Best Linux Distro for Fastest Internet Browsing?

Question

What's the best Linux Distro for the fastest internet browsing speed? Fastest webpage rendering and up/down speeds?

Besides using Linux, right now I'm using Opera in my full installation of Windows XP and I've created a Barebone XP installation that only runs internet services to give the system full priority to the internet...which also uses Opera as default. That runs way faster than the internet in my full version of XP too, and the installation package was only 100MB rofl. works great, just extremely limited, and extremely fast.

I understand that your ISP along with the current "Internet Traffic Forecast" play a major role in your current internet speed, but on average, there is certainly more internet slowdown on older installations of XP, than newer ones. I've tested that theory using the same connection over LAN and the newer system blew the older one away in Internet rendering and up/down speed results...wtf why lol? The older system was completely clean of anti-virses, spyware, disk fragmentation, etc...the only problem I could see would be the larger amount of registry entries...but even after using jv16's superior registry cleaner, the older system still didn't stand a chance against my fresh installation, when it came to internet speed results. it's mad.

Answer 1

I use Galeon or Epiphany (whichever I feel like using at that moment) on Xfce4 or Enlightenment, on a Debian installation. Both the browsers and the desktop environments are slick and fast. They leave out a lot of RAM free to be used by Web 2.0 applications such as blogs, youtube, myspace and such. Internet speeds are as fast as they can get.

Kazehakase, Hv3 and Midori are upcoming, small browsers. I haven't tried them yet. If you don't have much of graphical needs on the Internet, use w3m or lynx.

I don't know if distributions make much of a difference in speeds. I love Debian, so I'll recommend it for you as well. Besides that, DSL, Puppy Linux, PCLinuxOS, Fluxbuntu are known for being small as well as being fast. If you have good hands on knowledge of using a Linux system I suggest you use Slackware. Everything on Slackware is hand tuned by the user, except of course, the applications are precompiled.

Answer 2

Fastest Linux Distro

Answer 3

That is a very complicated question. I have not, however, found any real difference in speed with any of the Distro's that I have tried. I personally like Ubuntu... you can install Opera or Netscape (although netscape doesn't have a launcher, and you have to click on it from within the folder). However, it is the dependencies for each specific page that determines overall browsing speed. If a site uses Java, it will be slower to load than one that is strictly HTML. Same can be said with Flash.
However, I am curious about the new Google Distro, called gOS. It is only an alpha release at the moment, but, it almost completely web-based, and one would assume, since it is based on Ubuntu 7.10, that they have changed the code to help with speed issues.

Answer 4

The Internet will be roughly the same no matter what distro you use. Now, if you have a really old machine, stick with something simple like Xubuntu or maybe Puppy Linux (which isn't much bigger than what you've already got). Xubuntu (an Ubuntu derivative) has much more software in its repositories, as far as I know. Good luck!

Answer 5

I guess you already know a good deal... Anyway I will tell what I know.

First using Opera is a great idea and its the fastest browser and also light on your system. Try using the Opera 9.5, I have heard its much faster than Opera 9.2. But its still in Beta release only. http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/next/

Then for the Linux version I suggest using the Vector Linux SOHO Edition. http://www.vectorlinux.com and Damn small Linux might be good too as it is a really very light one. http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

And try Xubuntu, a lighter version of Ubuntu. http://www.xubuntu.org/

Hope I helped you.

Answer 6

It'd be about the same on any linux distro, you could install a lightweight web browser, that would speed things up a bit

I think opera is pretty light

Answer 7

Such hardware is simply enough to get the nice GUI like the one of Xubuntu, if you like the Debian way. Personally, other well advised distros for it would be AntiX and Puppy Linux, in order of preference and value for what you need.

Answer 8

Fast Browsing speed is based off the browser and the internet connection. Opera WB is the fastest when it comes to rendering.

Answer 9

i used, pxlinux os, fedora core, redhat, and now Ubuntu. puppy linux os. but i used net only in Ubuntu ..... as i kept other installation only for external storage unit accessing and for just to know how the linux environment after all..... Ubuntu is ok. no popups...no virus...

Answer 10

you have way too much time on your hands. try damn small linux, it will run on a 386. it should fly on a modern machine.