Ubuntu Server + MATE desktop vs Ubuntu MATE

So far I've only been using Raspbian on my RPi 4. Was curious about trying Ubuntu, especially as it comes in a 64 bit version. But I am confused. What is the difference between installing Ubuntu Server + MATE desktop and Installing Ubuntu MATE?

I did the server + Mate as I couldn't see a RPi4 version for UbMate
Derek

Thanks for the swift reply! How are you finding it so far? Are you running the 64 bit version? :smiley:

Yes, I an running the 64 bit version.
I've spent a while customising the gui to my taste (couldn't find everything as easily as earlier versions).
Getting the date and time to display as for Europe/London was a bit trying, and the background adjustment eludes me.
Just now I'm running Utube presentations on aspects of Bridge (see Bernard Magee), which works well on the firefox default browser, but haven't done much else.
Derek

I have been running 19.10 (64-bit) with MATE desktop on a RPi4 as my main computer for about 3 weeks now. I run the system from an SSD.
In general, the performance is similar to the previous system I was running (raspbian lite with MATE desktop), but some things are considerably faster.
The most outstanding is Thunderbird, my email client. With raspbian it took well over a minute to start up; with ubuntu, it's just a few seconds. Another improvement is with some large spreadsheet files I use. There is about a 30% to 40% reduction in the time it takes to open them with librecalc.
One small annoyance. I set the screen to blank after an hour of non-use. This works, but the backlight stays on. I know this was a problem with raspbian on the RPi4, but this was fixed in an update a month or two back. So hopefully this will also be fixed on ubuntu soon.

Do you think the speed increase when opening Thunderbird comes from changing to a 64-bit OS?

Is there anything you think works better on Rasbian?

I have been trying to find a comparison (either YouTube or article) of Raspbian vs. Ubuntu (64-bit) for RPi4 to see which was the best OS. But so far it has eluded me :slight_smile:

I don't know for certain that it's 64-bit vs. 32-bit or something else that makes the difference in the Thunderbird performance. A comparison of 64-bit and 32-bit Ubuntu systems would be a more revealing test.
The only application which is noticeably better in Raspbian is Chromium. Although the performance is acceptable in Ubuntu, it is a bit more responsive in Raspbian. Also, there are fewer dropped frames when streaming. For me that's not significant, as the system is my work computer, not an entertainment centre. In overall terms, Raspbian with the standard desktop is the least "sticky" system, but that does not mean that all applications work best on that OS.
To be honest, your best option is to try the different systems yourself, especially with the specific mix of applications that you use. For instance, the improvement I see in Thunderbird may not be applicable to other programs.
It also depends on what you mean by "best". Does that only refer to performance, or does it also include how "polished" the OS is, in terms of appearance or avoidance of the need to use the terminal?

I use my RPi4 as my main computer at home. I guess most of the time is used in chromium and I find that websites can be a little slow to open at times. Overclocking the Pi to 2GHz seemed to help a bit. Of course there is a limit to how snappy or responsive one can expect a RPi 4 to be. But I was wondering if a 64-bit OS would help as well. I must confess that I don't know enough about computing to know what situations 64-bit is faster than 32-bit. I know the Raspberry Pi foundation has spent a lot of time optimising Raspbian to Raspberry Pi's, but I figured that at some point their 32-bit OS wouldn't be able to compete with a 64-bit OS.

I also use my RPi 4 as my main computer, for both business and personal use, running it from an SSD. Probably more than 95% of the time I am using Chromium, Thunderbird, LibreOffice Write or LibreOffice Calc, so my main concern is that these applications work well.

Since I got the RPi 4 in October I have used Raspbian with standard desktop, Manjaro 64-bit with XFCE, Raspbian lite with MATE and Ubuntu 19.10 64-bit with MATE.

Raspbian with standard desktop was, in general, the "snappiest", though Thunderbird was quite slow. I also did not like the aesthetics, even after considerable tuning, so I moved to Manjaro 64-bit.

I must say, this was the most polished implementation. It looked very good, with very few issues. It was a bit "sticky", compared to Raspbian, but not unreasonably so. Nevertheless there was one performance issue which was a game-changer. In my work, I prepare reports where I need to type into cells in tables. For some reason, using LibreOffice Write, there was considerable typing lag. I spent several days trying to resolve this, but without success.

So next I moved on to Raspbian lite with the MATE desktop installed. This resolved the LibreOffice Write issue, but made Thunderbird very sluggish, especially after a version upgrade about a month ago.
So I finally moved to Ubuntu 64-bit with MATE. No performance issues, though a couple of minor problems which are not that important.

I must say that the OS I enjoyed the most was Manjaro, but it had a very specific performance problem I could not accept.

With regard to your comment about Chromium, it's difficult to know whether problems with some websites are due to chromium itself, or simply an internet bottleneck.

Another interesting point is that with the 32-bit systems I could overclock to 2050MHz, but with the 64-bit systems I could not get above 1900 MHz.

Interesting that the overclock should vary. Is this due to thermal throttling or would the 64-bit systems not boot above 1900 MHz?

I am considering using Ubuntu Server 20.04 + the mate desktop. But currently it is in beta and I am not sure if it is a fair comparison with Raspbian. But I was thinking that maybe the newer linux kernel (5.4 instead of 4.19) would bring some improvements.

I guess using Ubuntu gives the options of using other browsers than Chromium, but not sure if Firefox is any better. What I really need is to buy a new microSD card and give Ubuntu a go! :smiley:

Above 1900MHz, the system froze either during the boot process or very soon afterwards, but before the temperature could get high enough for thermal throttling.

By the way, my current system, which is 19.10 with the latest updates, is now using kernel 5.3.0.

Firefox is the default browser on Ubuntu, and it works well, but I'm just used to chrome and chromium.

I guess that is "the silicon lottery" that some people talk about. I haven't tried pushing my Pi passed 2000 MHz so don't have any idea about what is possible. So far the highest clock speed I have read about is 2147 MHz.

I guess your current system with kernel 5.3.0 has most of the improvements since 4.19?

Sorry, I don't really keep up with that level of detail. I'm just pleased to have a system that works for me.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Raspberry-Pi-Better-SPI

Seems that there is RPi improvements in the 5.4 kernel :slight_smile:

But to be honest I don't really know what it means...