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#1 2009-05-15 21:10:23

mchlbk
Member
Registered: 2009-05-15
Posts: 2

Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

Hi,

I'm currently testing Xubuntu+LXDE on my new netbook in stead of the WinXP os that came with it.

Someone suggested I considered giving Arch a try. I have no Arch experience at all - is Arch a good OS for netbooks?

It has the Atom processor, 1 gb ram, 160 gb hd and 8,9" screen. (And no disk drive.)

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#2 2009-05-15 21:21:14

Mr.Elendig
#archlinux@freenode channel op
From: The intertubes
Registered: 2004-11-07
Posts: 4,092

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

Arch is what _you_ make it. Lots of people runs arch on their netbooks.


Evil #archlinux@libera.chat channel op and general support dude.
. files on github, Screenshots, Random pics and the rest

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#3 2009-05-15 21:28:04

lucke
Member
From: Poland
Registered: 2004-11-30
Posts: 4,018

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

It surely is suitable for a netbook (I'm running it on my Wind), it'd probably run faster than *buntu stuff and would be easier to make fit to your needs. Arch needs some time and effort to get running. though - although the only skill needed is the ability to read - read the wiki for more information.

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#4 2009-05-15 22:43:35

Lexion
Member
Registered: 2008-03-23
Posts: 510

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

+1 to all


urxvtc / wmii / zsh / configs / onebluecat.net
Arch will not hold your hand

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#5 2009-05-15 22:53:14

madalu
Member
Registered: 2009-05-05
Posts: 217

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

I installed Arch on my Asus EEE 1000he and everything works fantastically. The advantage of a rolling release like Arch is that it's easy to get the most recent kernel (which helps when you're using the newest netbooks).

I found that I had to read about the same amount online to install Arch as I did to install Ubuntu --- but the difference was that I actually learned a lot of linux fundamentals when installing Arch.

Last edited by madalu (2009-05-15 22:53:57)

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#6 2009-05-15 23:04:47

SteveB
Member
Registered: 2009-04-10
Posts: 7

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

Absolutely it is. I'm running it on my MSI Wind U100+ and wouldn't consider sticking anything else on it. Arch is it!

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#7 2009-05-15 23:19:54

flammenwurfer
Member
Registered: 2009-02-04
Posts: 118

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

I am also running Arch (with KDE 4.2.3) on my MSI Wind.  It works fantastically.  Like others have said, you can make Arch whatever want it to be.  The Beginners Guide is an excellent tool when installing for the first time.

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#8 2009-05-16 02:29:34

will1911a1
Member
Registered: 2008-04-20
Posts: 59

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

Posting this in Arch on my Eee 701. smile  Everything works great and it's much nicer than the Xandros install that came with it.

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#9 2009-05-16 03:47:41

tomd123
Developer
Registered: 2008-08-12
Posts: 565

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

Arch is great for netbooks and older computers too. tongue I'm running it on a pIII 450mhz. it's a little slow when doing large operations, but what do you expect tongue

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#10 2009-05-16 11:57:35

iphitus
Forum Fellow
From: Melbourne, Australia
Registered: 2004-10-09
Posts: 4,927

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

madalu wrote:

I installed Arch on my Asus EEE 1000he and everything works fantastically. The advantage of a rolling release like Arch is that it's easy to get the most recent kernel (which helps when you're using the newest netbooks).

I found that I had to read about the same amount online to install Arch as I did to install Ubuntu --- but the difference was that I actually learned a lot of linux fundamentals when installing Arch.

Just installed it on my brand new 1000HE too.

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#11 2009-05-16 12:29:40

mchlbk
Member
Registered: 2009-05-15
Posts: 2

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

Thanks to all of you for the input - I'll give it a try. I'll probably play around with it in a virtual machine before removing XP though...

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#12 2009-05-16 16:27:15

thayer
Fellow
From: Vancouver, BC
Registered: 2007-05-20
Posts: 1,560
Website

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

mchlbk wrote:

Thanks to all of you for the input - I'll give it a try. I'll probably play around with it in a virtual machine before removing XP though...

FWIW I just left my XP partition, but resized it to 20GB as a "just in case" precaution.  Some classes I take require me to install win32 applications and they don't always work so well (or at all) with Wine/Crossover.  That still leaves me with about 115GB for Arch...more than enough for my needs.


thayer williams ~ cinderwick.ca

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#13 2009-06-13 22:57:39

leo2501
Member
From: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Registered: 2007-07-07
Posts: 658

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

is there a way to load the base arch system & some apps to ram? like damn small linux and tiny core do? i tryed tiny core linux on my wind today and it amazed me how much faster it is compared to all other things i tested... so if we can get arch & some apps that will be amazing for sure tongue


Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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#14 2009-06-13 23:49:34

Console
Member
From: New Zealand
Registered: 2009-06-13
Posts: 3

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

I am going to try Arch on my EeePC 701. It has 4GB SSD, 512MB ram, and 900mhz CPU. I am sure it will run fine.

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#15 2009-06-14 00:16:47

heleos
Member
From: Maine, USA
Registered: 2007-04-24
Posts: 678

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

Arch on my eee904 runs flawlessly out of the box.

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#16 2009-06-14 00:24:51

Cotton
Member
From: Cornwall, UK
Registered: 2004-09-17
Posts: 568

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

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#17 2009-07-07 13:41:29

casperh
Member
From: Aarhus, Denmark
Registered: 2009-02-13
Posts: 48

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

madalu wrote:

I installed Arch on my Asus EEE 1000he and everything works fantastically. The advantage of a rolling release like Arch is that it's easy to get the most recent kernel (which helps when you're using the newest netbooks).

I found that I had to read about the same amount online to install Arch as I did to install Ubuntu --- but the difference was that I actually learned a lot of linux fundamentals when installing Arch.

How's the battery life? Considering to buy an Asus EEE 1000HE myself smile

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#18 2009-07-08 06:40:47

barzam
Member
From: Sweden
Registered: 2009-01-27
Posts: 277

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

I use Arch on my Eeepc 900, works great of course. As was said above: Arch is what you make it!

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#19 2009-07-08 15:57:16

TigTex
Member
From: Portugal
Registered: 2008-06-19
Posts: 301

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

I'm using arch linux on my little brothers intel classmate pc (aka magalhaes) and it runs perfectly, way better than "caixa magica", a portuguese disto, biuck.

celeron 900mhz, 30gb HDD 4.2krpm. intel915gm

Last edited by TigTex (2009-07-08 15:57:57)


.::. TigTex @ Portugal .::.

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#20 2009-07-08 18:43:01

arkham
Member
From: Stockholm
Registered: 2008-10-26
Posts: 516
Website

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

Use of a tiling WM suggested.


"I'm Winston Wolfe. I solve problems."

~ Need moar games? [arch-games] ~ [aurcheck] AUR haz updates? ~

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#21 2009-07-08 19:39:34

whordijk
Member
From: the Netherlands
Registered: 2008-12-12
Posts: 147
Website

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

arkham wrote:

Use of a tiling WM suggested.

Why would a tiling WM be recommendable? Netbooks have relatively small screens: what would be the benefits of a tiling WM?

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#22 2009-07-08 21:25:31

moljac024
Member
From: Serbia
Registered: 2008-01-29
Posts: 2,676

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

whordijk wrote:
arkham wrote:

Use of a tiling WM suggested.

Why would a tiling WM be recommendable? Netbooks have relatively small screens: what would be the benefits of a tiling WM?

Probably the lack of window decorations, and that you can still use a layout that maximizes every window, but you can do that with any other WM...


The day Microsoft makes a product that doesn't suck, is the day they make a vacuum cleaner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But if they tell you that I've lost my mind, maybe it's not gone just a little hard to find...

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#23 2009-07-09 14:41:17

rine
Member
From: Germany
Registered: 2008-03-04
Posts: 217

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

moljac024 wrote:
whordijk wrote:
arkham wrote:

Use of a tiling WM suggested.

Why would a tiling WM be recommendable? Netbooks have relatively small screens: what would be the benefits of a tiling WM?

Probably the lack of window decorations, and that you can still use a layout that maximizes every window, but you can do that with any other WM...

And, when you get used to it, a keyboard is faster than a mouse, and probably much faster than a touchpad. If I should ever use a touchpad to move windows I'd kill myself D:

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#24 2009-07-09 14:58:51

moljac024
Member
From: Serbia
Registered: 2008-01-29
Posts: 2,676

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

rine wrote:
moljac024 wrote:
whordijk wrote:

Why would a tiling WM be recommendable? Netbooks have relatively small screens: what would be the benefits of a tiling WM?

Probably the lack of window decorations, and that you can still use a layout that maximizes every window, but you can do that with any other WM...

And, when you get used to it, a keyboard is faster than a mouse, and probably much faster than a touchpad. If I should ever use a touchpad to move windows I'd kill myself D:

You do know you can plug an usb mouse in a laptop ?
There are even mice designed for laptop use, such as mice that are smaller, have retractable cords etc.. tongue


The day Microsoft makes a product that doesn't suck, is the day they make a vacuum cleaner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But if they tell you that I've lost my mind, maybe it's not gone just a little hard to find...

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#25 2009-07-09 15:02:26

scio
Member
From: Buffalo, NY
Registered: 2008-08-05
Posts: 366

Re: Is Arch suitable for a netbook?

Ever try using a mouse with a netbook on your lap?  Not a good combo, I would also highly recommend a tiling WM, currently using awesome on my Eee.

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