BTW, has anyone seen this:
Yes. They said it was accidental and the block was lifted today. I think it was just links to Distrowatch.
Today I carried out some unscientific benchmarking on my pile of recycle-bin laptops. Up to now I’ve only looked at ease of installation, upgrading and features. So I’d like to figure out which Linux distros run well on old hardware from the pov of an end user.
Having booted up a bunch of different machines, run the latest updates on each and rebooted, I then timed how long it took to load LibreOffice Writer with a new, blank document.
Of course given the variety of hardware, most of the comparisons are pretty much apples and oranges, but the following pairs were reasonably comparable.
A Dell Vostro with an Intel Core Duo 1.3 GHz, 2 GB DDR3 and a HDD that dual boots:
a) Zorin OS 17.2 Education (Ubuntu kernel 6.8) - nearly 2 minutes.
b) LMDE Cinnamon 6 Faye (Debian / kernel 6.1) - 25 seconds.
Then there’s the 2 Macbook Pro Retinas, each with an SSD and 8 GB DDR3.
a) 2014 with 2.6 GHz CPU running Mint Cinnamon 22.1 Xia (Ubuntu 24 / kernel 6.8) - 8 seconds.
b) 2012 with 2.5 GHz CPU running Deepin (Debian 5.15 kernel, modified) - 1 second, albeit in a window the size of a postage stamp.
Across 4 other machines running Mint Cinnamon 22.1 the load times varied greatly, the main difference being the amount of RAM, with 4 GB min required to get anywhere near a satisfactory load time. The HP i3 2.4GHz with an M.2 and 8GB DDR4 won this round with a 3s load time.
Shout out to Antix at 7 seconds with only 2 GB DDR3 and Solus Budgie at 16 seconds with 4 GB DDR3 but on a Celeron.
So much for loading an empty doc, now need to find out if Writer is actually useable with these specs!
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Worth also mentioning that the touchscreen on an HP X360 is working out-of-the-box with Mint Cinnamon 22.1. Apparently it should work with LMDE too.
Thanks for this @Monique!
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Love it!
So much for loading an empty doc, now need to find out if Writer is actually useable with these specs!
Phoronix has a test suite for LibreOffice you could run? (though an odd operation - converting documents to PDF)
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Interesting. But how many resources will the test runner use, probably more than my dinky devices can spare! 
Reckon I’ll just do something very normal like type some pre-defined text into a document, insert an image, do a bit of formatting, save the doc… that sort of thing.
Other benchmarks to do include testing the webcam, playing some audio/video, taking screenshots, and seeing how much hassle it is to send something to my printer. Maybe a game or two.
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Hiya @Monique ,
Thanks for letting me know about this thread the other day. I am not sure how can I help so here’s something I can do
- Install SSDs, upgrade RAMs, change FANs, clean laptops etc
- Install fresh OS Linux or Windows, dual boot, Install some software and more
- Run test benchmarks, contribute to your Excel sheet
- Help people navigating the Linux world
I just moved here so I don’t have any devices on me, if anybody wants to dump/drop their devices on me in the hopes of revival I’ll be happy to work on those.
Cheers
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Some tips for getting hold of devices to refurbish…
Trashnothing - sign up and set up some email alerts for devices that turn up in your local area
BidKit - nifty search engine for eBay, e.g. look for used devices in your local area with 0 bids
eBay - save searches and setup email alerts
Also, let the other volunteers (and visitors) at the repair cafe know that you’re looking for any devices or parts that come their way. (Karl brought one in for me a while ago)
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Hi Json. You might be interested in Screen Share https://www.screen-share.co.uk/
This is a charity that repurposes unwanted laptops for refugees. I am sure that they would love your help in refurbishing laptops.
I have done 40 for them so far.
Now i too am experimenting with Linux as we cannot give out laptops that will not run W11.
So far Mint Cinnamon seems to work and give basic functionality.
DM me if i can help more
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(2nd post here, not sure if it’s the best place, might be better as a different topic?)
I’m coming at this from a slightly different direction… I’m a LONG time GNU/Linux user (I’ve been an FSF member for over 15years, I think I started on kernel 2.x…) and have a set of hardware that works well, but is decidedly ‘long in tooth’ - early generation I-7 and I-5 machines, and it seems to me that the forced Windows downgrade is a potential great opportunity to upgrade to newer / better hardware…
My big problem is lack of knowledge on what constitutes the ‘latest and greatest’ choices for hardware that CAN’T be downgraded to W11…
Are there any easy ways to ID this sort of machine, i.e. CPU, age, etc…? I would like to get as close to ‘bleeding edge’ as I can, mostly to get more speed, and possibly enough power to play a bit w/ AI, and so forth, plus it seems the better the hardware the longer it will be ‘future proof’
I’ve asked this a few other places, and so far haven’t really gotten any answers that helped, but if there is a different place that I can look, that would help if it’s easier than trying to reply here…
Thanks,
ART
AFAIK you can be as bleeding edge as you want and just be able to switch OFF TPM 2 in the BIOS.
In terms of Windows 11 there’s "can’t " install and CAN’T install. Basically anything that will run Windows 10 can be made to run Windows 11 it just might not be supported.
In terms of your bleeding edge requirement it’s a lot easier to express for Intel hardware. Basically only 8000 series processors eg i3-8100 or above are officially supported. And you’ll tend to find that if the device has one of those it’ll have the other requirements anyway.
So you’ll be wanting to look for 7000 or below for your potential bargains
BUT if you’re wanting to play with AI natively you’ll be wanting very modern CPUs and GPUs which will be well and truly in the Win 11 vintage. So likely no bargains to be had for that use case.
I may have misread the question. You’re looking to upgrade or build a system that would “fail” a Windows 11 compatibility check, is that right?
In which case yes, Stephen is right that it would really depend on the CPU. The list of Win11-supported CPUs is published by M$. Apparently this list can change, my old CPU was on the list ages ago but was then removed. The other main requirement is TPM v2.x.
(edited to remove off-topic waffle about AI)
Hello Monique,
how old would the oldest machines be? Is this Dell Vostro V13 the eldest in your stock?
I think, you might want to try MX-Linux using one of the 32bits edition. You could try the Xfce edition first, and if it would not be snappy enough, then give a try to the Fluxbox edition. (32bits editions are best suited for computers which can’t have more than 2GB RAM). https://mxlinux.org/
However, a Dell Vostro V13 can take up to 4GB memory, as seen in this spec sheet: https://icecat.biz/rest/product-pdf?productId=4144353 (then a 64bits edition is needed in order to be able to recognize the 4GB). On slot only as seen here: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-Vostro-V13.25207.0.html
4GB SODIMM PC3-8500 DDR3 RAM modules arent’t too expensive theses days.
Some work would have to be done on the look and feel and choices in the applications if you picked MX-Linux as a basis, but, MX-Linux provides a tool easy to use for remastering purposes (one can rebuild the system from within an installed system).
What you would really need for your purpose could be Primtux, but Primtux, built on Debian Linux, is available in French only. It would need to add the packages for the English language, to be tested, then cloned (unless someone would be willing to remaster it in English in order to get a distributable ISO image). https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=primtux
Maybe Primtux could otherwise provide a basis, an inspiration as to what you want to get. Or maybe it only needs to add the language packs. It would need to be tested.
Hello Dave,
There is a huge database provided by the HW Probe project. Everybody having a Linux distribution running can also contribute. Here is the project: https://github.com/linuxhw/hw-probe and here is the database computers page: https://linux-hardware.org/?view=computers
Hello Arthur,
I am also a long time GNU/Linux user, I started back in 2004 with Mandrake 10, then installed Debian testing with the help of a keen youngster, tested Ubuntu when it started, switched to Archlinux during several years… Tested Zenwalk, and use several distributions meant for testing, fixing stuff and data recovery.
I am not fully sure I fully understand what you are asking for. Are you asking for methods to get information on hardware upgrade, and ways to find which better components are fit for a given machine?
If this is it, I can present the method I am using. If it is not it, can you explain better?
Basically I have a couple of very early generation I-7 desktops - both are circa 2011 (0ne is LGA 2011 socket, the other is LGA 1155) and had been running fine, but I’ve started having boot issues with one of them… I’m not sure about the graphics cards, but they are probably about the same vintage (dual DVI outputs) I could use better monitors, but the ones I have are OK
I am not desperate to upgrade, but given all the stuff we are hearing about the Windows downgrade, it seems like it would be a good time to look for bargains in an upgrade to something a little bit more current… (i.e. within this decade. 
)
Primary use besides the usual web / office / email stuff is going to be doing CAD modeling (using FreeCAD, of course), I am NOT a gamer… I might be tempted to experiment some w/ AI on my own hardware (I’m not interested in using other people’s computers) but that isn’t a must. I would like to upgrade one of the machines to a quad monitor setup (again not essential, but…)
Both machines are in very fancy CoolerMaster tower cases, one w/ liquid cooling, so I’m more interested in upgrading the insides than am in replacing the entire box. (I’m also open to doing organ transplants)
I’m assuming that I’d need to get mobo, CPU, RAM and graphics card.
Does this answer what you were asking?
ART
Interesting that you are doing 3d CAD. I use fusion360 which is free for personal use. However i dont think it will run on Linux. I read that FreeCAD will. Have you tried it on Linux?
I also read about Onshape https://www.onshape.com/en/ Maybe thats worth a play
Boyd
Of course you might have to replace all the components, or maybe not.
What I do first when aiming to improve an old computer (my main computer is also a tower I put up in 2011à), I look at the technical specification provided by the constructor. IE :
I have a MSI GF615M-P33 motherboard, I look here: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/GF615M-P33/Specification
Then I go shopping : a new CPU, the max RAM, a PCI-E GPU, a SATA SSD for the system and a large HDD for the data (or two if needed). My case already had what is needed to install a 2.5" SATA SSD, so it was easy.
I have a light Ubuntu working in it, (the Bento Openbox Remix published at linuxvillage.org). The CPU (AMD) is not 4 cores. It is not always enough to run several more or less greedy applications.
You might be lucky and be able to upgrade your machine in a significant way without changing the motherboard, (which would be better for the cost and for the planet), but you would have to research the information first.
I would also look for a BIOS upgrade, but if you are unfamiliar with the process (which can go well, or can go very wrong), you might want to do it with the help of people who have done it before, in a secure way.
What about the trouble to boot? What does this trouble look like? Have you thought about checking your power supply? And the hard drive condition?