Choosing the right lightweight distro will depend on what you’re going to use it for.Some older versions of Windows and OS X are fast for older hardware, but they don’t get any support or updates, unlike all distros listed here. You’re guaranteed to see an improvement in performance. If you’re using Windows or OS X and it “feels slow”, switch to a Linux distro. Linux distros and the software that runs on them are far more optimized and compatible with old(er) hardware. Any Linux distro is better than Windows/OS X when it comes to old hardware.These guidelines should help, but if you’re feeling overwhelmed, just pick any distro from the list below and you’ll be fine.
#Most popular lightweight linux distro how to#
If you’re having trouble viewing this article from a lightweight computer, visit the AMP versionĪnyway, before we go on with the list, a few quick tips on how to choose the best one for you: How to choose the best lightweight Linux distro for you Why should you use other OSes full of bloatware and unnecessary stuff when you can use a perfectly fine Linux alternative?
Most distros are portable and can run on a Live CD/USB, without a hard drive.
#Most popular lightweight linux distro install#
You can install them on some bleeding-edge hardware and get the ultimate performance. Lightweight distros don’t even have to be used on old hardware. Install a lightweight Linux distro on them and they’re as good as new. You don’t have to throw away your old PCs and laptops. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, just pick any distro. All distros are free and can run on ~512MB RAM or less. We purposefully included many distros in our list so you have more options to choose from. Come on, how is that distro still relevant and good in 2022? And don’t get us started on how each list is just a rehashed version of the same 5 distros. It took us 7 months to compile this list and a few weeks to update it with new data! We’ve seen new lists that included distros with their latest update being in 2005. Sure, there are other similar lists our there, but this one has up-to-date info and we’ve personally tried and tested (almost) every distro on our old laptops. Actually, some of them fit both our categories. With the feedback and requests we got from our Best Linux Distros for Gaming list, we had to do another list of the best lightweight Linux distros.