Tell me more ×
Ask Ubuntu is a question and answer site for Ubuntu users and developers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 14 down vote favorite
1

For a given hardware configuration, how do I find out if Ubuntu will run on it? What considerations should I take into account when choosing an Ubuntu version and flavour such as:

  • Xubuntu with a lighter desktop than the usual Gnome and Unity
  • Lubuntu with the even lighter LXDE desktop

Obviously Ubuntu does not run on some processor architectures. So how do I go about choosing the right version and derivate. How can I find out the minmal system requirements?

share|improve this question
This question is meant to be as a collection of most of the various old system requirement questions that pop up every once in a while. Such as: askubuntu.com/questions/206364/… askubuntu.com/questions/125280/… askubuntu.com/questions/11771/… askubuntu.com/questions/11771/… . So future questions of this type can be closed as exact duplicates. – con-f-use Oct 25 '12 at 19:46
I don't think this line is correctly laid out [Obviously Ubuntu does not run on some processor architectures.]. Ubuntu runs on x86 processors, x86-64 processors, PowerPC processors and ARM (ARMv7 and up) SoC. – Uri Herrera Oct 25 '12 at 19:59
This is going to be REAL fun. Just enough of a geek to try this too: XUnbuntu 12.04 on a Dell Latitude C800 (800 MHz CPU, 384MB Ram ... Dimm chips). Now THAT's an oldie. I guess I'll see if it works when it finishes installing in a couple of days! LOL!!!! I'll update in a few days. If it crashes, guess it will a few MORE days! I'm, having SOOO much fun :) – Lynn Mar 16 at 2:20

2 Answers

up vote 9 down vote accepted

Preliminary notes

First of all it makes no sense to install versions of Ubuntu that are no longer supported with updates. That is for the reasons at the bottom of this answer.

This answer will concentrate on currently supported versions of Ubuntu and its official derivates.

If your hardware nerver connects to the internet and if you will never use software newer than is included on the respective install media, only then it might be prudent to use outdated versions.

You don't have to install Ubuntu to see if it works on your hardware. It is always a good idea to boot from LiveDVD/USB and see if the system runs okay on the given hardware.

Even if it seems not to work, you might be just one boot option away from a working system. See My computer boots to a black screen, what options do I have to fix it? For example the nomodset option might help.

Currently supported versions and their minimal requirements

The community wiki usually offers an up to date list of currently supported versions. Minimal system requirements for Ubuntu can be found there in the tech sepcs. Information on the derivates is scarce but their requirements are less than what is listed here. Generally 32 Bit versions take up less memory and tend to be faster on older systems, than their 64 Bit counterparts. The Lists of Ubuntu certified hardware might also be of use to you.

Supported versions of Ubuntu

  • 10.04 Server (Lucid Lynx)

    The minimum memory requirement for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS is 256 MB of memory.

    via Ubuntu Wiki

  • 12.04 Server and Desktop LTS (Precise Pangolin)

    700 MHz processor (Intel Celeron or better) - 300 Mhz for Server

    384 MB - 128 for Server. Note that some of your system's memory may be unavailable due to being used by the graphics card.

    5 GB of hard-drive space (1 GB for Server)

    VGA capable of 1024x768 screen resolution for Desktop version

  • 12.10 Server and Desktop (Quantal Quetzal)

    768 MB of memory and 5 GB of disk space for Ubuntu Desktop [...]. I If your computer has only the minimum amount of memory, the installation process will take longer than normal or even appear frozen for some time.

  • 13.04 Server and Desktop (Raring Ringtail)

Supported versions of Lubuntu

  • 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot)

  • 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal)

    A Pentium II or Celeron system with 128 MB of RAM is probably a bottom-line configuration that may yield slow yet usable system with a standard lubuntu desktop.

    12.10 32 bit ISO require your CPU to have Physical Address Extensions, or PAE. "PAE is provided by Intel Pentium Pro and above CPUs, including all later Pentium-series processors (except most 400 MHz-bus versions of the Pentium M)."

    For PowerPC, it is known to run on a G4 running at 867MHz with 640MB RAM.

    For Intel based Macs, Lubuntu should run on all models.

    via Ubuntu Wiki

  • 13.04 (Raring Ringtail)

    A Pentium II or Celeron system with 128 MB of RAM is probably a bottom-line configuration that may yield slow yet usable system with a standard lubuntu desktop. 13.04 32 bit ISO require your CPU to have Physical Address Extensions, or PAE. "PAE is provided by Intel Pentium Pro and above CPUs, including all later Pentium-series processors (except several versions of the Pentium M, see here)." - If you have a NON-PAE CPU you can use 12.04 instead. For PowerPC, it is known to run on a G4 running at 867MHz with 640MB RAM. For Intel based Macs, lubuntu should run on all models.

    via Ubuntu Wiki

Supported versions of Xubuntu

See Xubuntu help page.

  • 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx)

  • 12.04

    Minimum system requirements for Xubuntu fall roughly between Ubuntu Server and Desktop: 512 MiB of system memory (RAM), 5 GB of disk space, Graphics card and monitor capable of 800x600 resolution

    via Ubuntu Wiki

  • 12.10

  • 13.04

Why you shouldn't use versions when their support has ended

  • Security risks: Eventually there will be an exploit that compromises security or system integrity of old Ubuntu versions
  • Software incompatibilies: Versions that are no longer supported will have increasing problems with this. Due to the lack of updates one will no longer be able to open the most recent LibreOffice documents or compile programs that need more recent libraries. Hardware drivers of recent devices will not be included in older kernels.
  • Decreasing availability of repositories: It might become very difficult to download software that does not allready ship with the outdated version. Hosting repositories for very old versions cease to be economically viable at one point.
share|improve this answer
1  
11.04 is no longer supported, – Tachyons Nov 26 '12 at 13:30
up vote 3 down vote

I can disagree on the system requirements for the Linux distros.

On a:

  • Intel Pentium 4 1.8Ghz
  • 1GB DDR RAM
  • 64MB graphics card capable of 1024x768

The only Ubuntu flavour which worked good was Lubuntu.

On a:

  • AMD Athlon dual-core 3.20Ghz(OC'ed from 2.80Ghz),
  • 2GB DDR3 RAM
  • AMD HD 3000 IGP with Catalyst installed.

Ubuntu is really slow (I can work properly with Unity 2D), Gnome Shell is also slow (plus for me Gnome Shell is awful in multitasking). KDE worked quite nice and I'm really impressed by it.

About which flavour to choose I can say this:

  • What do you want, better Looks or better Performance?
  • XFCE(Xubuntu) looks nicer and its environment has more functionality, you can personalize it and change it in any way you want it (at the cost of high memory use but still you need a good graphic card).
  • LXDE(Lubuntu) is faster overall but it lacks the looks.

I suggest to try Xubuntu and if it feels slower go for Lubuntu.

You can try Live-CDs to see how they look but you can test performance only after you installed them.

Have to say that even tough Linux system requirements are really low the desktop environment graphic requirements are high in my opinion.

share|improve this answer
1  
You can customize LXDE just as you can customize XFCE, no difference. Of course if you are strictly speaking of the stock software then yes, XFCE is more customizable. – Uri Herrera Oct 26 '12 at 8:06

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.