So, you’ve decided to liberate your Intel Mac.
Good choice.
Now the big question: Which Linux distro should you install?
There are hundreds. Most of them claim to be “lightweight,” “user-friendly,” or “blazingly fast.”
But your 2014 MacBook Pro doesn’t care about marketing—it wants compatibility and performance.
We tested the top contenders on two Intel-based Macs. Here’s what actually works in 2025.
Test Machines
- MacBook Pro 13” (2015) – Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM
- Mac Mini (2012) – Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM
We tested:
- Boot time
- Driver support
- Battery life
- Interface usability
- Package availability
- Resource usage
Let’s get into it.
🥇 1. Linux Mint 21.3 XFCE
- Best for: Older Macs with 4–8GB RAM
- Why we loved it:
Lightweight, intuitive, no bloat. Everything works out of the box—Wi-Fi, audio, suspend/resume. XFCE keeps CPU usage low.
Boot time: 9 seconds
Idle RAM use: ~580MB
Battery life: Excellent with TLP
Verdict: Your old Mac will feel brand new. No nonsense, just speed.
🥈 2. Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS
- Best for: Devs and power users with mid-spec Macs
- Why we loved it:
Gorgeous GNOME-based UI, tiling window manager by default, excellent hardware detection. Great choice if you need CUDA, development libraries, or systemd features.
Boot time: 11 seconds
Idle RAM use: ~950MB
Battery life: Moderate
Verdict: Slick, modern, and powerful—but a bit heavier.
🥉 3. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
- Best for: Beginners and those who need wide package support
- Why we loved it:
It’s Ubuntu—backed by Canonical, tons of tutorials, community support, and easy driver management. GNOME 46 is smooth and usable even on decade-old hardware.
Boot time: 12 seconds
Idle RAM use: ~1.2GB
Battery life: Good
Verdict: Safe, solid, and familiar.
🔧 4. Fedora 40 Workstation
- Best for: People who want the latest stuff
- Why we loved it:
Bleeding-edge kernel and Wayland support. Looks beautiful, performs well. But… kernel updates can break stuff if you’re not paying attention.
Boot time: 13 seconds
Idle RAM use: ~1.1GB
Battery life: Decent
Verdict: Not for the faint of heart, but amazing if you know what you’re doing.
⚙️ 5. Debian 12 (Bookworm)
- Best for: Absolute stability and control
- Why we loved it:
No fluff. Old-school Debian needs some firmware wrangling, but once installed, it’s rock-solid. Perfect for turning your Mac into a long-term Linux workstation.
Boot time: 15 seconds
Idle RAM use: ~600MB
Battery life: Excellent
Verdict: For the tinkerers who want to build their system piece by piece.
❌ Avoid These (for now):
- Arch Linux – Too much configuration for Intel Mac quirks unless you’re deep into it.
- Zorin OS / Elementary OS – Pretty, but often bloaty or buggy on Mac hardware.
- Kali Linux – Unless you’re a pentester, you don’t need it as a daily driver.
Our Recommendation
If you just want to get going—Linux Mint XFCE wins hands down.
It’s fast, clean, stable, and doesn’t fight your hardware.
Need more firepower? Go with Pop!_OS or Fedora.
Final Tip
Before committing, test the distro in Live USB mode. See if your Wi-Fi works. Test sleep.
Don’t fall in love until it boots.
Ready to ditch macOS bloat and feel the speed? Pick your Linux, flash the drive, and set your Mac free.