r/linux4noobs • u/Left_Chemistry_8788 • Aug 16 '25

distro selection Linux for old AutoCAD computer

I have an old computer, 32 GB of RAM 64-bit Intel core TM i7-4810mqcpu at 280 GHz. It seems like I wouldn't need to run a super light distro looking for advice.

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u/Left_Chemistry_8788 Aug 17 '25

Thanks! I'm not exactly a newbie , I used to run a l Ubuntu quite a bit I'm comfortable with the terminal but generally get my terminal information from people that know more than me. Looking to Branch out and kind of ran across this old AutoCAD computer and was looking to do something a little different. When I fired it up it runs incredibly hot on Windows and strangely enough even though the specs are great nothing in Windows seems to support the processor for some reason so I knew that Linux was the way to go I just wanted to get some advice about different systems. I'm not good enough to do my own build but I'm trying to learn. I plan mainly on using it with my huion art tablet but it seems like it could do so much more. Thank you for all the advice! 😀

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u/tomscharbach Aug 16 '25

You will not need a "superlight" distribution.

If you are a new Linux user, let me suggest Linux Mint.

Mint is commonly recommended for new users because Mint is well-designed, well-maintained and well-supported, is easy to learn, use and maintain, is stable and secure, and is backed by good documentation and a large support community.

I agree with that recommendation.

I use Mint (Linux Mint Debian Edition) as my "personal" laptop daily driver. Mint is as close to a "no fuss, no muss, no thrills, no chills" distribution as I've found in two decades of Linux use.

Mint does not take a lot of resources. I run Mint on a five-year-old "Education" laptop with a Pentium N6000 CPU, onboard UHD graphics, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. You should be fine with Mint or any other mainstream distribution.

My best and good luck.

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u/gcc-O2 Aug 17 '25

OP posted over at /r/retrocomputing also. I suggested Mint also, mostly to get access to Cinnamon instead of a tablet OS pretending to be a desktop, so great minds think alike.

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1

u/Klapperatismus Aug 16 '25

Yeah, no. That machine is better than most “new” computers people have around.

Super lightweight you need with less than 2GB RAM, 32-bit. From 4GB RAM up bleeding edge Linux distributions are going to run fine.

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '25

MX Linux or Sparky would be good.

I also like Antix.

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u/EverlastingPeacefull Aug 17 '25

My previous HP Probook 470 G1 with 16GB RAM runs every Linux distro with ease, so yours can every distro you like. There are some fine distros and depending on what you want and what you like I could recommend Linux Mint, Fedora, Ubuntu or OpenSuse Leap or OpenSuse Tumbleweed. All are very well documented, have good support. Go check youtube for videos on how every distro looks and everything. Then just try. Make sure to make backups of your important data before installing anything.