Discussion Pentium 4 HT - Current Linux Distros

[jnjnilson6]

I am asking out of curiosity, not so much due to practicality.

I wonder what current Linux Distros would run on a Pentium 4 HT in 2024 and if something like Ubuntu 24.04 LTS would boot at all.

You can even run Windows 11 on some of them (before the 24H2 update).

I will not be using / building a Pentium 4 machine on Linux currently and as the title recapitulates - I am delving in this Discussion purely out of curiosity.

Let's make the thread cool and nostalgic and speculate on how far a Pentium 4 HT may go nowadays.

Thank you!

PS. Let's say the P4 HT runs at @ 2.8 GHz or higher.

 

[punkncat]

I would check out Lubuntu to see if it will work. I have had pretty good luck with it on those old Atom powered netbook things. I am not terribly familiar with any other of the lite Linux OS.
Might be worth exploring the Windows Lite thingy if you are willing to throw a key at it.

 

[Eximo]

I do have a Dell laying around with a P4 HT, I suppose I could try it. (Assuming it still works)

They do recommend a dual core for Ubuntu, not a single core with hyperthreading.

 

[jnjnilson6]

I would check out Lubuntu to see if it will work. I have had pretty good luck with it on those old Atom powered netbook things. I am not terribly familiar with any other of the lite Linux OS.
Might be worth exploring the Windows Lite thingy if you are willing to throw a key at it.

On a tangent - I remember having a GeForce 6200 TurboCache (256 MB). Used to be able to view 720p YouTube videos on Windows; however, I was able to play 1080p smoothly on Linux with it. It ran alternately on a Pentium 4 520 (w/ HT at 2.8 GHz) and a Celeron 420 (which could overclock to 3.0 GHz stable; it ran at 1.6 GHz by default). How I managed to pull that out of the aforementioned card in Linux still leaves me scratching my head.

 

[punkncat]

It surely is just repeating the already known characteristics of that OS. With the lack of overhead and background processes alongside a good driver by chance or otherwise?

Most of the messing around I have done in Linux has shown me that where you have a PC that is old and sluggish already that installing it doesn't have some magical power to overcome hardware aging out. It might breathe a bit more life into machines that are memory limited but otherwise capable, and certainly will be a great choice for the PC that can't update to 11. And at this there is still good reason to take old, obsolete equipment like this and set it up just for the pure entertainment factor.

 

[jnjnilson6]

It surely is just repeating the already known characteristics of that OS. With the lack of overhead and background processes alongside a good driver by chance or otherwise?

Most of the messing around I have done in Linux has shown me that where you have a PC that is old and sluggish already that installing it doesn't have some magical power to overcome hardware aging out. It might breathe a bit more life into machines that are memory limited but otherwise capable, and certainly will be a great choice for the PC that can't update to 11. And at this there is still good reason to take old, obsolete equipment like this and set it up just for the pure entertainment factor.

Yeah... That's true!

You could put Debian 6 on a Pentium III and accomplish miracles. Windows 11 boots up (on SSDs) for the same time Windows XP did in 2003-2004 on fast Pentium M laptops with Hard Disks. Windows NT and Unix are breathing pretty much the same air; yet I do think that newer versions of Windows have lost the speed of Win2000 and XP as well as the charm and beauty of Windows Vista and 7.

 

[Grobe]

I would check out Lubuntu to see if it will work.

Lubuntu build on Ubuntu which doesn't support x64 architecture - that is a prerequisite to be able to run Lubuntu.
That is, OP's should check if his P4 does support x64.

 

[BrickStation]

Arch Linux might be the best choice. I have Endeavour OS on an older Xeon, and it's pretty fast but requires at least a dual-core processor. Some other lightweight distros that might be a good choice are Peppermint, MX Linux, Xubuntu, and Linux Lite.

My oldest machine is a Lenovo BrickPad SL-510, built in 2009 and equipped with an Intel P8700 processor. It's currently running Ubuntu 24.04 from an SSD and it boots up in a matter of seconds. The overall performance is a bit slow but still manageable.

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[whatdoitypehere9937982739]

Alpine with XFCE maybe? If you need a major DE then possibly KDE Neon?