Best Linux Distros in 2024 for PCs with Slow HDD and low RAM (1-4GB RAM)?

[youself]

Which is best Linux Distros in 2024 for PCs with slow HDD and low RAM (1-4GB RAM)? Since these pcs with slow HDD runs windows very slowly compared to linux.

 

The following Linux DEs are included for comparison:

1. GNOME

2. Budgie

3. Cinnamon

4. KDE

5. MATE

6. Xfce

7. LXQT

8. LXDE

9. IceWM or OpenBox

 

The following Linux Distros are included for comparison:

1. Ubuntu (Original flavor was based on GNOME, KDE = Kubuntu, LXQT = Lubuntu, Xfce = Xubuntu, MATE = Ubuntu MATE.)

2. Linux Mint (Cinnamon or MATE or XFCE?)

3. Debian

4. Arch Linux

5. Gentoo Linux (Compiling everything required due to portage/emerge)

6. AntiX or Puppy Linux (IceWM or OpenBox only)

 

Also, include RAM usage in comparison.

[tkitch]

None of the above:  Spend 15-20 bucks on a 250gb SATA SSD, replace the hdd, and get 1000x better performance.

[Electronics Wizardy]

I think the big issue with linux on low performance PCs is the browser. Light distros and DEs will run fine on a slow system, but when you try using a browser or other newer intensive programs its gonna get too slow to be usable for most uses. And with how cheap SSDs and a bit bettter systems are now, I think it doesn't make sense to do this for most of these old systems.

[Levent]

Sadly nothing is ever this clear when it comes to picking a distro. 
 

CPU power is important. Anything older than 2007 is hardly useable nowadays. It’s even worse for mobile CPUs, as they had dual core processors up until just couple of years ago (2018 I think).

 

You can have smooth experience with Linux Mint with 4G of ram. Which would be bare minimum for any computer that is going to use a web browser nowadays.

 

SSD is also crucial for smooth user experience however lack of it can be mitigated by having more ram and using a filesystem like ZFS.

 

Another thing you don’t mention here is GPUs. For example early GCN cards are getting phased off and their support is becoming lackluster. Its much worse for Intel igpus for example, anything predating HD2000 series will be painful to use even for web browsing.

 

just install Linux on it and send it doesn’t work all the time.