best lightweight linux distros for older computers

Yet another Ubuntu-based lightweight Linux distro, Lubuntu, is for folks who want to experience Ubuntu on a barebones system. Lubuntu / LXLE: Best Ubuntu-based Lightweight Linux Distro Still, given its versatility and ease-of-use, it is easily one of the best lightweight Linux distros for old computers.ģ. The recent versions of Linux Lite are not compatible with older, 32-bit systems. Linux Lite also supports default UEFI boot mode, making it suitable for newer systems. It also offers users a better Linux desktop experience.

Linux Lite 5.0 comes with a whole host of new features to make it work out-of-the-box, including pre-installed LibreOffice, GIMP, Dropbox, VLC media player, and Firefox. That makes it a relatively demanding option than some of the other distros on this list. Minimum system requirements include a 1GHz processor, 768MB of RAM, 8GB of free storage space, and a VGA resolution (1024×768) screen. It is based on Ubuntu LTS releases and comes with a whole host of popular and helpful applications. Linux Lite is not just one of the best lightweight distros but also one of the most user-friendly operating systems for new users, especially those migrating from Windows. Linux Lite: Best Lightweight Linux Distro for Windows Users That said, AbiWord, Gnumeric, and MPlayer are part of the default installation, along with a choice of lightweight web browsers and a utility for downloading other packages.Ĭheck Out Puppy Linux 2. And to maintain its lightweight nature, Puppy Linux does not come with many pre-installed applications. It is user-friendly and can be live-booted using a CD, DVD, or USB flash drive.

The choice of your binaries determines the availability of additional packages.

Puppy Linux isn’t based on another full-fledged distro but can be built from packages of distributions such as Slackware and Ubuntu. Official system requirements for Puppy Linux include a 600MHz processor and 256MB of RAM, which means even PCs from the late 1990s should be able to run this without any issues. The OS can run from RAM, with the latest version taking up barely about 300MB of space on 32-bit systems (and 600MB on 64-bit PCs). One of the all-time favorite lightweight Linux distros, Puppy Linux, is a Unix-like operating system primarily meant for netbooks, older systems, and Live CD. Puppy Linux: Best Lightweight Linux Distro Overall

Best lightweight linux distros for older computers