2 GB RAM and Q4OS

Manessa · 2024-06-22 18:15

Hello everyone, today I will tell you my experience of using Q4OS on a very weak hardware. On board my laptop there is 2 GB of RAM and a dual-core processor. Despite the fact that I have a 64-bit processor, I installed a 32-bit OS as the basis for my not a modern laptop. The first thing I did was install the basic system for this device. Regarding the choice of browser, everything was much easier. I installed Synaptic, and from there I installed 3 browsers for myself to compare them. And so htop showed me
Falkon- 400 mb
Netserf-150 mb
Cromium- 700mb
Seamonkey-350mb
Pale moon-230mb
Naturally, with 2 GB, it was difficult to open YouTube, other sites opened well, and I also have a netbook without the ability to insert RAM. So what conclusions did I draw for myself?
First, if you only have 2 GB of RAM, then install a 32-bit system, because a 64-bit system uses up memory faster for such computers
Second, use browsers such as NetSerf,Falkon,SeaMonkey,Palemoon
third and final, don't forget to connect Zram.Helps a lot
I hope with my post I will answer some of the questions about how suitable Q4OS is for a weak computer
Hello everyone, today I will tell you my experience of using Q4OS on a very weak hardware. On board my laptop there is 2 GB of RAM and a dual-core processor. Despite the fact that I have a 64-bit processor, I installed a 32-bit OS as the basis for my not a modern laptop. The first thing I did was install the basic system for this device. Regarding the choice of browser, everything was much easier. I installed Synaptic, and from there I installed 3 browsers for myself to compare them. And so htop showed me
Falkon- 400 mb
Netserf-150 mb
Cromium- 700mb
Seamonkey-350mb
Pale moon-230mb
Naturally, with 2 GB, it was difficult to open YouTube, other sites opened well, and I also have a netbook without the ability to insert RAM. So what conclusions did I draw for myself?
First, if you only have 2 GB of RAM, then install a 32-bit system, because a 64-bit system uses up memory faster for such computers
Second, use browsers such as NetSerf,Falkon,SeaMonkey,Palemoon
third and final, don't forget to connect Zram.Helps a lot
I hope with my post I will answer some of the questions about how suitable Q4OS is for a weak computer
.Yes, Q4OS is very well suited for such computers. The system works faster than Windows 7 for such computers

supra2jz · 2024-06-28 16:01

I am using the 64bit Q4OS version with 3GB RAM on an old C2D CPU and YouTube works perfect with latest Firefox 127 version, in fact everything works normally fast.

supra2jz · 2024-07-01 12:48

Go for it, Q4OS with Trinity DE works perfectly fine with 2GB RAM.

vanquishedangel · 2024-07-04 18:49

This may help, I fixed up and old dell d430 and ran Q4os on it until I tore the hd cable. Now I use it on a Samsung CB4. Here is the link to a few hacks/tricks I found and used.

https://www.q4os.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4430

Christopher633 · 2024-07-30 23:43

Hey! I agree with you, Q4OS is a great choice for weaker hardware. I also have a laptop with 2 GB RAM and a dual-core processor. Using the 32-bit version is a good idea because it saves memory. I personally use Falkon and SeaMonkey as they are lighter on resources.

Regarding Zram, it really helps. Thanks to it, I can even watch YouTube without too many issues. Have you considered trying other lightweight desktop environments, like LXQt?

Regards,

Christopher633

crosscourt · 2024-07-31 01:34

Dell Latitude D430 was a great system and runs very well with Q4OS TDE. Even the KDE version runs very well on my Lenovo Thinkcentre M600 Tiny that uses a Pentium j3710 four core processor that runs at only 12W. Its no barn burner but with 4gb of ram runs extremely well.

Last edited by crosscourt (Yesterday 02:55)

chrisjordon · 2025-06-10 08:48

Thanks for sharing your experience! It's always great to hear real-world use cases on older hardware.

Totally agree! Q4OS is a solid choice for low-spec machines. I've also found that going with the 32-bit version makes a big difference on systems with only 2 GB of RAM. The system just feels snappier, and memory usage is noticeably lower compared to 64-bit.

Your browser comparison was especially helpful! I’ve tried a few of those myself, and it really shows how important lightweight browsers are when working with limited RAM. One quick heads-up for anyone reading when you see memory usage listed as “Falkon – 400 mb” or “Chromium – 700 mb,” it’s easy to get confused between mb and mb. Some people use mb to refer to megabits (Mb) and others to megabytes (MB), even though they're very different. Most tools like htop report in megabytes (MB) and just for reference, 1 MB equals 8 Mb. So make sure you're reading those numbers in the right context!

Also, +1 for enabling ZRAM it really helps squeeze a bit more performance out of older machines with tight memory limits.

Appreciate your post it definitely answers the question of whether Q4OS is usable on weak hardware.

Short answer: yes, and surprisingly well!

josek · 2025-06-15 23:46

Isn't ZSwap better?
Excuse my ignorance, but isn't ZRAM for 8GB or more of memory?
I had the performance issue with Chrome on my laptop. Of course, I can install other, lighter browsers, but unfortunately, all my daily data is stored in Chrome. To fix this, I installed Earlyoom, IrQBalance, and ZSwap. I'm an intermediate user for extensive multimedia use, and my RAM is only 3.5GB. Finally, I had to modify the kernel to make it a little more aggressive in managing the RAM.

Ells · 2025-06-18 16:36

I put Q4OS on my old (2010) HP 210 Netbook with an Intel Atom processor. It originally had Windows 7 Starter and 1 GB of RAM but I upgraded it to 2 GB of RAM.

Q4OS runs fine on it; YouTube videos play well. I have the Trinity desktop mimicking Windows 7 for that nostalgia vibe for when I got it 15 years ago.

I'm not a newbie to computers, I'm 67 and did SPSS programming with punch cards back in the late 70s, got a Commodore 64 in the 80s (still works fine) and did programming and app development in the 90s. Although my training was in music and film/video production. My dad was into Linux 25 years ago and that's where it started with me. I love making older hardware useful again and Q4OS is FABULOUS for that.

crosscourt · 2025-06-18 18:25

@ellis Im 72 and love the older hardware. Had a Commodore 64 as well and I remember the punch card days. Eventually ended up doing pc tech work for OEMS on the side in the 90s.

Last edited by crosscourt (Yesterday 02:55)

Durhammer · Yesterday 00:24

Hi @Manessa,

Last year, I put a lot of time and effort in converting an old HP Stream 13 Notebook that was running Windows 8 and running out of room to do *anything*.

The HP Stream 13 has a very limited hardware configuration, offering a 32GB "SSD" (but not really) and as your machine -- 2 GB RAM, soldered in, not upgradable. So "trimming the fat" was paramount.

I didn't install Q4OS, but it would have worked, I know. (FWIW, I installed MX Linux Fluxbox edition, as it was deemed to be low RAM friendly. But see next pp.)

I installed and customized IceWm. VERY lightweight, rock-steady. I sought out and installed/used low-RAM applications. I test numerous browsers. While some of the ones you mentioned were tested, none of them were IMHO "worthy" because of many limitations. I wanted a full-featured browser that had good ad-blocking and could handle most any web site. What I settled on was Brave Browser, which is among the best. Its ad-blocking code is written in Rust, if you're into such tech trivia. It actually does well in a low RAM environment, as long as you don't do dumb things like (say) opening 32 tabs!

I also found and use parcellite for a very good lightweight clipboard manager.

I found and use Xfe file manager, which while not having more Linux-y looks of Thunar and other file managers, is insanely small, comes with built in text viewer and editor (xfw or xfwrite), PDF viewer (I think) and archive manager (you have to enable a child xfe session running as root, it's built-in). It has the looks of maybe old Windows File Manager or similar. Simple, but incredibly useful. Also has built-in file searching. Working RAM is something like 1/10th of something like Thunar.

If you'd like to read what I found in the MX Linux Forum about "Low memory full feature browsers", click here.

I did set up (highly recommend it) zswap, not zram.

Another useful thing to install is the Python package, "ps_mem" (sometimes is designated "ps_mem.py"), with which I was able to better identify things that took too much RAM. It's what I used to test various components, such as the clipboard manager to finally settle on parcellite.

I'm happy to share any other low-RAM findings if you have interest, just let me know!

crosscourt · Yesterday 02:36

Friend of mine has two much older Zotac Zbox mini pcs hes sending me(brand new never been used other than testing). One is the AD04 plus with e-450 2 core AMD APU/Radeon HD 6320 graphics, 8gb of ram and a 256gb ssd. The other is a ID86 with a 2 core D2550 Atom, 4gb of ram, Geforce GT610 graphics and a 128gb ssd.

These devices were released back in 2012 and sold thru 2014 and are 64bit systems. Both use less than 15w of power and are not super performers. Im going to install Q4OS Trinity on them(might try KDE with really lean settings) and see how it goes. Im going to use them for general daily use, surfing and online multimedia use. Should be interesting as I havent used cpus with this low a level of performance in quite sometime.

My needs these days are getting more and more low end as I dont game much any more and prefer my classic consoles over my pcs.
Also want to use less power and these Zboxes are some of the lowest TDP Ive seen in quite sometime, outside of my Chromebox systems.

crosscourt · Yesterday 03:36

Just started the Q4OS TDE live session and the memory usage is quite amazing. I havent made any changes at all and this is the first startup of the live session.
Im using 355mb in a live session, thats impressive using Htop. I installed Firefox from the Q4OS software center and with it installed and running as I type on it now, its using 775mb on Htop. This will definitely work with the Zboxes affording them the best chance to perform well. I installed trinity-Dolphin which is pretty nice and overall the setup of the desktop is good but very different from KDE. The control panel takes some getting use to and settings/features are in much different places than Im use to with KDE. If I stick to older systems Ill get use to it over time and see if it will work out in the long run.
Will probably do a test install tomorrow on my Lenovo M73 Tiny and see how it goes ahead of the Zboxes being delivered.

crosscourt · Yesterday 04:18

TDE is a lot more fussy about settings, taskbar changes and theme changes than KDE. Its not entirely intuitive where to find things but Ive been with KDE quite awhile so I need to be fair towards TDE. In live session I lost my dark taskbar with Debonaire and it wouldnt come back but Ill probably just install and see what happens with it. I also want to test KDE to see how it runs on the Zboxes.

Ells · Yesterday 14:38

crosscourt wrote:

@ellis Im 72 and love the older hardware. Had a Commodore 64 as well and I remember the punch card days. Eventually ended up doing pc tech work for OEMS on the side in the 90s.

Sounds like we had a similar background! We have a lot in common! After my IT and grants work in the local mental health field, I went back to composing music for videos and games but still use a computer for all that anyway as I have for years.

Last edited by Ells (Yesterday 14:40)

crosscourt · Yesterday 18:28

@Ells I started out as a musician and eventually ended up playing pro tennis and coaching. I was always involved with game creation and did a lot of tech work on the side for cash but loved working with computers. Later I became a building maintenance supervisor to put some money away for retirement, as I slowly went full time with pc tech work. The changing economy and Covid caused a lot of zigs and zags to stay afloat.

Last edited by crosscourt (Yesterday 19:42)

Q4OS Forum

#1 2024-06-22 18:15

2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#2 2024-06-28 16:01

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#3 2024-07-01 12:48

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#4 2024-07-04 18:49

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#5 2024-07-30 23:43

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#6 2024-07-31 01:34

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#7 2025-06-10 08:48

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#8 2025-06-15 23:46

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#9 2025-06-18 16:36

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#10 2025-06-18 18:25

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#11 Yesterday 00:24

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#12 Yesterday 02:36

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#13 Yesterday 03:36

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#14 Yesterday 04:18

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#15 Yesterday 14:38

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

#16 Yesterday 18:28

Re: 2 GB RAM and Q4OS

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