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  • Hardware is Mini PC Intel Alder Lake-N100, 16GB ram, 500GB SSD HD

  • Games Minecraft and Steam Games

I know that I don't want to run Ubuntu server without a GUI. I have use Linux once in a while but I always have to google what I am doing because I can't remember the CLI commands. I saw that there are several Desktop versions that is advertised as light desktop and that is usually just a matter of taste. Trying to avoid downloading/installing/testing every version to find one that I like but my goal is to have a barebone OS with a simple and easy to use GUI. Also looking for one with LTS support. My goal is to setup it up and forget it. Hoping for a degree of automation that the server will auto download and update at a set date and time, maybe reboot at set time daily. The only thing I want this device to do is to host games. My main goal is to start with the proper flavor without adding unnecessary features or cleaning up packaged bloatware.

So would my best option be start with Ubuntu server and add GUI? or Is there a barebone desktop version that doesn't add Open Office, Media player, games, Gimp, etc. Basically a Ubuntu Server with desktop environment without any bloatware that I can go in and get only the repositories I want/need to host and manage my server?

Also I know that there is several different GUI options, where can I find a list showing and explaining the differences? In the past I have tested Ubuntu, Gnome, Xubuntu, Mint, Mate, Arch and probably a few more but it was so long ago I don't remember the pro and cons other than not all of them ran on my old hardware I was recycling.

Scott D
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    You are asking about the "best option". Opinion-based questions are off topic on AskUbuntu. My 2 cents would be to stop worrying. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Desktop would take up 2% of your 500GB and can just sit there without slowing or otherwise "bloat" your system. It's just bits flipped one way or the other on your disk. – zwets Jan 27 '24 at 00:31
  • Only Ubuntu and official flavors of Ubuntu are on-topic on this site, and the lightest 'out of the box' is actually Lubuntu using the LXQt desktop and thus a Qt5 environment. Next is Xubuntu using the Xfce desktop & a GTK3 environment... thus if it was me I'd use Xubuntu if using GTK3 apps, Lubuntu if using Qt5 etc... ie. its not the hardware but what you'll run on it that I'd use to decide.. Additional: The graphics hardware can also influence what is best I've noted in QA esp. in regards kernel (thus kernel modules). – guiverc Jan 27 '24 at 00:31
  • "Is [...] barebone [...] doesn't add [...]": IIRC there is a checkbox in the installer. Without GUI, it may be hard to run Steam unless you know steamcmd. Why don't you just spin up a VM and try "Ubuntu server and add GUI"? – Daniel T Jan 27 '24 at 00:35
  • Do you want the full desktop which includes all the applications? Or just a gui. Ubuntu Server + lxde or openbox or fluxbox Or Xfce GUI without any of the associated Xubuntu applications sudo apt-get install xfce as an example of any of the gui without desktop. You can add full desktop with server install. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Tasksel – oldfred Jan 27 '24 at 15:12
  • While looking at all the different options I stumbled on Ubuntu for Intel IoT platforms, think that is what I am going to try since it is specifically aimed for my hardware. Thanks for all the feedback, and all the links shared. I knew the options was out there I just didn't know what to search for exactly. – Scott D Jan 28 '24 at 17:23

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