support and documentation.

 

Arch wouldn't be up your alley, since you basically have to built that from scratch.

 

Just out of curiosity, anybody tried TAILS?

 

Never heard of it.

 

I'm going to say - try Zorin 9 Lite. ( review)
Zorin 9 has a "long term support" base, so you won't be bothered to have to reinstall when it quits receiving updates in a few months. It's lxde gui will feel quick.
Your problem is running it off a SD card or flash drive. Sure you can install it with persistence so you have room to install apps and space to save files, but SD/Flash transfer speeds are slow. That's why I recommend going with one of the lightest distros out (zorin).

Puppy is unbelievably light, fast, and fun to use - and meant to run from portable media. My problem with it is the menu system, which is horribly bloated and complex, and did I mention terrible? If you try puppy you might want to look into fatdog or macpup - both puppy variations. Macpup is one of the cleanest nicest looking pups out, although it hasn't been updated in years.

 

Tails is meant to be a boot up / log into webmail / do some stuff on Tor, and then shut off. It's not really designed to be a daily driver.

 

Thank you all.

S.Prime, sounds good: Light and quick.

Quick question: It's not vital, but how would Zorin work for gaming? I've heard of "WINE" and "Crossover"?

Thanks again, all of you.

 

I'm a big gamer, and Linux just doesn't cut it for me for gaming. It's getting better - there's a decent library of games on Steam that run natively on Linux, but it's not quite there yet and may never be. I like dual booting Xubuntu 15.10 and Windows 10.

 

delete

 

Same here. There is really no comparison to gaming in windows. For linux, steam is your best bet.