I've got this moderately old laptop with an i3-10th Gen processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD—definitely not a powerhouse. It's been okay for programming, but Windows is becoming a real hassle, making it hard to build my web applications. I have around 70GB of storage free, and I was wondering if I could successfully run Linux (like Mint or Arch) alongside Windows in a dual boot setup given these specs.
3 Answers
There are lightweight distros that will fit comfortably in your free 70GB and work with your 4GB memory. You might also look into using techniques like zram to manage memory more effectively. This can give you a smoother experience even with limited RAM! Check out this [guide](https://fosspost.org/enable-zram-on-linux-better-system-performance) for more performance tips.
Absolutely, you can run Linux. It won’t be the fastest experience, but it'll work. I’ve used Linux on much older hardware, and with only 70GB free, you can easily fit a lightweight distro. Just remember, Mint and Arch are very different—comparing them is like comparing a Honda Civic to a Lamborghini! If you just want browsing and basic tasks, you should be fine.
You can definitely dual boot Linux, but keep in mind that your laptop's 4GB of RAM could be a bottleneck. I've found that running a vite development server isn’t super smooth even on a lightweight distro like Arch with limited memory. Just something to consider if you're looking to do heavy lifting with web development.
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