I'm trying to repurpose my Lenovo Ideapad which has 2GB of RAM and an Intel Celeron N4000. It's currently running Windows 10, but with support ending and my CPU always maxed out, I think it's time to switch to a lighter OS. I only have 64GB of storage and my main uses would be light web browsing, watching videos, script writing, and maybe a bit of SNES or GBA emulation. I'm considering Ubuntu or Tiny 11, but I'm not sure what would work best.
3 Answers
You should also look into AntiX or Bodhi Linux. They are super lightweight and tailored for older machines like yours!
For light web browsing, good luck finding truly "light" pages these days! But for your uses, I can't recommend Lubuntu enough. It ran pretty well on my dual-core Celeron with 4GB of RAM, and one user mentioned it has only around 500-700MB of RAM usage when idle. Just be aware that with only 2GB, it might struggle a bit, but it's worth a try!
Check out older sites like old Reddit; they might be easier on your machine.
Yeah, I'd be worried about performance too, especially with video watching where RAM can get eaten up fast!
Linux Mint with the XFCE desktop is a great option too! I switched it from Ubuntu on a Chromebook with a similar setup, and it's been pretty smooth. It tends to idle around 500-600MB of RAM. If you're stuck with just 2GB of RAM, it might be tight, though!
I might also look into Mint XFCE since you mentioned it takes up less RAM.
Unfortunately, upgrading RAM on some laptops can be tricky. Yikes.
Bodhi Linux sounds interesting, I'll give it a shot!