what distro for Old Machine

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Feb 6, 2012, 05:49 PM

Hey guys, I have this Northgate Machine my mom gave me (why?).
It is a Socket A Athlon XP1700+ and it currently has 256MB of RAM but im planning to up it to 1-2GB of ram. it has a 250GB ATA 100 Drive and a DVDROM. I had to replace the CPU fan as the old one had stopped running. I had 768mb of RAM but one of the sticks was bad.

I plan to use it for Usenet and/or sell it to a coworker as a websurfer/papers machine but would be nice if I could get it running some nicer stuff like media. The graphics is an onboard S3 graphics. The board is the Syntax SV266M http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813183009
I included the link for better H/W clarification for OS compatibility.
Which Distro to run?

Chevalr1c · Feb 6, 2012, 05:59 PM

I suggest trying Linux Mint, but I don't know if it can offer a decent display driver for the graphics. You therefore may have multimedia/resolution issues but Mint seems to be better at putting "weird" hw to a working state than e.g. Ubuntu. If you are feeling adventurous you could try Gentoo, but because everything will be done manually (by a CLI) and compiled from source it is a lot of work (when "done" it will be time to install a GUI). Gentoo gives a good chance of letting everything work and (if configured properly) run smoothly even on older hw.

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Feb 6, 2012, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chevalr1c

I suggest trying Linux Mint, but I don't know if it can offer a decent display driver for the graphics. You therefore may have multimedia/resolution issues but Mint seems to be better at putting "weird" hw to a working state than e.g. Ubuntu. If you are feeling adventurous you could try Gentoo, but because everything will be done manually (by a CLI) and compiled from source it is a lot of work (when "done" it will be time to install a GUI). Gentoo gives a good chance of letting everything work and (if configured properly) run smoothly even on older hw.

Right now Im running Lubuntu but the CPU is maxed out doing simple crap like loading apps and running SABnzbd. LinuxMint is not able to run on 256 mb correctly. if i can find a good deal on 2gb of PC2100 RAM ( less than $40) then yeah, Id seriously look at LinuxMint. ( I installed it on my mom's lappy.) Right now though im working with limited RAM.

ShiBDiB · Feb 6, 2012, 07:03 PM

I'd hold off on bothering to do anything til u get a little more ram.. nothing crazy just a gig or 2

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Feb 6, 2012, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShiBDiB

I'd hold off on bothering to do anything til u get a little more ram.. nothing crazy just a gig or 2

Thanks for the tip. Im currently running it for downloads and looking for a good deal. Any ideas? im not real sure how fast the 1700+ is

ThE_MaD_ShOt · Feb 7, 2012, 12:22 AM

I am currently running Ubuntu 11.04 on a socket A system with 2 gig of mem and it runs great. I was running 1g of mem and it still ran fine. Proc is at 2.2 ghz. Here a screen shot

chamaecyparis · Feb 7, 2012, 03:02 AM

~1.5GHz and 266 FSB -- at least 512MB required to run even antiX, which is my recommendation. I value performance over looks, just to tell you where I'm coming from. It's Debian-based, so has lots of software packages available. Plus, the smxi script makes post-install tweaking easy.

If wanting a 'buntu-derived distro, I would have to steer you towards wattos next; then peppermint. Both the latter 'like' at least 1024MB RAM, however.

The more RAM, the better, as either of the three above will improve significantly in performance directly with RAM increases.

Once the user learns linux, an eye-candy distro like Bodhi can be tested; (Not for newbies).

Best wishes!

Drone · Feb 7, 2012, 05:14 AM

Don't install new ubuntu or mint. They are too cluttered. Install mint 9

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Feb 7, 2012, 05:31 AM

i just installed DSL 4.4

Frick · Feb 7, 2012, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killer_Rubber_Ducky

i just installed DSL 4.4

Was about to recommend that. But to be honest that is almost too light for that system. You could try Xubuntu or maybe CentOS. I tried CentOS on a similiar specced machine (1GB RAM) and it worked very well. Xubuntu too will work like a charm.

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Feb 7, 2012, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frick

Was about to recommend that. But to be honest that is almost too light for that system. You could try Xubuntu or maybe CentOS. I tried CentOS on a similiar specced machine (1GB RAM) and it worked very well. Xubuntu too will work like a charm.

eh right now it has 256mb of ram and im going to run usenet

digibucc · Feb 7, 2012, 12:57 PM

and sab is a great network-oriented app, i have mine on a server and can add/view from anywhere on the network. i love it.

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Feb 7, 2012, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digibucc

and sab is a great network-oriented app, i have mine on a server and can add/view from anywhere on the network. i love it.

yeah but its a resource hog so dsl should work fine what with using only 64mb of ram and next to no cpu

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Feb 7, 2012, 04:44 PM

i installed (frugal) dsl and it freezes after rebooting so Im probably going to run it from cd only. i need good debian compat distros that run smoothly on 64mb of ram. I need to use it to run sickbeard and sabnzbd only.
Im just going to part out the machine.

dzero · Mar 28, 2012, 07:11 PM

Try a livecd/usb of Puppy Linux or Haiku to see if those will work well with your system.

Feb 6, 2012, 05:49 PM	#1
Killer_Rubber_Ducky Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Starkville, MS Posts: 881 (0.67/day) Thanks: 1,005 Thanked 256 Times in 190 Posts System Specs	what distro for Old Machine Hey guys, I have this Northgate Machine my mom gave me (why?). It is a Socket A Athlon XP1700+ and it currently has 256MB of RAM but im planning to up it to 1-2GB of ram. it has a 250GB ATA 100 Drive and a DVDROM. I had to replace the CPU fan as the old one had stopped running. I had 768mb of RAM but one of the sticks was bad. I plan to use it for Usenet and/or sell it to a coworker as a websurfer/papers machine but would be nice if I could get it running some nicer stuff like media. The graphics is an onboard S3 graphics. The board is the Syntax SV266M http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813183009 I included the link for better H/W clarification for OS compatibility. Which Distro to run? __________________ Heatware 'To err is human, to really mess things up requires a computer.'

System Name:	FumoffuFumoffu
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Feb 6, 2012, 05:59 PM	#2
Chevalr1c Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Tilburg, Netherlands Posts: 2,059 (2.07/day) Thanks: 4,975 Thanked 787 Times in 533 Posts System Specs	I suggest trying Linux Mint, but I don't know if it can offer a decent display driver for the graphics. You therefore may have multimedia/resolution issues but Mint seems to be better at putting "weird" hw to a working state than e.g. Ubuntu. If you are feeling adventurous you could try Gentoo, but because everything will be done manually (by a CLI) and compiled from source it is a lot of work (when "done" it will be time to install a GUI). Gentoo gives a good chance of letting everything work and (if configured properly) run smoothly even on older hw. __________________ My FS/FT thread (EU only) \| DynMap of the TPU Minecraft server \| Quick monitor calibration guide \| Boot Failure Troubleshooting Chart \| Solar Team Eindhoven Family Car Project Using BOINC I crunch numbers for World Community Grid, Climateprediction, Free Rainbow Tables and POEM@home; hence assisting research.

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System Name:	FumoffuFumoffu
Processor:	AMD FX 8120 x8 3673 Mhz @ 237x15.5
Motherboard:	ASUS CrossHair V 990FX ROG edition
Cooling:	Cooler Master Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP
Memory:	8GB DDR3 1600 GSkill F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM Ripjaws
Video Card:	Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7970 OC
Hard Disk:	1- WD 500GB 1- Samsung F2 1.5TB 1- Crucial M4 128GB SSD
Optical Drive:	DVDRW
CRT/LCD Model:	Hanns-G HZ281HPB 27.5'' 3ms Full HD 1920x1200 WideScreen LCD Monitor
Case:	Corsair Graphite Series 600T
Sound Card:	Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium
PSU:	Antec Earthwatts 750W
Software:	Windows 7 Pro x64

Feb 6, 2012, 07:03 PM	#4
ShiBDiB Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Clifton Park, NY Posts: 3,131 (1.77/day) Thanks: 98 Thanked 612 Times in 459 Posts System Specs	I'd hold off on bothering to do anything til u get a little more ram.. nothing crazy just a gig or 2 __________________ My Heatware

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Feb 7, 2012, 12:22 AM	#6
ThE_MaD_ShOt Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Hi! I'm from the Internet Posts: 3,753 (6.92/day) Thanks: 2,546 Thanked 2,450 Times in 1,474 Posts System Specs	I am currently running Ubuntu 11.04 on a socket A system with 2 gig of mem and it runs great. I was running 1g of mem and it still ran fine. Proc is at 2.2 ghz. Here a screen shot __________________ Crunchers : Phenom II x6 1090t / 2x Phenom II x6 1055t / Phenom II x4 970BE / “I always succed in my mission tho. Beer just delays it!” -ChaoticAtmosphere “TPU is very mild, and I love to tell people I love them when they are being retarded, it makes me feel special in my special places. What was the point of this thread again? Oh well, I love all of you.” -Steevo

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Feb 7, 2012, 03:02 AM	#7
chamaecyparis Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 10 (0.02/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	~1.5GHz and 266 FSB -- at least 512MB required to run even antiX, which is my recommendation. I value performance over looks, just to tell you where I'm coming from. It's Debian-based, so has lots of software packages available. Plus, the smxi script makes post-install tweaking easy. If wanting a 'buntu-derived distro, I would have to steer you towards wattos next; then peppermint. Both the latter 'like' at least 1024MB RAM, however. The more RAM, the better, as either of the three above will improve significantly in performance directly with RAM increases. Once the user learns linux, an eye-candy distro like Bodhi can be tested; (Not for newbies). Best wishes!

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Feb 7, 2012, 05:14 AM	#8
Drone Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Nonlocal location Posts: 1,897 (1.90/day) Thanks: 62 Thanked 822 Times in 525 Posts System Specs	Don't install new ubuntu or mint. They are too cluttered. Install mint 9 __________________ ...the young Universe was filled with a hot dense soup of interacting protons, electrons and photons at about 2700ºC. When the protons and electrons joined to form hydrogen atoms, the light was set free

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Feb 7, 2012, 05:31 AM	#9
Killer_Rubber_Ducky Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Starkville, MS Posts: 881 (0.67/day) Thanks: 1,005 Thanked 256 Times in 190 Posts System Specs	i just installed DSL 4.4 __________________ Heatware 'To err is human, to really mess things up requires a computer.'

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Feb 7, 2012, 12:57 PM	#12
digibucc Join Date: May 2009 Location: In the mountains :) Adirondacks in NY (US) Posts: 3,708 (2.53/day) Thanks: 4,542 Thanked 1,447 Times in 1,040 Posts System Specs	and sab is a great network-oriented app, i have mine on a server and can add/view from anywhere on the network. i love it. __________________ Donate to TPU TeamSpeak Server TPU TS: ts21.gameservers.com:9207 PSN / XBL / Steam = digibucc \| Origin / BF3 = digibuc

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Feb 7, 2012, 04:44 PM	#14
Killer_Rubber_Ducky Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Starkville, MS Posts: 881 (0.67/day) Thanks: 1,005 Thanked 256 Times in 190 Posts System Specs	i installed (frugal) dsl and it freezes after rebooting so Im probably going to run it from cd only. i need good debian compat distros that run smoothly on 64mb of ram. I need to use it to run sickbeard and sabnzbd only. Im just going to part out the machine. __________________ Heatware 'To err is human, to really mess things up requires a computer.' Last edited by Killer_Rubber_Ducky; Feb 9, 2012 at 12:17 AM.

Mar 28, 2012, 07:11 PM	#15
dzero Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: somewhere over the hill Posts: 24 (0.06/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Try a livecd/usb of Puppy Linux or Haiku to see if those will work well with your system.

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