Ubuntu vs Mint
Ubuntu vs Mint
I own an older MacBook Pro 8,3 from early 2011. It features a 2.2 GHz i7 processor with Sandy Bridge, 16 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB SSD drive. The system hasn't received any macOS updates for several years, and it relies on the outdated discrete GPU from ATI (now AMD). I discovered a workaround to disable the GPU, which means I'm using Intel's built-in video instead. I installed Mint 19.3, and it functions most of the time—except for the microphone, which stopped working after some changes. It was operational during initial setup. I suspect the instability started when I began testing various music player applications, all encountering issues with importing my iTunes library, especially for unencrypted CDs I had ripped. Another issue arose when updating the system; the installation reported a 5.0 kernel while the latest version is 5.4, causing problems. After backing up with Clonezilla, the update triggered a boot failure at the logo screen. Restarting into recovery mode helped, but rebooting into the older kernel versions caused the system to freeze. I attempted downgrading back to the 5.0 kernel and even the 4.15, but neither resolved the problem. Eventually, restoring my system partition from the backup resolved the issue, though the bootloader still didn’t work. The microphone remains unresponsive, and power management is inefficient—lasting only about three hours on battery with Mint, barely one hour with Mint. It also generates excessive heat even when idle. Overall, I’m worried about the reliability of Mint. Would you consider installing Ubuntu on top of Mint to see if it performs better? I’ve heard Ubuntu tends to be more stable than Mint. Since Mint is based on LTS Ubuntu and is generally a later release, that might explain some of the concerns.
I've actually heard mint is more stable than Ubuntu. It's important to note that stability and compatibility aren't the same. Generally, mac systems and larger volume purchases tend to be better supported. If I were you, I'd install Ubuntu on a USB drive and test it live to check for issues, then repeat the process with Manjaro if needed.
No? Mint 20 will arrive soon. Being on the newest Linux kernel isn't always wise. As long as your hardware fits the LTS version (like Mint's 4.15), I recommend sticking with it. Also, make sure timeshift is turned on next time—it helps save time when problems arise.
The 19.3 ISO corresponds to the 5.0 kernel. Installing the 4.15 kernel won’t support the config files from the 5.0 kernel.
I've been using Mint for just over two years and am really satisfied with it. The development team is still active and progressing. There are no reports of Mint being more unstable than Ubuntu. I haven’t noticed any complaints about its instability. For the OPs issue, consider reinstalling Mint or using a live USB with both Ubuntu and Mint 19.3. Be aware that the snap package system was included in Ubuntu 20.04, though I personally prefer not to enable it by default in future versions of Mint.
You might consider giving it a shot; I don’t think there’s any issue with that.