Best Linux version for a 12 year old computer.

[fminor5]

Hello everybody,

What would be a good Linux Mint version for an old computer? I have the following specifications:
Memory: 16 Gb RAM
Processor: Intel Quad Core i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz from 2011
Graphics: NVidia GeForce GTX 460, 1Gb GDDR5
500 Gb SSD

Linux will be the main SO on it.

Thank you.

[majpooper]

Any version of Linux mint will run just fine with that CPU,RAM and SSD.
I run Cinnamon on both a PC and laptop with similar specs and they run very well. But desktops are really a matter of preference. Mint gives you a choice of Xfce (the lightest) MATE and Cinnamon (the heaviest). Check all three out and pick the one you like best. Again you will have no problem running any of them.

[Midnight True]

Consider which desktop environment you like the most
Distrotube made great comparison, consider to check it out https://youtu.be/KqklXzC03HA

IMO ... Xfce

[fminor5]

Thanks for the response guys.

Just a quick question @majpooper. Do you have any issues with the Nvidia driver? Which driver would you recommend installing, Nouveau or Nvidia?

Thanks!

[majpooper]

Thanks for the response guys.

Just a quick question @majpooper. Do you have any issues with the Nvidia driver? Which driver would you recommend installing, Nouveau or Nvidia?

Thanks!

I stick with the open source nouveau when ever I can.
But if you are have trouble with your nvidia graphics card and need to install a driver check out the link below.
This is the best How-To for installing a nvidia drive - the website is maintained by Pjotr one of the most knowledgeable members of this forum.

https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.com/p/nvidia.html

[billyswong]

The Nvidia guide in @majpooper's link may be a bit outdated. Currently, the most straightforward way to install Nvidia driver in Linux Mint is firing up "Driver Manager" a built-in GUI application. Or if it fails to detect and propose you an available installation, it is still easier to install the nvidia-driver-390 driver directly for your GTX 460, without adding any PPA. There is no point in adding that PPA for legacy drivers.

The 390 driver is end-of-life in 2022. So it will not be supported in the next major version of Linux Mint and Ubuntu, i.e. LM 22 and Ubuntu 24.04

[RollyShed]

Do you have any issues with the Nvidia driver?

Twelve years old? Plenty of memory and if an SSD is fitted, probably another decade of use.

Nvidia? I tried my disk on a computer with twice the rating and twice the RAM. Glitch after glitch (freeze, freeze).
The fix?
Replaced the video card with an AMD Radeon HD 6570/7570/8550. No problems since.

[majpooper]

Do you have any issues with the Nvidia driver?

Twelve years old? Plenty of memory and if an SSD is fitted, probably another decade of use.

Nvidia? I tried my disk on a computer with twice the rating and twice the RAM. Glitch after glitch (freeze, freeze).
The fix?
Replaced the video card with an AMD Radeon HD 6570/7570/8550. No problems since.

Yeah, sometimes Nvidia can be a pain - have dealt with them on a few installs but have always managed to get the right driver installed.

[Reddog1]

It really depends on the Nvidia card. Nvidia is dropping (has dropped) support for older cards (many geforce, etc), and distributions are dropping the drivers for the deprecated cards from the repos, gradually.

It's your choice, but I avoid future kernel hassles and just use nouveau.

[billyswong]

It really depends on the Nvidia card. Nvidia is dropping (has dropped) support for older cards (many geforce, etc), and distributions are dropping the drivers for the deprecated cards from the repos, gradually.

It's your choice, but I avoid future kernel hassles and just use nouveau.

It is not distributions' deliberate choice. If a closed source driver doesn't support new Linux kernels, they are stuck and nothing can be done.

[fminor5]

I am sorry for my late response. Thank you guys for all the responses. At this moment I am using the Nvidia driver with a few issues but Timeshift has been a saver for me.

[Sundowner]

Another oldie but goodie.

Kernel: 6.2.0-26-generic x86_64 bits
Cinnamon 5.8.4 Linux Mint 21.2 Victoria

Machine: Type: Desktop System: HP-Pavilion product: KX745AV-ABA m9600t
CPU: quad core model: Intel Core i7 920 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Nehalem rev: 4 cache: (1st Gen i7 CPU)
Memory: 6 sticks X 2GB DDR3 RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GF108 [GeForce GT 430] driver: nvidia v: 390.157
BIOS: American Megatrends v: 5.07 date: 03/24/2009
Purchased April 2009

Original CPU, cpu fan and heatsink, case fan, power supply.
Replaced graphics card 2 or 3 times

Currently installed to a 2 GB HDD with a few partitions for storage.

No longer my main drive, but I usually have it booted up to play around with. I had a 2 1/2 inch SSD for system disk for a few years which worked great.
Mint runs good even with the spinning drive, though not as good as my other machine with an AMD Ryzen 7 5700G.

[majpooper]

>10 years old are my main computers and have installed linux on many 10 to 12 year old and older machines. Almost always LM Cinnamon which works flawlessly on them all with a few caveats
1.) Always 64bit (I just don't want to deal with 32bit but lots of folks get them running just fine)
2.) They all have "pretty good" CPUs - early i3 and even 8 core AMD
3.) I always bump up the RAM as much as possibal (I like a min of 8G but have got by with 4G and even as little 2G)
4.) I always replace the HHD with a SSD (just a small SSD and then use the old HHD as an external HD for data)
5.) I avoid Nvidia (although I have pulled off a couple of installs with nvidia - I would rather not)

[lsemmens]

NONE of my computers are less than 10 years old, some were new when XP was king! The newest machine, is the one I am typing on had W8 as the default OS. Provided you've got the RAM and (ideally) an SSD, you won't have any issues with running Cinnamon which is the most resource intensive.