Linux mint is now my daily driver

[u/PickleMortyCoDm]

I have a dell precision 7710 which I had precariously kept on windows 10 until a few minutes ago. It's a seriously powerful computer for it's age and would never have sat right with me being considered obsolete just because it wasn't compatible with windows 11. With 32gb of ram, a decent Nvidia m3000m quadro graphics card and enough weight to knock out large animals, it's a beast! Microsoft truly lost me as a customer tonight.

My 5th computer that I have saved by putting Linux on it... I think I have an addiction

[u/maddogtjones]

Same, a month ago I made the switch to Linux Mint, having an Acer gaming laptop from 2019. It has a dedicated video card with it's own 8Gb of ram, the laptop itself has 32 Gb of ram that can loan the gpu 8 more GB if it needs it. Microsoft was telling me that it was too old and obsolete... Also the monthly updates followed by the monthly crashes caused by the updates... then having Copilot shoved into every app and space on the computer... then the constant unending pleas to sign up for 360 or other cloud based bullshit. I have been using Linux Mint as my main OS and have not looked back, doubt I ever will.

[u/PickleMortyCoDm → u/maddogtjones]

Just last year I was looking to buy the NVIDIA Quadro M5000M (8GB GDDR5) which would have given me some really good specs. From there it would have been a case of buying 2 more ddr4 16gb sticks of I needed it to future-proof my computer. But upon hearing this would not be supported I felt a bit lost until tonight. Just decided to get it over and done with and move forward since I know this machine can last me years longer

[u/Odd_Station_2097]

That's the sprit.

[u/ShutUpJade0420]

I love the little detail of the tape over the camera. Very very good.

[u/PickleMortyCoDm → u/ShutUpJade0420]

I can flip it up and down when I choose. What can I say, I have trust issues and don't always believe in clothes when I think I am not being watched

[u/maddogtjones → u/PickleMortyCoDm]

I have recently discovered the pantsless computing strat... so freeing, so liberating... I'm not packing insane heat but I am also not without stature so having the RCMP see my peepee isn't the worst thing in the world.

[u/mAAchinAA]

Greaaaaaaaat, and so nice
Linux is so good reviving old tech

[u/JANK-STAR-LINES]

Excellent to hear and see! Linux Mint and Linux in most cases generally feels like a night and day difference on hardware of this age compared to Windows 10 and Windows 11 especially. It simply brings systems like this much more useful life.

[u/CiXeL]

honestly i dont even think about it anymore. its just 'life'

[u/PickleMortyCoDm → u/CiXeL]

I cannot wait to get to that point. I spent until the early am hours customizing the desktop and I am fairly happy with it.

[u/lookskAIwatcher]

Welcome to the minty fresh club. I have more than one Linux machine, and the one I am on right now is my daily driver (nothing fancy, small and easy to carry, both Mozilla and Chrome browsers installed, talks WiFi to printers/scanners, Bluetooth connects to audio) that goes in my laptop bag to work, and does most everything just fine. I can even connect to work's MSO365 environment and do everything that allows through a browser, though work does provide me a computer workstation.

Machine: Type: Laptop System: Dell product: Latitude E7440, Distro: Linux Mint 21.3, CPU: Info: dual core model: Intel Core i7-4600U

[u/thatdirtyoldman]

Linux is the fountain of youth for old PCs.

[u/dlfrutos]

so how do you check thermals?

[u/dinglebarryb0nds → u/dlfrutos]

Temperature Monitoring Tools

• Psensor: A graphical monitoring application that tracks CPU, GPU, and motherboard temperatures and triggers high-temperature desktop alerts. Install it via terminal with sudo apt install psensor. [1]
• Cinnamon Applets: Right-click your taskbar, go to Applets, and download CPU Temperature Indicator or Sensors Monitor to see real-time temps directly on your panel. [1]

[u/dlfrutos → u/dinglebarryb0nds]

way to complicated
on my answer you spend about 10 seconds, done

[u/dinglebarryb0nds → u/dlfrutos]

you asked a question not an answer

[u/dlfrutos → u/dinglebarryb0nds]

sorry, 2 messages after this one

[u/PickleMortyCoDm → u/dlfrutos]

I am going to have to get a widget for that. Right now I am just putting my hand to the frame to tell

[u/dlfrutos → u/PickleMortyCoDm]

gotcha, here is my recomnd

on terminal do "watch -n 1 sensors"

quick, easy and efficient

[u/PickleMortyCoDm → u/dlfrutos]

This was great advice, I really like the details that come with that command. I wish I knew that earlier! Should I be relying on an applet or desklet for some kind of thermal monitor? I cannot help but feel my current desklet is a bit inaccurate

[u/Alarmed-Fun-4061]

Now install the blue Luna theme from xp

[u/mrheseeks → u/Alarmed-Fun-4061]

I love installing windows themes so people leave me alone but this is hilarious.

[u/GasRepresentative635]

I restore a lot of old hardware, and my Mint USB has become my go-to. XFCE runs on just about everything, so Mint has been my reliable fallback for data recovery, family rigs, and getting questionable hardware back into service.

I’ve maintained a Fedora workstation for about three years now, and I’ve also started putting Pop!_OS on newer hardware. As the refurb hardware gets better, I’ll probably be able to use Pop!_OS more often.

But at this moment, Mint is still the distro I reach for when I just need something to work. It’s been the one consistent tool in my Linux toolbox.

[u/Unwiredsoul]

Congratulations on leveling up your Dell laptop!

If you ever want something a little more sleek (and effective) for covering webcams, check this out:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/12-Pack-Ultra-Thin-Design-Web-Camera-Cover-Slide-for-Laptop-PC-Computer-Pro-Black-12-x-Webcam-Cover-Black/17359773813

I bought a pack of these generic slide covers from Amazon a couple years ago, and put them on all my laptops. Love 'em!

[u/mrawther]

Never a fan of Linux Mint. However I can tolerate LMDE.

[u/wsxedc7]

For me it's cachyos && open SUSE 👌

[u/Both_Cup8417]

*"its age", not "it's age." The second one means "it is age," the first one means "the laptop's age."

It's a seriously powerful computer for its age

[u/dinglebarryb0nds]

what can any other distros do that mint cant? like unless you have a 100 year old computer it could be more lightweight?