Unless you’re using a computer from the ’90s or early 2000s, typically speaking, Ubuntu runs very well on most machines. I’ve found it to be fairly predictable in that respect. However, nothing is perfect, and you might run into an instance where the open-source operating system doesn’t perform up to your standards.
Also: 10 ways true Linux power users get more out of the world’s best OS
So, what do you do? Do you hop to a different distribution? You certainly could, as there are plenty of Linux distributions that work perfectly on older hardware. If you want to stick with Ubuntu, there are ways you can eke out a bit more speed from that OS.
What are they? Read on and find out.
1. Manage Startup Applications
One cause of slowdowns could be too many applications running at bootup. Some of these applications are obviously necessary (such as Wayland), while others (especially GUI apps) may not be. Every application that runs uses system resources. Too many startup applications could slow things down.
Fortunately, Ubuntu ships with a Startup Applications utility, which makes it easy to enable or disable applications that start automatically when you log in. When I need to make such adjustments, I always keep startup applications to a minimum.
2. Use a lightweight desktop environment
OK, part of the reason why people use Ubuntu (aside from it being one of the most reliable and user-friendly distributions) is because of the desktop environment. The Ubuntu developers and designers have done a great job tweaking the GNOME desktop to make it look and behave quite special.
Also: Don’t like your Linux desktop? Here’s how to install an alternative
That being said, if you find your Ubuntu computer running slowly, you can always opt to install a different desktop environment, such as Xfce, Enlightenment, LXDE, LXQT, i3, Cinnamon, MATE, or Blackbox. Each of those lightweight desktop environments will be considerably faster than the default.
3. Use Preload
Preload is a daemon that learns how you use your computer and then preloads frequently used applications into memory. This has the effect of making those apps start faster. One caveat to keep in mind is that Preload will not make your system boot faster, as this is all about applications. Preload is found in the standard repositories, so it’s easy to install, and there’s zero configuration necessary.
4. Install ZRAM
ZRAM is a kernel module that allows you to create compressed block devices in RAM. Essentially, what this does is increase the usable RAM on your system by compressing the data stored in RAM. When you use ZRAM, you can have more applications running simultaneously, without affecting the computer’s speed. This is especially helpful if you’re using a machine with limited RAM.
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5. Clean unnecessary files
You should make a habit of cleaning up temporary files, caches, and old apt packages to free up storage space and improve the performance of your machine. How you do this will depend on the applications you use, but there are plenty of tools (such as BleachBit) that greatly simplify this process.
7. Remove unused software
At the same time, you should remove applications you no longer use to reduce the load placed on your system. I would suggest you do this carefully, especially if you’re new to Linux. You don’t want to remove a necessary piece of software, which could cause problems with your computer. Think about it this way: if it’s a GUI application that has nothing to do with any kind of system or user settings, leave it alone. If it’s an app you installed (and no longer use), get rid of it.
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8. Disable visual effects
Animations and other visual effects increase the load placed on your computer’s GPU and CPU. You can always disable those effects to gain a bit more performance from a low-end system. The location to do this is typically in Settings > Accessibility > Seeing. Click the On/Off slider for Animations until it’s in the Off position, and you’re done.
9. Check for overheating
Now we start getting into the physical aspect of the process. I’ve experienced several instances where an overheating machine caused significant slowdowns. When that happens, the issue has almost always been blocked fan intake/outtake vents. Check the back of your computer to see if any of the vents are blocked with dust or pet hair. If so, remove it. If that doesn’t work, check to make sure your computer’s fan is working. I’ve had instances where a fan has gone bad, which led to overheating. After I replaced the fan, everything went back to normal.
10. Consider hardware upgrades
When all else fails, upgrade. The minimum recommended system resources for Ubuntu are a 2GHz dual-core processor, 4GB of RAM, and 25GB of free hard drive space. If your machine doesn’t meet that, consider upgrading so it does. However, don’t go for the minimum. I would at least double the amount of RAM and quadruple the amount of free hard drive space. RAM is especially important, but you also don’t want to wind up with a full hard drive, which can bring a system to a halt.
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