Linux Fun Fact: Ubuntu's system requirements are higher than Windows 11

[Dopious]

Version 26.04 LTS places higher demands on processor and primary memory than Microsoft's system.

Ubuntu version 26.04 LTS is due for release at the end of April, and Canonical has now revealed the updated system requirements. These have raised some eyebrows, as Ubuntu now places higher demands on both processor and RAM than Windows 11, reports WCCF Tech .

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS requires at least a 2 GHz dual-core processor, 6 GB of primary memory, and at least 25 GB of free space on the hard drive or SSD where the system will be installed. Windows 11 requires a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 4 GB of primary memory, and 64 GB of free space.

This is about performance requirements. Ubuntu has no other requirements, but Windows 11 also requires the computer to have TPM 2.0, support for Secure Boot, and a processor from Intel's 8th generation or later or AMD's Ryzen 2000 series or later.

The Linux distribution's system requirements are not hard requirements but rather strong recommendations, while Windows 11 cannot be installed at all on computers that do not meet the system requirements without resorting to some method to circumvent them. Such methods also do not work to install on computers whose processors lack the SSE 4.2 or POPCNT instructions.

Source: https://wccftech.com/ubuntu-26-04-linux-os-heavier-pc-requirements-vs-microsoft-windows-11/

 

[Octavia]

Most of my ubuntu are still on 18.4 or 20.4

 

[SilverClouds]

People don't have 6GB?

 

[RiskyStuff]

People don't have 6GB?

Most people who install Linux use raspberry pi instead of their brains. It's sad truth...

 

[Dopious]

People don't have 6GB?

The fun fact was that a linux dist now has higher system requirements than windows.

 

[SilverClouds]

The fun fact was that a linux dist now has higher system requirements than windows.

Ohhhkay, if someone plays with really low spec devices for lulz they can install something along the lines of Puppy Linux or NetBSD or even OpenBSD I remember let me use stuff way below it's requirements. Ubuntu is general purpose distro (not my fav tbh), most people have more than 6GB RAM. I think lowest Dell/Lenovo/HP refurbs have is 8GB maybe? So even if you buy 10 years (or more) old cheap computer it still will have more than 6GB . My cheap machines have 16-32GB.

 

[RiskyStuff]

I had this lightweight version of Ubuntu on one laptop I found in a trashcan.

Xubuntu...
Install it nerds and you'll sleep better.

 

[ggmopa]

That's fair enough. I don't think Ubuntu desktop users would care very much not going to outweight their dislike of Windoes. If they do they care for some reason, they'll just switch to lubuntu, I guess.

 

[SilverClouds]

Yeah try Puppy Linux or Slitaz or from main distros idk maybe Slackware should have low requirements. Or NetBSD if you want *BSD. Wrong distro, Ubuntu is mainstream desktop/workstation distro (yes, I know that somehow they have server version too, eh), most people have 16GB on their desktops at least, maybe 8GB if they're on a *really* low budget.

 

[GoldenGlovez]

This is more about honesty than hard requirement. Canonical is saying here that the 6GB ram recommendation is for a smooth experience including running day-to-day general productivity applications, 26.04 isn't magically consuming 2GB more of RAM than the prior version. Windows 11 on the other hand has a hard requirement of 4GB just for installation, good luck doing anything productive on the system without heavy swap usage.

 

[Dopious]

This is more about honesty than hard requirement. Canonical is saying here that the 6GB ram recommendation is for a smooth experience including running day-to-day general productivity applications, 26.04 isn't magically consuming 2GB more of RAM than the prior version. Windows 11 on the other hand has a hard requirement of 4GB just for installation, good luck doing anything productive on the system without heavy swap usage.

I know, I just posted it as a fun fact as I thought I`d get some linux nerds freaking out in the thread, nothing else.

 

[ggmopa]

Yeah try Puppy Linux or Slitaz or from main distros idk maybe Slackware should have low requirements. Or NetBSD if you want *BSD. Wrong distro, Ubuntu is mainstream desktop/workstation distro (yes, I know that somehow they have server version too, eh), most people have 16GB on their desktops at least, maybe 8GB if they're on a *really* low budget.

What even is the point in these posts?

Slackware lol. Why stop there? Why not recommend Haiku? Or even Temple OS smh. Are you just listing random distros you heard of at some point in the hopes of sounding well informed and clever?

Well not a single one of these systems you listed are really truly 'general purpose' in 2026 let alone user-friendly Win11 or Ubuntu alternatives relevant to the thread, and it in just shows you are an idiot that doesn't know what you're even talking about.

 

[SilverClouds]

What even is the point in these posts?

Slackware lol. Why stop there? Why not recommend Haiku? Or even Temple OS smh. Are you just listing random distros you heard of at some point in the hopes of sounding well informed and clever?

Well not a single one of these systems you listed are really truly 'general purpose' in 2026 let alone user-friendly Win11 or Ubuntu alternatives relevant to the thread, and it in just shows you are an idiot that doesn't know what you're even talking about.

Are you crazy?

 

[RiskyStuff]

Are you crazy?

He is cooking his braincells again. Let him cook!

 

[ggmopa]

Are you crazy?

No. What part of that post makes me crazy? Are you crazy? Actually you don't even have answer that last question.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 12:17 PM

He is cooking his braincells again. Let him cook!

Mate. I'm literally a millionaire, have a degree a job and work for a future. You're a pathetic crackhead bum in third world country that talks big with nothing to show for it except a can of lager you occasionally post. Stop calling me out. I wouldn't even piss on your block if I visited your shit country. Time to get the fuck over yourself and grow up

 

[ggmopa]

So sick of these two socially awkward morons posting pointless, inanane, attention-seeking drivel dragging entire threads in to the ground across the entire forum. Let alone trying to justify and dignify a response to any of it

 

[SilverClouds]

What even is the point in these posts?

Slackware lol. Why stop there? Why not recommend Haiku? Or even Temple OS smh. Are you just listing random distros you heard of at some point in the hopes of sounding well informed and clever?

Well not a single one of these systems you listed are really truly 'general purpose' in 2026 let alone user-friendly Win11 or Ubuntu alternatives relevant to the thread, and it in just shows you are an idiot that doesn't know what you're even talking about.

First time I used Linux in 2001, when I was 11 years old kid. I was dual booting with Windows at first like most people when they start. Last time I dual booted was in Windows XP times, after that I was using Linux as my only/main OS. When I first started using Linux Ubuntu didn't exist. I started by trying out Debian, Red Hat, Suse, Mandriva, etc and Debian worked best on my computer so I stayed with Debian Stable for couple years. Over the years (like, come on, lots of time passed since 2001 so I had time to try them lol) I tried many distros and if you take 10 minutes to look around Linux content on the internet you'll realize that it's not uncommon for Linux users to 'distro hop'. I also had Solaris cd straight from Sun Microsystems (they were giving them away, just like Ubuntu was when they first started...), QNX from some magazine, etc. Very limited OpenBSD use in recent years, mostly since I'm looking for Linux alternative. Generally I'm not too good with other Unixes that aren't Linux.

I'm not allowed to have a hobby? I'm not interested in user friendly distros, I always liked Linux for being a bit of a hacker OS and giving you freedom to set up your devices how you want. It's not my fault that people are retarded and think Linux = Ubuntu. There are other distros than that and not everyone likes Ubuntu, I'd argue it's controversial distro lately... With forced Snaps support and extra vulnerabilities that don't necessarily exist in other distros. A lot of previous Ubuntu users actually leave Ubuntu because of Snap overuse.

No. What part of that post makes me crazy? Are you crazy? Actually you don't even have answer that last question.

I will, though. I went to top rated psychiatrist in my city in Poland and he said I'm normal (very reassuring thing to hear from a psychiatrist ), just stressed out and he directed me to group therapy but I got creeped out, never went and instead vomited my heart out on the other forum. Since then my oversharing is permanently saved on the internet and I keep getting these badges on forums huh so I guess I'm likeable .

Mate. I'm literally a millionaire,

Dear god, I just can't with these new money folks. I'd never thought I'd start thinking this way, I was always money is money, but damn it's like with these first time 'businesspeople' that I have to deal with on sales calls... They get some control for the first time in their life and they go crazy. You guys same, it's even worse than broke-broke people for some reason! It's like, you see a little bit of money for first time in your life and you go absolutely insane. Dude, nobody cares... Money comes, money goes. One day you earn, another day you're bankrupt. First million is nothing. The way you act and go completely fuckin crazy I'd be very surprised if you'll actually manage to keep money long term, I don't think so.

have a degree a job and work for a future.

Good then. Focus on your studies and job instead of being so insecure.

You're a pathetic crackhead bum in third world country that talks big with nothing to show for it except a can of lager you occasionally post. Stop calling me out. I wouldn't even piss on your block if I visited your shit country. Time to get the fuck over yourself and grow up

You're talking about me or @RiskyStuff ? Poland isn't a third world country. Not a western country but putting it together with Lanka, India, Cambodia, etc is dumb, it's not similar at all.

So sick of these two socially awkward

Eh. I already said before... It's supposed to be forum for nerds, no? Nerds being socially awkward is a given. Let's not discriminate each other for being socially awkward, enough that some people were already discriminated for being introverted or wearing glasses, on a nerdy forum out of all places .

morons posting pointless, inanane, attention-seeking drivel dragging entire threads in to the ground across the entire forum. Let alone trying to justify and dignify a response to any of it

You got hysteric because I wrote about Linux... Dude, I'm just average Linux user. Not even NetworkChuck level, not developer, etc, just user posting typical Linux stuff. Idk how you'd react if actual dev would write a post. Jeez. I see you're not very good with computers, you use MacOS I guess .

 

[GoldenGlovez]

I know, I just posted it as a fun fact as I thought I`d get some linux nerds freaking out in the thread, nothing else.

 

[ggmopa]

First time I used Linux in 2001, when I was 11 years old kid. I was dual booting with Windows at first like most people when they start. Last time I dual booted was in Windows XP times, after that I was using Linux as my only/main OS. When I first started using Linux Ubuntu didn't exist. I started by trying out Debian, Red Hat, Suse, Mandriva, etc and Debian worked best on my computer so I stayed with Debian Stable for couple years. Over the years (like, come on, lots of time passed since 2001 so I had time to try them lol) I tried many distros and if you take 10 minutes to look around Linux content on the internet you'll realize that it's not uncommon for Linux users to 'distro hop'. I also had Solaris cd straight from Sun Microsystems (they were giving them away, just like Ubuntu was when they first started...), QNX from some magazine, etc. Very limited OpenBSD use in recent years, mostly since I'm looking for Linux alternative. Generally I'm not too good with other Unixes that aren't Linux.

You don't have to give me your life story. It's as simple as this: Slackware is essentially a one man band; the hobby of a celver old man in his spare time, NetBSD is for niche programming, Puppy Linux is used for system repair and OpenBSD is for neckbeards that still swear by it as a gold standard of cybersecurity. None of them are not nearly 'general purpose' in this day and age to even be worth a mention.

I'm not allowed to have a hobby? I'm not interested in user friendly distros, I always liked Linux for being a bit of a hacker OS and giving you freedom to set up your devices how you want. It's not my fault that people are retarded and think Linux = Ubuntu. There are other distros than that and not everyone likes Ubuntu, I'd argue it's controversial distro lately... With forced Snaps support and extra vulnerabilities that don't necessarily exist in other distros. A lot of previous Ubuntu users actually leave Ubuntu because of Snap overuse.

Ummm, but the topic is specifically about Ubuntu. 'Let's switch it up for Slackware because Gnome is too resource intensieve'. Said nobody ever. As a life long Linux user... apparently, you should know it's a stupid thong to even bring up. Especially when there are dozens of actual notable distros that would be a far more appropriate alternative to jave even suggest if different DE flavours weren't enough. User your brain.

I will, though. I went to top rated psychiatrist in my city in Poland and he said I'm normal (very reassuring thing to hear from a psychiatrist ), just stressed out and he directed me to group therapy but I got creeped out, never went and instead vomited my heart out on the other forum. Since then my oversharing is permanently saved on the internet and I keep getting these badges on forums huh so I guess I'm likeable .

Dear god, I just can't with these new money folks. I'd never thought I'd start thinking this way, I was always money is money, but damn it's like with these first time 'businesspeople' that I have to deal with on sales calls... They get some control for the first time in their life and they go crazy. You guys same, it's even worse than broke-broke people for some reason! It's like, you see a little bit of money for first time in your life and you go absolutely insane. Dude, nobody cares... Money comes, money goes. One day you earn, another day you're bankrupt. First million is nothing. The way you act and go completely fuckin crazy I'd be very surprised if you'll actually manage to keep money long term, I don't think so.

Good then. Focus on your studies and job instead of being so insecure.

You're talking about me or @RiskyStuff ? Poland isn't a third world country. Not a western country but putting it together with Lanka, India, Cambodia, etc is dumb, it's not similar at all.

Eh. I already said before... It's supposed to be forum for nerds, no? Nerds being socially awkward is a given. Let's not discriminate each other for being socially awkward, enough that some people were already discriminated for being introverted or wearing glasses, on a nerdy forum out of all places .

You got hysteric because I wrote about Linux... Dude, I'm just average Linux user. Not even NetworkChuck level, not developer, etc, just user posting typical Linux stuff. Idk how you'd react if actual dev would write a post. Jeez. I see you're not very good with computers, you use MacOS I guess .

WTF is she going on about now? Cannot even be bothered at this point. Give it a rest

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 4:26 PM

My bad if I came across as a narcissitic fool everyone and @RiskyStuff, caught me at a bad time... taking a major dump while typing after two subways for lunch with jalepenos. I specifically said no jalepenos on one but ate them both anyway. No offence meant

 

[SilverClouds]

@Dopious idk what the thread was about at this point... But like... Seriously. That lame ass above is distracting.

If you need for your old machine I'd *still* strongly suggest upgrading to 8GB at least if possible, that's like an absolute minimum for a desktop, not sure if lower will be that usable. Like, at these Dell/Lenovo/HP refurb shops sort by cheapest and there will be 8GB machines.

Grab https://ventoy.net and pick multiple distros you want to try and download live isos and put them on Ventoy. This way you can distro hop hop like @Yes easter bunny and check which distro works best without installing even. When you find one you like you can install to hard drive, there's install icon on the desktop or in menu.

Distros to try, pick what you like: https://distrowatch.com

Dis ugly af but will run on a fuckin toaster, so if you need to temporarily use your barely functional computer and nothing runs this will work before you get a better one: Puppy Linux, Slitaz.

For desktop you can try something like Fedora, Manjaro, Endavour or main distros like Debian, Slackware, Gentoo, Red Hat has free developer version (I linked somewhere here in Tools at the Forge). Basically just put a bunch of isos on usb stick and test them all to see what you like, problem solved. Doesn't have to be Ubuntu if it doesn't run on your machine. Doesn't have to be what I like either, pick what looks interesting to you from DistroWatch.