Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu is by far the most popular consumer Linux distribution. Its hardware requirements are quite modest, but nonetheless they do exist, and there's hardware that can't handle Ubuntu.

A minimum of 64MB of RAM is required. A machine from the latter half of the 1990's can typically reach that value; it's not a worry. 512MB is the recommended value; this is still very attainable, and even a very old machine will generally have over 512MB. If it doesn't, purchasing that little memory aftermarket is quite reasonable- indeed, at this point it's difficult if not impossible to purchase less due to increased memory densities. However, in many cases an older machine will use a specification which is now obsolete; if an upgrade path exists, you'll be buying the memory used, and it'll run you a pretty penny.

In terms of CPU power, a clock speed of no less than 1GHz is advised. Like with the memory situation, this is modest enough; an early Pentium 4 from 2001 is more than sufficient. However, if your CPU can't manage this, you'll typically have to completely replace the PC; the motherboard will not be compatible with a newer CPU. Even if it is compatible with something that can hit the target specifications, buying older CPUs is more expensive than you'd think due to the need for them in maintaining old business and governmental equipment.

Finally, 1GB of hard drive space is required. This is very small, and is manageable even with older machine; furthermore, it's usually possible to install new hard drives in even completely ancient hardware. You should be careful, though; in general, consumer-level machines which are old enough to need a new hard drive used IDE to interface with their drive as opposed to the current SATA standard. It's still easy enough to obtain an IDE drive in the area of 80 to 160 gigabytes of size without any chance of breaking the bank, though.

In general, any machine made in the last decade is more than adequate to run Ubuntu. In the event that a machine is inadequate, however, it may be more trouble than it's worth to upgrade it as opposed to replacing it.

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Linux and the Power of Open Source