Really impressed with MX Linux

[ddw867]

New MX user here, just wanted to say thanks to everyone involved with developing this distribution. I've been using Linux for for about 4 years now, mostly different flavors of Ubuntu and Mint.
MX runs very nicely on my old Acer laptop, most other distros cause overheating with almost constant fan noise, not so with MX, fan hardly runs at all and barely warm on the bottom of the unit, not to mention the OS is very responsive.
Thanks everyone!

[Jerry3904]

Thank you, and welcome!

[az2020]

New MX user here, just wanted to say thanks to everyone involved with developing this distribution. I've been using Linux for for about 4 years now, mostly different flavors of Ubuntu and Mint.

Same here. I exited Windows late 2014, a few months before Win 10's release (it doesn't feel like it's been that long ago). I used Lubuntu until last April (2019). I liked it a lot. The change to LXQt was enough of a change to make me look at other distros, expand my horizons for awhile. I liked MX & Peppermint the most. I've used MX the past 8-9 months. It's perfect for me. I'm in the process of switching to Peppermint just because I wanted to use it as my desktop back then. (Unfortunately, the guy behind Peppermint passed away last month. I don't think they were prepared for that. I don't know if others were that involved in the distro's development. Hopefully they can fill those shoes. It's a very nice distro like MX. Small but polished. Emphasizes stability like MX.).

Just recently I installed Linux Lite 4.8. I'd say that's in the same category as MX & Peppermint. It's a little strange because its purpose has been for people squeezed out of Windows (forced updates; old versions not supported). For example, it doesn't have UEFI support. There is a test version of 4.2 with UEFI. People are installing that, then immediately using system update to bring it up to 4.8. (5.0, which will be released late May'ish, will surely have it).

I really like that distro too. Similar small, clean environment. But, polished, visually pleasant. The menus feel more like Windows. I want to use it sometime. (My initial reaction was "wth? no uefi?" But, when you realize the niche audience it targets, it make sense. People with old hardware being dropped from Windows. It's actually amazing how nicely done it is considering the niche it has focused on, rather than the larger Linux community.) But, MX is perfect. I have no reason to distro hop. I just think it's good to be familiar with more things. (I just bought a new laptop for which the necessary kernel/drivers haven't yet made it into MX. The "ahs" repository supports it. Just a matter of time until the stable branch is there. I'm not complaining. I like MX's stability, cautious approach to bringing in the latest stuff.).

Anyway, if you ever find yourself in a jam with MX, I'd suggest looking at Linux Lite or Peppermint. I you like MX, you should feel like those are in the same goldilocks zone. Lubuntu and Sparky Linux are close runners up (in my mind). They both seem a little rough/unpolished by comparison. But, certainly not bad. Sparky seems to focus on stability like MX does, both based upon Debian. Lubuntu has the LTS releases for stability. Peppermint & Linux Lite base their releases on the latest LTS.

[slipsnip]

Same here, also new as not having changed my avatar and having only one post gives away, I am very new to MX Linux and enjoying it. I periodically look on youtube to see what "influencers" hehe, have to say about the various distributions when I first learned about MX Linux. I have been using Linux every day all day for circa 2 years ~ and I love every minute, it feels like home. I spent a lot of time distro hopping and found myself always going back to either Arch or Manjaro. I'm not sure why I vibe well with those systems so much, perhaps it has to do with me being half german. I settled on Manjaro about 4 months or so ago and up until just a few days ago I was very content. What changed is me purchasing a new Samsung Space monitor 32Inches and becoming frustrated that Manjaro would not remember my new xorg config that I generated via nvidia-settings. I must have been doing something wrong but according to my research, I was saving the config to the correct location for the distro. In either case I was frustrated and thought, well I had only given MX Linux a brief try a short time ago but I felt it was not a very fair chance, as I became discouraged by my inability at the time to figure out how to switch init systems, that's all solved this time around thanks to the very helpful community here. What I enjoy most about MX Linux is knowing it's stable, based on Debian and also the very handy MX Tools which I feel were designed for lazy people like me :) but these scripts are very helpful to a newcomer such as myself. I had tried many distros in the past, not just the past 2 years of using Linux seriously but including the numerous other times I played around with Linux from an "I am bored of <insert name of fusterating os>, I need a change" perspective. I could never bring myself to enjoy any Debian based distros, but absolutely loved the Arch way of doing things even though I am not a Linux expert I can follow instructions and enjoy a challenge. However, now that I am doing web development work I need something reliable and not requiring me to babysit or spend countless hours fixing things. I very much appreciate the work that the MX Linux team of developers as well as the community as put in to make this wonderful OS I can now call home. Thank you.

Great post.

[Durhammer]

Chiming in here to echo the sentiment. A few weeks ago, I was still on Linux Mint 19.3. Due to many overheating crashes, I had switched from Cinnamon to Xfce and got pretty used to that. However, whilst on a Zoom seminar, my Psensor warning flashed up my temp alarm letting me know the CPU temp had gotten over 90C. I shut down the Zoom and started looking for a new distro. MX came to the rescue.

I have no idea what the difference is in MX vs Mint, but my laptop would regularly run in the upper 60s/lower 70s under Mint. Now, under MX, it's rarely above mid-50s. The laptop is a Samsung RF711 with a 17.3" monitor and a 1TB Samsung SSD EVO 860 drive. The laptop's fan has no speed sensor that can be found, so I have no way to monitor that. Would love to know just what it is that keeps the temps low, so as maybe to find ways to lower it further!

[andyprough]

Chiming in here to echo the sentiment. A few weeks ago, I was still on Linux Mint 19.3. Due to many overheating crashes, I had switched from Cinnamon to Xfce and got pretty used to that. However, whilst on a Zoom seminar, my Psensor warning flashed up my temp alarm letting me know the CPU temp had gotten over 90C. I shut down the Zoom and started looking for a new distro. MX came to the rescue.

I have no idea what the difference is in MX vs Mint, but my laptop would regularly run in the upper 60s/lower 70s under Mint. Now, under MX, it's rarely above mid-50s. The laptop is a Samsung RF711 with a 17.3" monitor and a 1TB Samsung SSD EVO 860 drive. The laptop's fan has no speed sensor that can be found, so I have no way to monitor that. Would love to know just what it is that keeps the temps low, so as maybe to find ways to lower it further!

I've found the same when I've briefly tried Mint in the past - CPU usage is too high and it runs hot. Also had that problem with Cinnamon desktop, even on other distros like MX and Artix. I don't think it's so much what MX is doing right (although that is definitely part of it), but what extra work Mint/Cinnamon is making the PC do.