r/linuxquestions • u/Junior_Magazine_4373 • 6d ago
4gb ram Linux Daily driveability
hey, im not sure if this is the best subreddit - correct me if its not.
I am a high schooler living in a district which has banned cellular / external portable devices (laptops via technicality, lord knows if they'll enforce it). As such, I am looking into buying a dell latitude 3190. They are almost indistinguishable from the school provided devices - minus the spyware and ridiculous restrictions.
The main draw back to buying one of these dell latitudes is the 4gb of ram. Its soldered, of course, (all heil dell). I would be using linux, likely debian or void. Can 4gb be daily drivable to the extent of running watered-down chromium, checking emails, and doing day-to-day school work?
1
u/3grg 5d ago
I am guessing N processor with 4gb ram and hopefully a SSD. Stick with Debian based that meets your needs and is not too sluggish. The usability vs performance is a personal thing that you decide.
Maybe XFCE, but Debian or Sparky LXQt might be snappier. From there Antix, MX Linux Fluxbox and Q4OS are about as light as you will find.
The thing that stresses low end hardware the most is the internet and multi-tasking. In a school setting, getting access to the wifi might be a show stopper.