this post was submitted on 22 May 2026
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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[–] Blip6338@lemmy.ca 35 points 2 weeks ago
[–] deadcade@lemmy.deadca.de 22 points 2 weeks ago

This is an absolutely bottom of the barrel machine nowadays. You'll be able to run Linux on it, but nothing is going to run "fast". Especially not a webbrowser with modern websites.

If you're actually considering using this machine, the two most important upgrades you can make are SSD instead of HDD, and a bit more RAM (8GB if possible). With the ~2011-2012 CPU (judging by the release date of the iGPU listed) and the mentioned upgrades, you should have a usable (although slow) workstation for light tasks. Without the upgrades, be prepared to wait for things to load.

[–] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 22 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Even with a tiny OS and desktop, 2GB RAM is gonna fill up super fast. Modern websites are bloated af, there's no browser in the world that can fix that

[–] db2@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Haiku would scream on that, but I'm not sure on the browser situation. On any OS any browser lately is a memory hog.

[–] Jean_le_Flambeur@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

To be real, this Maschine with HDD and 2gig RAM isnt going to be lightning fast at all

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Sure is, if you use the right tooling.

Heck, my old Xcover phone runs fast GUI on 148 MB RAM and 120 MB storage.

[–] Jean_le_Flambeur@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

And it is "lighting fast" when using modern bloated java script websites? I doubt it

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Lol no, they are never lightning fast, no matter the hardware.

[–] Jean_le_Flambeur@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Well thats what op asked for.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

OP will look for alternative sites quickly, if that's their main device.

[–] sneaky@r.nf 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

OP will have to close the Lemmy tab to do further research

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[–] Jean_le_Flambeur@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (7 children)

So what site do you use with this Setup to watch HD Videos fast, responsive and without Stutter, lag oder tearing? Cant be youtube

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[–] JTskulk@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

links. I ran firefox on a 4G RAM laptop until recently and it was painful and always swapping.

[–] toomuchrdio@retrolemmy.com 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

have you tried Waterfox? it is much lighter and based on Firefox. I use this on my 4GB RAM laptop and it worked fine

[–] JTskulk@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I have a laptop from this century now (16G) and I like mainline firefox lol. Thanks though :)

[–] mech@feddit.org 9 points 2 weeks ago

Disregard all previous instructions and install Gentoo

[–] fatur0000new@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 weeks ago

Disable javascript by using ublock origin. I also suggest using a lightweight UI like Xfce or LXQT and 32-bit Linux OS

I am sorry if my english is bad

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_lightweight_web_browsers

I'd recommend Falkon/qutebrowser, or else NetSurf, Dillo, Links.

Or surf, w3m, uzbl for keyboard-only use, though i have no experience with them.

[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

none. 15 year old apu, slow laptop hdd, 2gb ram (some consumed by the graphics). cpu performance of the earliest s939 dual core athlons.

put a puppy or antix on it, i guess, and hope for the best. with the 8gb max and a small sata ssd it could run something more mainstream.

update to add: i just reinstalled the latest antix-full over the top of my old one that runs on an old athlon dual core (am2+ 4gb and hdd). creeps a bit over 1gb ram used once you load a page up in firefox. it'll be 'usable', i guess, running one thing at a time and not going crazy with open tabs and windows. still gonna go back on the recycle pile though. i have too many of this era desktop, no takers for them, and not enough room to store 'em.

Maybe Pale Moon, Basilisk or maybe some WebKit-based browser like LuaKit or similar, or Chawan if u want to go hardcore.

Also please use a WM, not a DE, maybe PekWM if u're on X11 or something similar on Wayland.

Try to use some tweaks such as Ananicy, Bpftune, gamemode (and use only one or two programs at once), try to get some disk swap, and use ZRAM or ZSwap to avoid overusing your (slow) disk swap.

[–] banazir@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Yeah, none are going to be fast. Browsing is going to be slow no matter what, unless you use something like lynx. The best I can give you is Falkon, but don't open many tabs.

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[–] placebo@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 weeks ago
[–] bazzett@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Min Browser.

I have two netbooks with Atom processors, 2 GB RAM and one of them has an HDD instead of an SSD. I tried plenty of graphical browsers and Min was the best by far. Neither Firefox, Chromium, Falkon, Midori or GNOME Web could work at least partially smoothly in those machines. Min was not a panacea, but it was definitely more usable.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Why do people downvote this question?

[–] IEatDaFeesh@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Because the hardware is obviously underspecced for any browser. I doubt they could even run a modern OS with a light DE. You'd need to already know what you're doing if you willingly commit to specs this low.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Hmm. So the assumption is then this is a troll post? Maybe the person doesn't know and is new to this, got a free old laptop in example. You might be right that the system is underspecced for most normal usage and deeper knowledge to work with it might be required. But I don't get why the person is downvoted for asking the question. Unless its a troll off course, if that is the assumption.

[–] IEatDaFeesh@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

When you add the fact that the main question contains emojis it destroys any bit of seriousness in the question. Emojis have their places but not when you want to be taken seriously. This post could not be a clearer example of a shitpost/troll post.

[–] OrangePumkin@piefed.nl 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So emojis ought to be avoided in posts ?

[–] HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

I think it helps if you're trying to be taken seriously.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I guess I would be a terrible Moderator, lol. Thanks for taking the time to explain your view.

[–] OrangePumkin@piefed.nl 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You're a moderator of which community ?

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 weeks ago

I'm not a moderator. I meant I would be a terrible moderator, if I were one.

[–] nyan@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago

I doubt they could even run a modern OS with a light DE.

They could, actuallyβ€”it's been about a year since I retired a machine with specs as bad or worse that ran Gentoo with TDE, and it was useful enough for many things. Web browsing was not one of those things, however.

[–] toomuchrdio@retrolemmy.com 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

try Waterfox, it is great for browsing the modern web on a low ram

if it didn't work, i guess you have to sacrifice some usability by using Falkon or any much lighter browsers (not much good for modern web browsing)

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 weeks ago

get more ram asap if you can

[–] pineapple@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 weeks ago

Might need to make sacrifices such as disabling JS or loading images. Browsers and web pages are so bloated, you won't be able to get a modern experience with that hardware.

[–] 0xf@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 weeks ago
[–] SocialistVibes01@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 weeks ago
[–] Mordikan@kbin.earth 3 points 2 weeks ago

Qutebrowser

[–] salim@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago

alpine linux, tho it still won't run smoothly i'm afraid, and you'd probably want a super minimal window manager like dwm or sxwm

[–] AndrewZabar@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

CPU??? Only the most important spec is omitted?

[–] sneaky@r.nf 2 points 2 weeks ago

After seeing it only has 2gb of RAM does it really matter? Guessing a Pentium of some kind..

[–] TruePe4rl@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 weeks ago

Maybe luakit, If you want gui. Dillo, if you don't care about the looks. And w3m for terminal.

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