how do you improve linux performance

[Voodoo]

my hardware is old, not too old (pentium dual core)

I was just wondering if there are any tricks/tips to improving linux performance

I only use mageia

[Ken-Bergen]

A lighter desktop, LXDE, fluxbox etc?

[Voodoo]

im using kde.

i meant is there any files that are worth modifying, is there any art to this

[doktor5000]

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=3536

[digigold]

If you like KDE, but want a lighter solution I highly recommend using qtCurve. It must run with either Kwin or OpenBox, so make sure it's using Kwin. I've always used either KDE, LXDE or FluxBox. I now use qtCurve w/KWIN instead of LXDE. Don't like qtCurve w/OpenBox though so if qtCurve+KWIN is too heavy I just use FluxBox.

[doktor5000]

If you like KDE, but want a lighter solution I highly recommend using qtCurve.

Or try razor-qt desktop

[digigold]

Or try razor-qt desktop

Wow...guess I was working too late, I referenced razor-qt as qtCurve for like 20 mins in multiple posts w/o noticing...Was trying to learn qt4-designer and I must have blown a circuit up top...

[doktor5000]

I know what you mean
*narf*

[zugunder]

In Mageia 1 with the latest video drivers for Intel (4th series) XRender loads CPU noticeably less than OpenGL rendering. I heard it is due to pretty bad OpenGL support for Intel video. Not sure if it the same in Mageia 2 and with newer Intel graphics.

[louielouie]

There's certainly enough configuration files that a few tweaks can make the system seem a little more responsive: the IBM Redbook on the Linux *kernel* has many optimizations that can be applied. Using a different file system can reduce load on the cpu and that can be configured as well.
Many kernel parameters can be affected in the /etc/sysctl.conf file - I like:

vm.swappiness = 90 # Could even go to 100 for snappy user response at the expense of throuput.
vm.dirty_ratio = 35
vm.dirty_background_ratio = 15
net.core.rmem_default = 8388608
net.core.rmem_max = 8388608
net.core.wmem_default = 8388608
net.core.wmem_max = 8388608
net.ipv4.ipfrag_low_thresh = 262144
net.ipv4.ipfrag_high_thresh = 393216
net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 4096 87380 8388608
net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 87380 8388608

as a starting point while the large aerospace company I work for has many other tweaks for reducing network traffic. Ext4 with "relatime,commit=50" helps the filesystem if you have a reliable power backup while an SSD hard drive for booting the kernel is certainly faster. This is assuming you have enough hardware (memory, fast h/d, etc.) for the tweaks to make a difference. There is no single "George Jetson" button...
-LouieLouie