Lightweight Linux distribution for 3.2 GHz Intel Celeron with 2 GB RAM

Question

I recently installed Elementary OS on an old PC that wasn’t being used. It’s not lightweight enough for the hardware, though, so now I am looking for a different distro. I am using the computer for general desktop use.

The computer has a 3.2 GHz Intel Celeron processor, with 2 GB of RAM.

My priorities are:

• Lightweight
• Debian / Debian-based (I only know apt-get)
• Feels like Mac OS (or at least not like Windows)
• Does not come with tons of software pre-installed (I like a clean system)

I saw that LXDE and XFCE looked interesting, but I don’t know how to customize things like that the way I want. If that is doable (is that a word? :) ) please let me know!

Edit: Has anyone tried the macOS theme in Ubuntu or GNOME? I saw this article here: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/make-linux-look-like-macos/ Does this work well?

Answer 1

This question can be rather opinionated, as there are many why you should and should not for distros. Personally, I would recommend coming at this question as: what OS is lightweight for these specs. Almost any Linux distribution can be customized to suit ones needs, KDE for example being easily customized out the box.

Now, I have had wonderful results from using LXLE as your operating system of choice:

• Lightweight, using the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment (and other core components);
• Uses apt-get for package management;
• Active documentation;
• and it "just works" on most hardware (even older gear).

I have used this distro on countless older laptops for friends who are too stubborn to buy new PCs, and the overall use is quite user friendly (intuitive) and they are able to perform their day-to-day fucntions (youtube, email, music etc.) without an issue.