I've recently switched to Xubuntu 25.10 with XFCE, and while overall I'm enjoying Linux, I've noticed that the Out Of Memory (OOM) killer doesn't seem to kick in when my system is struggling. My computer often freezes for several minutes because some apps aren't well-optimized for Linux. I've never seen the OOM killer do its job; it's usually up to me to close apps or reboot the computer. Is there a way to make the OOM killer more sensitive? For context, I'm running on an Intel i3 11th gen with integrated graphics and 8GB of RAM.
1 Answer
It sounds like you might want to consider tweaking your swap settings. Using a swap file or partition could help, and you might want to look into ZRAM as well. Increasing your memory reservations may also optimize performance. Since you're on an i3, running a lightweight Linux environment can also make a big difference. Some options include Antix or Bodhi Linux, which consume less RAM compared to heavier distributions. Just a thought!
My setup is generally working well, but I do notice lag spikes sometimes. Xubuntu has been solid for me compared to Windows 11, and I have a decent NVMe SSD with plenty of space. The apps that lag the most tend to be Discord and Steam (not the games, just the platform). I might check out increasing my swap—thanks for the tip!