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submitted 3 days ago by merci3@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml

Single core, 32 bit CPU, can't even do video playback on VLC. But it kinda works for some offline work, like text editing, and even emulation through zsnes! It's crazy how Linux keeps old hardware like this running.

Thankfully though, this laptop CPU is upgradable, and so is the ram, so I'm planning on revitalizing and bringing this old Itautec to the 21st century 😄

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[-] VinesNFluff@pawb.social 7 points 2 days ago

itautec

reproduto(...)

points Brazilian

[-] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 60 points 3 days ago

2GB of RAM? Low?

Were you born after the year 2000?

[-] merci3@lemmy.world 15 points 3 days ago

Haha, I've been used to 4gb ram minimum for most of my life 😆

[-] tonyn@lemmy.ml 12 points 3 days ago

I remember when 128MB RAM sticks were $400

[-] whaleross@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

I remember expanding my Amiga with 512KB to 1MB Fast RAM and later going crazy with another two megabyte Slow RAM.

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[-] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Lmao, I've ran Linux on an eeePC with 1GB RAM and 900MHz Intel Atom. Compiling gcc & glibc could take hours.

Edit: RPi3 still got only 1GB, BeagleBone Black even got 512MB, don't forget RPi0

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[-] wewbull@feddit.uk 66 points 3 days ago

I think my lowest was a 33 MHz 486sx (maybe DX) with 8MB of RAM.

I wouldn't want to try it today though.

[-] selokichtli@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

My first was a rare CPU, but not that old. It was my first PC and was fanless, which I used to think was normal until years later. It was a VIA Cyrix III, maybe 32 MB RAM. Another interesting thing about this CPU was its overclock capabilities. I don't know how it did survive my overclocking, since I genuinely didn't have a clue, except that if I raised the numbers, KDE could run, but if I didn't, well, Xfce was also cool.

[-] wewbull@feddit.uk 2 points 14 hours ago

Mone might even had been a Cyrix too. Honestly I struggle to remember. My dad bought straight Intels and I bought the clones (cheaper) I can't remember which one I first started on, but both got it eventually.

[-] selokichtli@lemmy.ml 1 points 12 hours ago

both got it eventually

Yeah, this is the way.

[-] umbraroze@piefed.social 16 points 3 days ago

The first machine I ran Linux on was a 486DX 33MHz too. I think it had 8 MB (or some weird thing like 4 MB originally and randomly stuck 8 MB addition? I don't remember anymore.)

[-] folekaule@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago

I had the exact same configuration. 4MB RAM upgraded to 8MB. 40MB HDD upgraded to 200MB later. And the fugliest case with triangular pastel buttons you ever saw. Ran Windows 3.11 then Slackware Linux on that for many years.

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[-] cypherpunks@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 days ago

I’m planning on revitalizing and bringing this old Itautec to the 21st century

I think it was born in the 21st century? From this it looks like the first Celeron M was in 2004, and the first at that clockspeed was 2005.

Also, 2GB of RAM is plenty for many purposes - that's more than any Raspberry Pi before the Pi 4 had!

[-] merci3@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Actually.. You're right about the 21st century lmao. I just wanted an excuse to quote Metal Gear Solid

Also, the issue is not ram itself, of course, 2GB is enough for lots of fun on Linux, it's the CPU that's killing me

[-] Diabolo96@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 3 days ago

2 gigs of ram ? You probably can have an emulation station up to PS1 with this hardware.

[-] merci3@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

Oh, I tried.. But the CPU/GPU is just TOO slow for that, SNES was the best I could do

[-] Diabolo96@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 3 days ago

I always forget how crappy Intel iGPUs are.

[-] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 days ago

Stories from the "good" old days running Linux on a 386 machine with 4 MB or less of memory aside, in the present day it's still perfectly normal to run Linux on a much weaker machine as a server - you can just rent a the cheapest VPS you can find (which nowadays will have 128 MB, maybe 256MB, and definitelly only give you a single core) and install it there.

Of course, it won't be something with X-Windows or Wayland, much less stuff like LibreOffice.

I think the server distribution of Ubunto might fit such a VPS, though there are server-specific Linux distros that will for sure fit and if everything fails TinyCore Linux will fit in a potato.

I current have a server like that using AlmaLinux on a VPS with less than 1GB in memory, which is used only as a Git repository and that machine is overkill for it (it's the lowest end VPS with enough storage space for a Git repository big enough for the projects I'm working on, so judging by the server management interface and linux meminfo, that machine's CPU power and memory are in practice far more than needed).

If you're willing to live with a command line interface, you can run Linux on $50 worth of hardware.

[-] vvvvv@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

only give you a single core

And boy would that core be shitty and over-provisioned.

[-] medem@lemmy.wtf 5 points 2 days ago

[ laughs in NetBSD ]

[-] LeFantome@programming.dev 4 points 2 days ago

MPV is a much lighter video player. Try that.

[-] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

ITT: The Four Yorkshiremen Sketch.

[-] Lettuceeatlettuce@lemmy.ml 16 points 3 days ago

Hell yeah! Love seeing old hardware like this still running a modern OS.

With Linux, if your hardware is a decade old, you've barely even reached middle-age.

Meanwhile Windows 11 won't even allow an official install on hardware that's 4-5 years old.

Long live Linux & FOSS ✊

[-] twinnie@feddit.uk 18 points 3 days ago

I rushed to the comments when I saw a 1.6ghz CPU being called low end but I see OPs already been dealt with. I remember the first ever 1ghz CPU being an overclocked nitrogen cooled AMD Athlon. Me and my mates were all talking about it when it happened.

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[-] slothrop@lemmy.ca 21 points 3 days ago
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[-] rumba@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 days ago

I had slackware on my 386DX 40. 4mb ram. It was kinda short-lived. I never got my modem working. I got a book, paged thought it. Learning shit was hard in the 90's Internet.

[-] MangoCats@feddit.it 3 points 2 days ago

I got my modem working in Slackware in 1997 - but the PPP driver (equivalent of WinSock - which worked in Windows quite well at the time) would only work during the first boot of the system. After a reboot, PPP would never return, and the best I got out of the internet about it at the time (mostly using my Windows PC) was "real men connect to the internet through ethernet."

Between that an the useless (unless you enjoy frustration) sound drivers, I declared Linux "not ready for prime time," and left it to others until starting back in via Cygwin in 2003, then Gentoo (for 64 bit access you couldn't get any other way) in 2005.

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[-] drathvedro@lemm.ee 4 points 2 days ago

I have a 2001 compaq n600 still being used from time to time as a gateway for old tech as it has COM as well as LPT and analog video outs. It has 1.2ghz celeron, 512mb ram, 30 gig drive. Thing is kind of a beast for its time as my own desktop at that time was nowhere close to its spects. Thing was gifted to me after initially being given to install win7 on it. After telling the guy that this isnt going to happen and the best they couldd hope for is winxp and even then it'd struggle, they told me "oh, so linux is the only option then... well, it doesnt work for me. Have it, then, have fun with it!". I put ubuntu on it, but still gnome ground the poor cpu to a halt, so I had to switch to Xfce. Luckily it turned good enough not to downgrade further to things like bare X or Kolibri OS. Worked as a solitaire machine for my dad for a few years, helped me fix and set up stuff on a few occasions, but nowadays mostly collecting dust in my drawer.

[-] Flamekebab@piefed.social 17 points 3 days ago

Whilst the Celeron was indeed utter cack, 2 GB has me making four Yorkshiremen-style "2GB? Luxury!" style comments.

I used to run Ubuntu on my Acer Aspire 1362 WMLi back in 2005. I had 512 MB of RAM and a 2800+ Sempron processor.

That said, looking at this:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/1351vs710/Mobile-AMD-Sempron-2800+-vs-Intel-Celeron-M-1.60GHz

My old Sempron was a better CPU than that piece of junk Celeron you've got there. Giving it 2GB of RAM is hilarious!

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[-] jj4211@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

can’t even do video playback on VLC.

I remember back in the day when I downloaded the first divx file my K6-400 couldn't smoothly play... I had been so used to thinking of that as a powerhouse coming from my Pentium 60, which was the first one I ran Linux on.

[-] 4shtonButcher@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 days ago

Pretty sure my dad's secondary desktop I used for my first Linux install had a 1.2 GHz Duron or something and 512 MB. I'm pretty sure I got that funky compiz fusion 3D-cube desktop running on there 😅

[-] kurcatovium@lemm.ee 5 points 2 days ago

Up 'til 2022 or 2023 company I work for used Pentium 4 at POS PCs running ancient openSUSE. They would be still in service if it weren't for leaking/swollen caps on most motherboards. Pure power wasn't really there, but it was plenty enough to run that checkout software...

[-] BartyDeCanter@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 3 days ago

I’m pretty certain the first computer I installed Linux on was a Pentium 75 with 4MB of RAM. I know I ran it on some 486s booting off floppys at work. We were at 10,000 feet and couldn’t trust the lifespan of spinning rust.

[-] hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org 12 points 3 days ago

Celeron M with 2GB ram? That's actually not low at all :p

I bet it runs NetBSD or Tinycore flawlessly

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[-] zorflieg@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago
[-] Mwa@thelemmy.club 3 points 2 days ago

even better LXQT

[-] answersplease77@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

thats my current laptop

Edit: im exagerating but I really have 20-yr 32-bit Dell laptops running minimal debian linux. and my current laptop is 10+ yrs old Lenovo which I already replaced its screen, rams, keyboard, bluetooth, usb ports... and it's still working flawlessly for daily tasks, video/music editing, coding and programming, internet browsing :D

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[-] eugenia@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 days ago

Are you using systemd? Because 317 MB of RAM is really low for a normal Debian installation with XFce. At my mom's 2 GB ram laptop, it uses 850 MB on a cold boot.

[-] LeFantome@programming.dev 6 points 3 days ago

It is because it is 32 bit. You can run a 32 bit distro on your machine too if you really want.

You can get a full Trinity desktop on Q4OS in 130 MB of RAM (32 bit edition).

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[-] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 3 days ago

I've run Linux on a 166MHz Pentium with 64MB of RAM. There's not much modern software that will run on that hardware though.

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[-] vfreire85@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

brazil mentioned! does itautec still makes pc's?

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[-] Mwa@thelemmy.club 2 points 2 days ago

the theme tricked me into thinking this is Cinnamon

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this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2025
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