Hello , I was wondering what version of ZorinOS should i install for my current pc specifications. I mainly want to use it for Programming in general and also for 2D Game Development (Godot)
Here is my specifications:
Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.50 GHz
8GB of RAM DDR2
Nvidia Geforce GT710 2GB GDDR5 (soon will be replaced by AMD Sapphire Nitro R7 360 OC Edition)
500GB HDD
It is my first time trying ZorinOS or Linux in general. Windows , especially Windows 11 is just too heavy for this computer even with debloating methods.
Both version of ZorinOS should run fine, but if you find yourself running short on memory frequently then ZorinOS Lite is probably better.
That's as far as resource consumption goes, but there's also the desktop experience which is very subjective. I personally prefer the Core version as I find it more appealing but others may think differently.
My advice: spin up a virtual machine and test both versions before installing it. If you don't like virtual machines you can also run ZorinOS from a live usb without installing it.
This article explains how to download and create a bootable USB which you can use for both installation or a test run. See the last screenshot which shows two options to "Try ZorinOS" and "Install ZorinOS"
For Programming and Game Development in general, maybe some gaming here and there what would you recommend for my specific hardware? On Windows i used Godot 4.0.x wich works fine in 2D but horrible on 3D side. Unity 2022 also works pretty okay in 3D , way better than Godot Renderer but the load time was awful...
@Mantis211 I agree with zenzen. Both should run fine. You should try them to choose which Desktop Environment you prefer, either Gnome (Core) or XFCE (Lite).
I don't do any of those tasks nor am I familiar with the hardware you are using. The only recommendation I can give is to try it yourself, preferably using the live usb method.
It’s kind of beyond what your asking, but for development I would recommend you look into distrobox, regardless of which version of Zorin you choose.
It is a command line application (which I’m sort of assuming okay with if you program) that allows you to run applications and install libraries in a container. This can help for:
Keeping Zorin clean, without adding the development libraries to your main OS.
Allows you to perhaps get more recent versions of apps and libraries, as Zorin is based on an older version of Ubuntu.
Allows you to add software from other distributions such as Fedora if you need.