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Is Arch Linux Really Faster Than Ubuntu?

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  • I've never had the feeling that Ubuntu was slow. In fact when it comes to things that really matter to the ordinary desktop user, it's blazingly fast. You can pop in an Ubuntu Live-CD and have the system installed and running in 15 minutes. Combine that with the fast boot times and ease of use, and you can see why it's so popular. IMHO other distros should take note.

    You guys can rant all you want about Gentoo's "superiority", but really there aren't many people out there who have the patience to wait 13 hours before their OS is done compiling just to check out if the claims from the Gentoo advocates are true. That's insane, and that's why Gentoo will always be a marginal distro.

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    • Originally posted by monraaf View Post
      I've never had the feeling that Ubuntu was slow. In fact when it comes to things that really matter to the ordinary desktop user, it's blazingly fast. You can pop in an Ubuntu Live-CD and have the system installed and running in 15 minutes. Combine that with the fast boot times and ease of use, and you can see why it's so popular. IMHO other distros should take note.

      You guys can rant all you want about Gentoo's "superiority", but really there aren't many people out there who have the patience to wait 13 hours before their OS is done compiling just to check out if the claims from the Gentoo advocates are true. That's insane, and that's why Gentoo will always be a marginal distro.
      People who run Gentoo aren't really concerned about the initial setup time. If you're installing that often that you're super concerned about initial install time, then Gentoo isn't really suited for such things - and it's not meant to be.

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      • Originally posted by mirv View Post
        People who run Gentoo aren't really concerned about the initial setup time. If you're installing that often that you're super concerned about initial install time, then Gentoo isn't really suited for such things - and it's not meant to be.
        But for people who want to try out Gentoo it does matter. It's not about installing often, it's about attracting new users. This is were first impressions matter a lot, and where Gentoo is a big *fail*.

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        • Originally posted by monraaf View Post
          But for people who want to try out Gentoo it does matter. It's not about installing often, it's about attracting new users. This is were first impressions matter a lot, and where Gentoo is a big *fail*.
          Gentoo is not as business oriented as other distros. So I think they're more concerned with "we provide this, and those who want to use it can do so". It's not intended to hold people's hand - if someone wants to try Gentoo, they should know by now that there will be a steep learning curve at the start. It does however have a really good step-by-step installation handbook that really is quite easy to follow.
          It's not a competition with anyone - it's about personal choice, kind of one of the strengths of Linux. The majority of new users will be attracted towards a more simple setup which does things for them - Gentoo is more easily customised, but requires the user to do a lot more, and results in not so simple a setup procedure, so naturally will attract a different crowd.
          I don't see any of this as making Gentoo better or worse than any other distro.

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          • Originally posted by mirv View Post
            Gentoo is more easily customised, but requires the user to do a lot more, and results in not so simple a setup procedure
            That doesn't make any sense at all. You contradict yourself in the same sentence.

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            • I must be tired - I don't see the contradiction, but I'll reword anyway.
              Gentoo is more easily customised after a relatively difficult setup procedure (for new people).
              By setup procedure I mean the base system - before you really start adding in the extra things you want (like X, web browsers, gnome/kde/whatever, ssh, etc). I suppose my own definition of setup caused some confusion - apologies there.

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              • Originally posted by mirv View Post
                It's not a competition with anyone - it's about personal choice, kind of one of the strengths of Linux.
                I agree with you. And if people want to run Gentoo that's absolutely fine with me. But when some members of the Gentoo community (not you) start ranting about Gentoo's superiority, world's fastest, bla bla bla.. I felt I had to set the record straight and inform them that when it comes down to things that actually matters to the average desktop user Gentoo isn't that great at all.

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                • Originally posted by monraaf View Post
                  I agree with you. And if people want to run Gentoo that's absolutely fine with me. But when some members of the Gentoo community (not you) start ranting about Gentoo's superiority, world's fastest, bla bla bla.. I felt I had to set the record straight and inform them that when it comes down to things that actually matters to the average desktop user Gentoo isn't that great at all.
                  To be fair, I do rant a little that Gentoo is superior for me, but I do always try to say for me (and everyone else should do what is best for them). But yes, I do agree that it's not for the average desktop user - I certainly recommend Ubuntu to new Linux users.
                  I also like Ubuntu for other reasons - it's gaining popularity, and provides a good system for companies, and hence more support from companies for linux.

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                  • Originally posted by b15hop View Post
                    Yes I agree. Back in the day... I used gentoo for the very same reason, just so I could watch a movie on my PC with no stuttering. Compiling gave a huge benefit at the time. Why is it now though, that gentoo isn't showing any significant gains over Arch, let alone ubuntu.
                    I think the gains are there, we are just missing thresholds that would make them worthwhile (once it runs without stuttering, the surplus CPU won't make it any better).

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                    • You guys can rant all you want about Gentoo's "superiority", but really there aren't many people out there who have the patience to wait 13 hours before their OS is done compiling just to check out if the claims from the Gentoo advocates are true. That's insane, and that's why Gentoo will always be a marginal distro.
                      It's not about superiority, it is about different choices for different people.

                      Over the 6 years that I've been running Gentoo, I've had to install exactly two times (once for each computer I've had during this time).

                      With the Ubuntu way, I would have had to reinstall 24 times -- twice a year, corresponding to the regular Ubuntu release schedule.

                      So the compile time needed the first time you install the distro is a moot point -- since it's a rolling distro, you only need to do it once.

                      I understand that some Gentoo script kiddies come off as abrasive and annoying and condescending, but do try to pick the right arguments.

                      Boot speed of Ubuntu is NOT one of them, at least when compared to Gentoo :P

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