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Best OS for an old low-end notebook?

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M@rk

M@rk

Member
​
Joined
Apr 7, 2016
Location
Israel
Hello everyone! :)

So my grandma gave me her really old low end notebook and i want to maximize its performance.
Specs are :
CPU : Intel Atom N450
RAM : 1GB DDR2 (dunno what company)
Screen Resolution : 1024x600

So i was thinking about upgrading the OS to Win8.1 or Win10 but idk if it will make a noticeable difference.
There is a reason why i dont want Linux on it, Its because it has less applications and im not used to Linux at all.

I was thinking about upgrading the RAM to 2GB (2GB is the max that the CPU supports) too but idk if its possible.
Any other stuff that might make it smoother and faster? There is some overclocking headroom but idk anything about notebook CPU overclocking.

Thanks in advance! :)
 
Ram and 8.1 or newer is what I would do. Find the model and see what you can upgrade to. 1GB is going to be a killer in anything 7 and up.
 
Well apparently there is a video of someone upgrading the HDD and RAM of a similar notebook and its really easy to upgrade the RAM, Now i just have to find a shop that sells these 2GB sticks for cheap.
 
I believe 64-bit is going to require 2GB of ram, and a chunk of HD space (20gb if I remember).
Make sure you get 32-bit if you can't/don't upgrade from 1GB of ram.
 
Jeff G said:
I believe 64-bit is going to require 2GB of ram, and a chunk of HD space (20gb if I remember).
Make sure you get 32-bit if you can't/don't upgrade from 1GB of ram.
Click to expand...

Yep agreed.

Honestly, with that machine I'd just check out Linux Mint or Ubuntu - regarding the applications there's plenty that you'd likely use on a machine of that age as you won't be gaming on it in the first place. I think the performance toll of modern windows on that machine will be pretty rough. Now if you can get an SSD in there and 4GB of RAM (unless it is limited to 2GB) then I'd consider 8.1 or 10.
 
Jeff G said:
I believe 64-bit is going to require 2GB of ram, and a chunk of HD space (20gb if I remember).
Make sure you get 32-bit if you can't/don't upgrade from 1GB of ram.
Click to expand...

I have 250GB HDD in there. So the only thing stopping me is RAM.

Janus67 said:
Yep agreed.

Honestly, with that machine I'd just check out Linux Mint or Ubuntu - regarding the applications there's plenty that you'd likely use on a machine of that age as you won't be gaming on it in the first place. I think the performance toll of modern windows on that machine will be pretty rough. Now if you can get an SSD in there and 4GB of RAM (unless it is limited to 2GB) then I'd consider 8.1 or 10.
Click to expand...

Its limited to 2GB of RAM. And adding a SSD To such a weak CPU wouldnt make the difference i want from it.

ATMINSIDE said:
What are you using the system for?
Click to expand...

Ill be using this notebook for school stuff, Browsing and a lil bit of gaming (Games before 2005, Mostly 2D games.) Thats why i want it to have a Windows OS.
Im thinking about XP as well cause i wont be using the system for more that what i stated above and WinXP is a really "light" OS. (300MHz singlecore CPU and 256MB of RAM recomended)
 
BTW ill be getting another notebook soon that has a more powerful AMD CPU in and 4GB of RAM i think.
But that one runs smooth and will be used as a experimental notebook and a little bit of using it at competitions (Cause i dont have any other AMD CPU lol.)

- - - Updated - - -

ATMINSIDE said:
I wouldn't use XP for an online system.
Click to expand...

Why not?
 
Because it is antiquated and not being updated:
"After 12 years, support for Windows XP ended April 8, 2014. There will be no more security updates or technical support for the Windows XP operating system. It is very important that customers and partners migrate to a modern operating system such as Windows 10. - Apr 8, 2014"
Source
 
ATMINSIDE said:
Because it is antiquated and not being updated:
"After 12 years, support for Windows XP ended April 8, 2014. There will be no more security updates or technical support for the Windows XP operating system. It is very important that customers and partners migrate to a modern operating system such as Windows 10. - Apr 8, 2014"
Source
Click to expand...

I know it isnt supported and many new and updated programs will not work on it, But i will not be using almost any program on the PC, Only office and maybe some old other program. Mostly browsing and playing some Fallout or something :p
 
M@rk said:
I know it isnt supported and many new and updated programs will not work on it, But i will not be using almost any program on the PC, Only office and maybe some old other program. Mostly browsing and playing some Fallout or something :p
Click to expand...

Browsing is when security updates matter the most.
 
Janus67 said:
Yep agreed.

Honestly, with that machine I'd just check out Linux Mint or Ubuntu - regarding the applications there's plenty that you'd likely use on a machine of that age as you won't be gaming on it in the first place. I think the performance toll of modern windows on that machine will be pretty rough.
Click to expand...

+1 :thup:

I am currently working on a very similar project (my old lappy has a 1.5gb of DDR2 and a little more than 1Ghz single core) and can confirm that there are many better choices than any Windows. Ill make suggestions if you are interested, or you can just google "best lightweight Linux ditros" and see a plethora of articles that pretty much point at the same top 10 choices
 
ATMINSIDE said:
Browsing is when security updates matter the most.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, Okay. What about anti viruses and anti malware? There might be some that still make updates to winXP. And what can i do to eliminate being "hacked" and still use winXP?
 
M@rk said:
Hmmm, Okay. What about anti viruses and anti malware? There might be some that still make updates to winXP. And what can i do to eliminate being "hacked" and still use winXP?
Click to expand...

Antivirus and antimalware is not a substitute for OS security patches.

Don't use XP, that's how you can have the system be secure.
Or, you could run XP, but never go online with it.
 
ATMINSIDE said:
Antivirus and antimalware is not a substitute for OS security patches.

Don't use XP, that's how you can have the system be secure.
Or, you could run XP, but never go online with it.
Click to expand...

Okay :/
If so ill probably go with win8.1. Turn all these good looking HUD features off and see where i can get 2GB RAM stick for cheap. (I wish notebooks used DIMM RAM sticks, I have about 10 of them laying in my PC parts drawer).
 
ATMINSIDE said:
Don't use XP, that's how you can have the system be secure.
Or, you could run XP, but never go online with it.
Click to expand...

You're being a little dramatic.
Go online all you want. Just don't put any personal info through it, and use good browsing habits.
 
Oops, I have a bad habit of assuming everyone lives in the US on this forum lol.
Well, online used is still what I'd use to find some DDR2. I can't imagine it'll be too hard to pick up for cheap.
 
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