As Linux distributions strive to be more "user friendly" and to compete head-on with MS-Windows, the hardware requirements keep rising. Most distros now expect you to have a Pentium with 32meg RAM and lots of HDD space. Yes, indeed, you sure need a powerful machine for all that point-and-click eye-candy.

But, don't be fooled. Linux runs happily on 386s and 486s. An old 386-33 with 8meg RAM and 80meg HDD can be turned into a capable Linux machine. In a network environment, such a machine can provide a variety of useful functions, such as Xterminal, print server, file server, DNS server, router or firewall. In a personal environment, it can serve as a word-processor, spreadsheet, email system and internet browser. Just don't expect eye-candy.

The Linux GUI requires more processing power. Reasonable performance is possible from a 486-33 with 12meg RAM and 120meg HDD, but you must take care not to overload the system (eg. a small-footprint wm is a must). It is also possible to network two 486s together and share the X workload. This provides surprisingly good performance.

I run Linux exclusively on old PCs and have learned by experience how to get good performance from these machines. If you are interested in running Linux on a 386 or 486, then you may find these pages useful.


# Top 10 ways to improve performance.
# Which distribution is best for an old PC ?
# Rescue disks and mini-distributions.
# Small-footprint browsers.
# Using an old ethernet card.
# Using a laplink cable.
# Running X on low-end 486s.