Which version of Linux works best with older computers?

Answer 1

"Older computers" can encompass a wide range of hardware going back nearly 20 years. To simplify the variables, I'll give some example configurations, along with some appropriate Linux distros you may like to try.

Pentium 4 2.8 GHz

1 GB DDR RAM

60 GB IDE hard drive

This is within the spec of pretty much every Linux distro. Ubuntu, Kubuntu, OpenSUSE, PCLinuxOS, and Debian are all good choices for a computer like this. If you demand an extremely responsive desktop, try Xubuntu, Debian with an Xfce desktop, or Dreamlinux.

Pentium III 1 GHz

256 MB PC133 RAM

20 GB hard drive

Things start to get a little tighter here. More RAM on such a system would improve performance immensely. On a Pentium III, an Xfce desktop (as found in Xubuntu or Dreamlinux) is ideal. Puppy Linux (with JWM) would also run well.

Pentium II 400 MHz

128 MB PC66 RAM

10 GB hard drive

While Xubuntu and Dreamlinux will still run decently, they no longer exude a large amount of speed. Puppy Linux should still be good. Debian does not provide a JWM CD by default, but it can be installed from the netinstall version from the command line. Damn Small Linux, based on an older version of a Knoppix LiveCD, begins to look attractive.

Pentium MMX 233 MHz

32 MB of DIMM modules RAM

4 GB hard drive

From this point on, Linux becomes a little more "down to basics." Desktops are still available, but they lack as much "user-friendliness" as many distros aimed at newer computers have created. Damn Small Linux is one of the best choices for a desktop system. Puppy Linux is no longer usable, as it requires 128 MB to boot a LiveCD. A Slackware install with a JWM or Fluxbox desktop is a decent choice. Xubuntu is still technically bootable, but will take so long to boot as to be useless. Debian is still possible, as long as you know how to use the command line to install a desktop.

Intel 486DX-66 MHz

16 MB of RAM

1 GB hard drive

This is likely the end of the line for most users. Beyond this point lies only ancient console-only distros, kernel recompiling, alternative C libraries, and FPU emulation. Only the brave, daring, and masochistic dare tread this path. These requirements are the bare minimum for Damn Small Linux, the most minimalistic Linux desktop still developed. You could skimp slightly on the processor (say a 486DX-40) and hard drive (Damn Small Linux needs only 50 MB) but the X server will probably not run under less RAM.

Intel 386SX-33 MHz

4 MB of RAM

40 MB hard drive

Linus Torvalds began the Linux kernel on a machine similar to the above. In the ye olden days, a 386 with 8 MB of RAM was enough to run a state-of-the-art web server (and a crude X server). Today, you'd be hard pressed to even fit the kernel into such a small amount of memory. Honestly, you'd probably get more of the functionality you want on such a machine from FreeDOS than an ancient Linux kernel.

Answer 2

That depends on what you mean by "an old Mac." Macintosh computers date back nearly 30 years, with a variety of architectures and amounts of RAM. Just like with PCs, there is less support from current distros the older the machine is.

Intel Mac

Almost any Intel distro can be used on these. The 2006 iMacs and MacBooks may need a RAM upgrade to support Ubuntu or Kubuntu properly.

PowerPC Mac (New World ROM)

These have pretty good support by several Linux distros. Fedora, Debian, Gentoo, and GeeXbox all have official support for PowerPC Macs. There are also community supported versions of Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, OpenSUSE, and Slackware.

PowerPC Mac (Old World ROM)

These aren't as well supported, mostly because the kernel has to be launched from inside Mac OS, and most of them are too slow to be of any real practical use. You can still launch distros that have lower system requirements, such as Debian or a command-line version of Fedora. Nubus PowerMacs aren't supported by the default kernel in any distro, so you'll have to supply your own.

Motorola 680x0 Mac

Support for much of the hardware on most models is broken. Models with less than a 68020 processor aren't supported at all. You'll also need an MMU, and probably an FPU unit installed as well. The only distro that maintains any kind of support for these machines anymore is Debian, and even that is limited. Most people who still own these and run alternative operating systems on them recommend using NetBSD instead.