Linux made my old PC fast again, and it hasn’t slowed down since

You may need heard that Linux has a fame for respiratory new life into outdated computer systems, however that is not all it could do. It could possibly additionally make your present PC keep present for longer. Listed here are the various methods Linux retains my computer systems operating like new, yr after yr.

My outdated PC cannot run Home windows 11, but it surely runs Linux like a breeze

The explanation I switched from Home windows to Linux within the first place is that certainly one of my outdated computer systems could not run Home windows 11 correctly. Its followers would fire up a storm even when the PC was idling. Home windows 11 was hogging greater than half the reminiscence and simply as a lot of the CPU. It was virtually unusable as a result of the lag was so dangerous.

As an alternative of chucking it, I made a decision to put in Linux on it. Previous to that, I had dual-booted Linux, however I had by no means used it every day. This was the primary time that I made a decision to go all in on Linux.

I wiped Home windows off the PC and changed it with CatchyOS, an Arch-based Linux distribution. I had solely used Debian or Ubuntu programs earlier than that, so it was to be a studying expertise for me. Since I used to be going to have a studying curve anyway, I made a decision to arrange a tiling window manager as effectively. I had been that means to attempt one, and it appeared like the right time to take action. I selected Hyprland as my window supervisor and put in it alongside CatchyOS.

Instantly, my PC’s followers went quiet and have stayed quiet since. CatchyOS barely makes use of any assets when idling, and I can run just about all my apps with out experiencing any lag.

Arch Linux is all the time up to date and present

I purposefully averted Home windows updates as a result of it is so inconvenient to put in them. I simply needed to get my work accomplished with out sitting and ready for an replace to finish, so I turned off characteristic updates and solely ever put in safety patches. Whereas the safety updates stored the PC secure, my replace mannequin positively did not give me the newest software program.

Linux solved that drawback for me as a result of it handles updates otherwise. For one, you, the consumer, get to resolve when to replace. You may also hold working whereas the updates run within the background. Since CatchyOS is predicated on Arch Linux, it is a rolling release distribution.

A distro that follows the rolling launch mannequin solely has one model, and it is all the time the newest one. All it’s important to do is run this one command and all of the packages on the machine are upgraded to their newest variations.

sudo pacman -Syu

I’ve made it a behavior to run this command not less than as soon as a day. That approach, I all the time have essentially the most cutting-edge software program out there.

I can run trendy software program on outdated {hardware}

I’ve a few outdated, heavyweight Dell Latitude laptops from 2011 mendacity round the home, however they’re too outdated to replace to trendy Home windows. They got here with Home windows 7 and trendy apps do not run on Home windows 7. It is laborious to even get an honest browser operating on Home windows 7. Linux not solely helps these outdated computer systems, however there are Linux flavors purpose-built to revive old computers.

I’ve tried putting in a couple of of these light-weight distros and nearly all of them instantly revived these computer systems. I did not even run into any {hardware} compatibility points, aside from Pet Linux. AntiX, PeppermintOS, LXDE, and Tiny Core ran completely. My 15-year-old computer systems now run nearly every little thing a contemporary Linux machine can.

Linux programs do not degrade as rapidly over time

Home windows programs get bloated over time, particularly when you set up video games and apps typically. Once you uninstall apps, they typically go away ghost information and processes behind as a result of Microsoft makes the builders answerable for constructing uninstallers for the apps. The central Home windows Registry additionally grows larger and extra cluttered with time. It is why Home windows feels prefer it slows down the longer you employ it.

Home windows additionally does not do a terrific job of cleansing up after itself, so non permanent information and botched updates degrade its efficiency over time.

Linux, however, makes use of sturdy bundle managers like Pacman or APT. These bundle managers are answerable for putting in, updating, and eradicating consumer apps and system packages. They do not go away any “ghost” information behind. There isn’t any centralized “Linux Registry” both.

Credit score: Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek

Additionally, Linux uses more modern file systems like ext4, which do not endure from the fragmentation of NTFS.

It takes fewer assets to run the OS itself

Largely talking, it takes fewer assets to run Linux programs. Whereas Home windows takes round 4GB of reminiscence, even when idling, Linux programs can idle at 1GB or much less. The light-weight distros I discussed can idle on as little as 200MB of RAM. These working programs additionally take up fewer CPU assets when idling.

That is to not say that they do not take up the identical quantity of assets when operating your apps. For instance, when you launch a whole lot of browsers with a whole lot of tabs, the browser will eat up simply as a lot RAM as it could have on Home windows. That being mentioned, the overhead for the working system itself is way decrease on Linux. That smaller overhead can prolong the lifetime of {hardware} parts.

The place Microsoft is pushing to turn millions of fully functional PCs into e-waste, Linux is doing the other. It has saved so lots of my computer systems from the landfill and one of the best half is that they run higher than they ever did on Home windows.