I have an old Windows Surface 3 tablet that I'm looking to rejuvenate as a project for an 11-year-old Ukrainian refugee. The tablet has pretty lackluster specs: an Intel Atom x7-78700 processor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, integrated graphics, and a 58GB SSD. Currently, it's running Windows 10, but it's terribly slow with a delay of several seconds for any input. I've never used Linux before, but I'm seriously considering it for both this tablet and possibly my own PC. Are there any lightweight and user-friendly Linux distributions that would work well on this kind of hardware?
5 Answers
Consider using a Debian-based distro like Linux Mint. However, I'd steer clear of Ubuntu flavors since they tend to complicate the package management with their branded stores, making future switches harder.
Upgrading the RAM would be ideal, and if that’s an option, I'd recommend Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop. If you can't upgrade, Lubuntu or Linux Mint with Xfce is your best bet.
Thanks for the tip! Lubuntu does seem like a good fit. Unfortunately, the RAM is not upgradable in this tablet, so I’ll have to stick with lightweight options.
Given the limited RAM, I'd suggest installing Debian with the Xfce desktop environment. It has a light installer, and you could use the full ISO to avoid needing to run a live installer due to RAM constraints. Also, since it’s a Surface, be prepared to install a patched kernel afterwards to ensure all the hardware works properly. Check out Linux Surface for installation resources!
Yeah, the basic process is to install Linux, and then if some hardware doesn’t work perfectly, get the patched kernel to fix those issues. Definitely look at the guides on that!
You might want to check out Xubuntu or Lubuntu as they are user-friendly and lightweight enough for older hardware. They come with simple setups that should be easy for a child to handle.
What's a lightweight browser option for systems with 2GB of RAM? Should we just go with Lynx?
Is this instruction simple enough for someone in their twenties? Asking for a friend!
What about using Antix Linux or Q4OS? They're incredibly lightweight and suitable for older devices too.
You can actually simplify Ubuntu by removing snaps and the Ubuntu Store, but it’s a bit more involved than a typical setup.