Will Ubuntu be faster than Windows for these given tasks on my machine?

I'm using Windows working on a new job and it can't handle all the things I need to run simultaneously. Although, I re-installed and cleaned up Windows to the bare minimum, de-bloated it, optimized for performance instead of appearance and changed to an SSD (Solid-State Drive), it still lags while I'm trying to work. It sometimes lags even when trying to watch a YouTube video. It's an older computer (2010-launched CPU), but I've done everything I could for both software and hardware related optimizations to make it faster.

In order to determine if Ubuntu would be faster than Windows or otherwise, I have described two parameters as follows.

(a) The tasks I need to run. These are the tasks I need to run simultaneously in order to do my job:

1. Firefox web browser, with 1 tab open which auto-refreshes every 30 seconds using the "Tab Reloader" extension.
2. Chrome web browser, with about 10 tabs open (Nothing too demanding running in the tabs. I have things open like Gmail, Google Sheet, Excel Online sheet, Pagerduty webpage, and 3~4 other pages with simple text and web forms that I use to enter information and other simple tasks).
3. Viber for Windows - which I use constantly for VoIP calls
4. Slack for Windows - which I use for text chats (No voice, no video)
5. NTP Time Zone Clock for Windows - which I use to check the time in different time zones
6. I use a Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse (with the USB receiver)
7. I use a Logitech wireless headset (with a USB receiver)

(b) My machine specifications.

Windows edition: Windows 10 Home
System:
Processor: Celeron(R) Dual-Core CPU T3500 @ 2.10 GHz 2.10 GHz
Installed memory (RAM): 4.00 GB
System type: 64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor
Pen and Touch: No Pen or Touch Input is available for this Display

---

Description: Disk drive
Model: Mercury Electra 6G SSD
Size: 232.88 GB (250,056,737,280 bytes)
Media Type: Fixed hard disk
Partitions: 3
Partition: Disk #0, Partition #0
Partition Size: 549.00 MB (575,668,224 bytes)
Partition: Disk #0, Partition #1
Partition Size: 231.72 GB (248,810,183,168 bytes)
Partition: Disk #0, Partition #2
Partition Size: 640.00 MB (671,088,640 bytes)

For more details, see: Windows and system information and SSD information.

Question: If I install Ubuntu on my machine as described above, can I do my job faster and without lagging? (also, do all those things I am using exist for Ubuntu?)

Please help me understand if I can do all those task on my machine as described above. I'm not techie enough to understand my machine specifications and handle with ease. With my current system, I'm struggling with speed and lagging. I would appreciate if I could get a simple answer.

Solution 1:

Saying "Ubuntu is faster" makes sense only on machines on which Windows ALREADY proved to be heavy and slow. As all this is relative, the answer should be understood within such limits.

That being said, Ubuntu is lighter than Windows 10 and 7, especially with light desktops like Xfce and Mate, with heavier desktops like KDE/Plasma and Gnome also performing better overall. The difference is striking with lower specs computers and may tend to disappear with powerful CPUs. My experience with very similar specs is that boot time, application startup and general behavior of the desktop get faster in Ubuntu and especially with Xfce desktop (but also in Plasma, Mate, LXDE, LXQt, Budgie, Pantheon etc, also testing outside Ubuntu) while internet browsing is much better, with Firefox and Chrome much faster and with no lags.(SEE NOTE BELOW)

NOTE: By the way: the above is an understatement: with Xfce there is no trace that my "old" computer IS old, and that my "low" CPU is low! All works perfectly, and therefore these terms are relative to the way Windows operates on a such machine. I see Windows as uselessly heavy and bloated and not my specs as mediocre. In this sense it is not 'specs' that make a computer "powerful", just as it's not gas that makes a powerful car: it may be that the 'old car' that needs to be replaced is not the PC, but Windows.

I have not tested myself all programs you listed, but they doesn't seem heavy, given your specs.

Anyway, you could test Ubuntu along Windows if you want, either from a live USB or locally in a separate partition.

So, the answers are:

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Never tested Viber, but there is an Ubuntu version that you could test: https://www.viber.com/download/
4. The same as above:https://slack.com/intl/en-fr/downloads/linux
5. There are many such tools for Ubuntu (Unity desktop had the option for the panel, for Gnome, here; also here; for Xfce, here (I could not add two digital clocks at the same time, but could add one digital and many of the other types); gworldclock can be used in any desktop in a separate window). An online solution should be available. There is also the Calendar Clock app for Chrome. Etc.
6. It should work. Slim chances of problems there.
7. Somewhat higher risks there, but it is easy to test (from a live usb) before full commitment.

(Hopefully you don't seem to need MSOffice, for which there is no Linux version and which can hardly be installed in Wine, where it operates rather poorly.)

As I said, you should test first from the live USB (that you need anyway in case you want to install), and if all goes well you could then test an installation on a separate partition. In case you don't like it you have to be sure you know how to restore your bootloader. In order to create a live usb I would recommend LinuxLive in Windows or Etcher in Linux. For a full installation of Ubuntu look here.

Be sure you understand risks and procedures (including backup) before going forward.

As you want a dual boot anyway, you could simply take that option, once you are confident about the risks involved by any formatting procedure etc.

NOTA BENE: Probably for commercial reasons, driver support may be problematic for certain specific devices in Linux compared to Windows, especially printers, wifi cards and video cards (although I have not experienced the last problem myself). Driver support can be easily tested before installation as indicated above though.