Does Ubuntu run faster than Windows 10?

Question

I'm going to reinstall an operating system in my computer. I had Windows 10 earlier, and now I'm thinking of using Ubuntu. I haven't used Ubuntu before, so I have a few doubts.

Does Ubuntu run faster than Windows 10?

Answer 1

Is Ubuntu faster than Windows is a broad topic that depends on many topics including your computer's hardware. Try running the Ubuntu live USB (which can also be used to install Ubuntu) from a live session without installing it to your computer's hard drive. Then you can compare Ubuntu's performance with Windows 10's performance overall and on a per application basis.

Ubuntu runs faster than Windows on every computer that I have ever tested. LibreOffice (Ubuntu's default office suite) runs much faster than Microsoft Office on every computer that I have ever tested. Many Windows games can also being installed on Ubuntu using Wine, and they usually run faster (and better) in Windows than they do in Wine.

There are several different flavors of Ubuntu ranging from vanilla Ubuntu to the faster lightweight flavors like Lubuntu and Xubuntu, which allows the user to select the Ubuntu flavor that is most compatible with the computer's hardware.

Answer 2

Welcome to the Linux community!

First of all, I would like to clarify some things to you to help you make up you mind on which OS to pick. Nowadays, you'll need to take into account the fact that there are several Linux distributions (distros) for different purposes.

I'd bet you want a desktop distro, so Ubuntu 18.04 LTS can work for you perfectly.

In terms of difficulty, you don't need to worry, as desktop distributions are pretty user-friendly nowadays.

You will have to use the terminal for sure, so I would recommend you learn the basics about the Linux terminal.

In terms of speed, as Brandin mentioned, it depends on what are you going to use the OS for. If it is entirely for desktop purposes, like office, browser, ... You won't see any difference to Windows.

Hope this helps to you.

Answer 3

This is difficult to say and realy depends on your hardware and also on your way to use the computer.

If you have a SSD you may will not get a shorter booting time (Ubuntu vs. Win10) out of the box. Also the battery time (if using notebook) will decrease with Ubuntu / Linux compared to Win10 (for standard installation).

With Ubuntu / Linux the update cycles will be shorter and you do not waste hours of waiting to install updates from Microsoft, but for some hardware it can be difficult to get drivers or sometimes just strange screen flickering, etc. can happen. There you must be able to dig the internet / forum to find a possible solution.

I am using both Win10 and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (and derivates like elementary OS) and happy with it. Daily usage normally Ubuntu, but if I need special software then I use Win10 (not every software is existing for Linux and Wine is a lot of time not perfect to run Windows-Software on Linux).

Overall I like and use Ubuntu a lot, espacially for my older laptops (just update HDD to SDD). Therefore it is realy great. I can use my old laptop from 2006 with 2 GB RAM and old CPU in a way, which would never be possible with Windows anymore.

Answer 4

"Will it be difficult to use and understand Linux? Will Linux be faster than Windows 10?"

Well the first answer that comes to mind here is : "depends on the operating system you choose"

Among the linux community we have a little moniker for them : "distro"

And you've instinctively posted on askubuntu, which is a testament to how much of a pole position ubuntu holds amongst the distributions.

The simple answer to why is "it's easy, user friendly and is the hub for one of the biggest if not biggest collection of intercompatible libraries of all the linux distributions, which in layman's terms means : despite these two first positive points they don't act as a deterrent to more positive points, such as also having the full potential of linux"

So I'd personally recomend ubuntu, perhaps I'm biased but I really find there quite little that compares in terms of easing in a new user who might be entering a realm he feels foreign to. (Zorin comes to mind but they have less library intercompatibility and quite a few bugs, the UI is clearly better for someone who uses windows though, I recomend it also but not as strongly as I do ubuntu)

And there's also little regrets to have about having chosen it first in case the investment becomes much much bigger : other linux distros won't offer much more in the way of libraries.

If you ever do change to another, it'll come down to wanting something incredibly specific.

Me personally, I'm a power user, a developer and a gamer.

Ubuntu is my daily driver for those three things and it has never let me down. I hope this speaks volumes.

I personally disagree with @EUS statement that you'll need to learn even some terminal (even though I edited his post, since that's his opinion, I left it in).

I believe nowadays a non-power user and beginer will never have recourse to the terminal (when using ubuntu!) .

as for speed there is little doubts that ubuntu is faster (just not for most games)

be sure to grab ubuntu 19.04 for the best experience.