How heavy is elementary over classic ubuntu?

Question

I feel that with all the additional apps pre-installed, and relying heavily on deriving elements from Ubuntu and Gnome, elementary must be heavy.

So I would like to know an as-quantitative-as-possible analysis of how heavy the OS is on RAM (and may be the system in overall) compared to Classic-Ubuntu/Gnome-Ubuntu. This is a problem that every user who is stunned by the awesomeness of Pantheon would like to get an answer to, before switching their OS/Desktop, so that they don't feel the hesitation that it would slow down their PC.

PS: Please feel free to add external links that may be helpful, but as of now I haven't been able to find a proper place that provides some sane discussion of this technical overhead comparison.

Answer 1

"additional apps pre-installed" implies that original Ubuntu and Gnome apps are present. Except where no alternative is available, they are not. We don't ship with both the Unity and Pantheon desktop installed, just Pantheon.

The current recommended system specifications are as follows:

• Intel i3 or comparable dual-core 64-bit processor
• 1 GB of system memory (RAM)
• 15 GB of disk space
• Internet access

Without these basics your installation will suffer. That said, Loki (I believe) will turn-off animations to degrade the experience, but improve the performance, of the system once it is release.