I'm currently using Arch Linux, but I'm planning to buy a new laptop and would like to set up my old one for a non-technical user. The laptop only has 2GB of RAM, making it unsuitable for running Windows smoothly. Can anyone recommend a lightweight Linux distro that would work well on this setup?
4 Answers
Linux Mint with the XFCE desktop environment is a solid choice for low-end machines. I've had some rough experiences with it locking up on 4GB of RAM, so it might be tricky. If you go that route, I recommend setting up a swap partition to help with performance. It's worth a shot!
Xubuntu is another great alternative! It has a user-friendly interface and performs well on lower-end hardware. Definitely consider it alongside Mint XFCE and MX Linux!
I'd recommend trying out Lubuntu or MX Linux for sure—they tend to be lighter on resources. Just make sure to keep expectations realistic with what a 2GB RAM machine can handle!
Honestly, if you're looking for something super lightweight, you might want to consider Lubuntu or MX Linux. They are designed for older hardware and should run well on 2GB of RAM. Zorin OS is also an option, but I'm not sure how it performs on such limited specs.
Are you sure Mint XFCE performs better than the regular version on 4GB? What was your experience like?