What OS on a Old PC?

[Niko]

So hi i got a old PC which was originally running Windows XP on it but i am planning to install a other OS. So far i was considering Alpine Linux or FreeBSD. Any recommendations for maybe a different OS? Here are the specs:

• CPU=Intel Pentium E2140

• GPU=Integrated Graphics

• RAM=4gb of DDR2 (I don't know the exact speed)

• Storage=A old slow 160 WD HDD[/list/

[TheFighterJetDude]

Maybe Win2000 with extended kernel (hopefully soon there will be better browsers to use on vanilla 2000)

[DoNotThrowOldPCsAway]

Give Void Linux a try. Since you are prepared to go with Alpine it shouldn't be too convoluted for you.

[luk3Z]

XP, Vista or MX Linux/AntiX. HDD change to SSD (use IDE to [m]SATA converter if needed).
Possibly W7 Starter or ThinPC could be also a good choice.

[Niko]

XP, Vista or MX Linux/AntiX. HDD change to SSD (use IDE to [m]SATA converter if needed).
Possibly W7 Starter or ThinPC could be also a good choice.

Well to be honest i don't think it's worth it to buy a SSD for that PC i never heard about MX or AntiX linux so i might chcek them out

[K4sum1]

All my puters get SSD

[Bird]

@Niko: An SSD makes a massive difference in speed on the old machines. Especially noticeable on (big) data access and startup.

Running Salix here on a much weaker Intel Atom 1,6 GHz with only 1 GB of RAM. 15.0 is too much for it, but the unsupported 14.2 is still useable.

Your computer could carry Salix.

[Niko]

All my puters get SSD

Even my main putter only got one cheap sata SSD lmfao

[Niko]

@Niko: An SSD makes a massive difference in speed on the old machines. Especially noticeable on (big) data access and startup.

Running Salix here on a much weaker Intel Atom 1,6 GHz with only 1 GB of RAM. 15.0 is too much for it, but the unsupported 14.2 is still useable.

Your computer could carry Salix.

Thanks for the recommendation gonna check it out later today!

[K4sum1]

Even my main putter only got one cheap sata SSD lmfao

Free Microcenter 256GB SSD deal and family members. I probably have like 10 of those drives by now.

[Niko]

Even my main putter only got one cheap sata SSD lmfao

Free Microcenter 256GB SSD deal and family members. I probably have like 10 of those drives by now.

smh i wish we had microcenter here in Poland

[madalin]

So far i was considering Alpine Linux or FreeBSD.

If you want freebsd, sure good option for an alternative os but check the hardware if it's freebsd compatible, some of the newer/older hardware might not be supported on freebsd.
Linux Mint XFCE does the job too. Ubuntu Server / Arch Linux and you manually install a tiling window manager like I3 or dwm.

[Niko]

So far i was considering Alpine Linux or FreeBSD.

If you want freebsd, sure good option for an alternative os but check the hardware if it's freebsd compatible, some of the newer/older hardware might not be supported on freebsd.

Yeah i checked for that and it's compatible for now. The newest version which will release will sadly drop 32bit support

[madalin]

So far i was considering Alpine Linux or FreeBSD.

If you want freebsd, sure good option for an alternative os but check the hardware if it's freebsd compatible, some of the newer/older hardware might not be supported on freebsd.

Yeah i checked for that and it's compatible for now. The newest version which will release will sadly drop 32bit support

i doubt they'll drop 32 bit support on freebsd.
If freebsd doesn't work out, you've got options like openbsd or netbsd
when it comes to linux though:
https://archlinux32.org/
https://voidlinux.org/download/
https://forum.puppylinux.com/puppy-linux-collection ( use the debian base or void one)
plain ol' debian lol
even slackware is enough for these old computers

[kloak]

Devuan is probably better than debian especially on 32bit only device, though i'd rather use openrc than sysvinit. systemd is a resource hog.

Freebsd is patchy for some things (wifi stack comes to mind) but if you're interested in 'true' UNIX-like then go for it, just be prepared to rtfm as they say. If you're into linux distros like slack or gentoo you'd probably like the bsd's maybe a bit more than them =)

[K4sum1]

Is there any real advantage or disadvantages between systemd and not? I figure one big thing would be better integrated and faster.

This guy says WiFi is better on BSD (if it works) but idk.

https://izder456.tumblr.com/post/750680515381706753/why-openbsd

[kloak]

Is there any real advantage or disadvantages between systemd and not? I figure one big thing would be better integrated and faster.

shitstemd does some REALLY stupid things, and its creator is also a massive cunt (same person behind pulseaudio, go figure):
https://nosystemd.org/

I haven't used OpenBSD but have heard good things about it on /g/ of all places. I've just messed with FreeBSD a tiny bit, can definitely agree with the points about documentation being vast in the manpages. Saved me while I was forced to use a vi-based text editor for a bit there ahah.

[parobek17]

Alpine is great for an old pc or server build.
I daily drive it on my main i7-4785T SFF PC, thinkpad T490, and my jellyfin i5-12500T based server.
So for your hardware it will be probably best choice (if you want up to date system).
Just setup may be confusing for a new linux user.
Make sure to check if all your software is available for MUSL based distro.
If you need GLIBC based distro artix is also nice pick.
Don't get those sketchy distros like antix, tiny core or similar.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Edit: And you can tell everyone that you actually use Linux not GNU/Linux.

[kmuland]

If your PC support x64 just go for XP x64

I was using XP x86 for years .. and XP x64 provides an incredibly boost of performance

(same magic does not happen on vistax64 or 7x64 because these OS are bloated in comparison to XP)

[ersatz]

I can second the recommendation of XP x64. I've been running it on my main xp machine for over a year and recently switched over to x86 to see if there's truly a difference and its honestly pretty staggering. X86 is fine but for modern browsers and some games x64 runs them far more smoothly even on the same hardware.

Besides anti-viruses the thing about software being widely incompatible with x64 is also a myth, the only downside I can think of is a lack of POSReady updates, so security wise you'll be stuck in 2014. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Niko]

If your PC support x64 just go for XP x64

I was using XP x86 for years .. and XP x64 provides an incredibly boost of performance

(same magic does not happen on vistax64 or 7x64 because these OS are bloated in comparison to XP)

IIRC my CPU is a x86 CPU sadly but still good to know. I always thought that XP x64 is a buggy and unsupported mess. If I ever get 64bit hardwere I will consider XP x64