So, you’ve decided to jump to the Linux operating system, and a spare laptop is the best way to go. After installing the open-source operating system, you log in, start using it, and find it far easier than you thought.
You also find that Linux is running a bit slow.
I’m always surprised when that happens, because Linux is well-known as a very efficient OS. However, some hardware isn’t quite up to the task of running modern desktop operating systems.
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Fortunately, this is Linux we’re talking about, so tweaking it to perform to your needs is not only possible but also not nearly as hard as you might think.
Let’s get into the thick of things.
1. Choose the right distribution
Some Linux distributions are just better at running on lesser-powered hardware than others. For instance, Xubuntu, Linux Lite, Bodhi Linux, Peppermint Linux, Linux Mint, and elementaryOS are great options for laptops that might not have the power to run the likes of Fedora, openSUSE, or Ubuntu. If you start your laptop’s Linux journey with a lightweight distribution, chances are pretty good you won’t have to deal with performance issues in the first place.
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2. Switch desktop environments/window managers
If you’ve already installed a distribution and don’t want to repeat the process, you can always install a more lightweight desktop environment. Although GNOME and KDE Plasma have become quite zippy over the past few years, they can’t compete with desktop environments designed specifically to be lightweight.
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Some of those desktop environments include Xfce, LXDE, Mate, WindowMaker, LXQT, Enlightenment, Pantheon, and Trinity Desktop Enivronment. Many of these desktop environments and window managers can be installed from the standard repositories in your distribution of choice.
What’s the difference between a desktop environment and a window manager? A desktop environment bundles a collection of tools and features that allow you to perform everyday tasks, with most of those features tightly integrated. A window manager – one of a desktop environment’s components – controls the placement, movement, and resizing of windows and a consistent look throughout.
3. Clear your cache
As with any operating system, the cache and temp files can accumulate and help slow down a system. You can use GUI tools like Bleachbit to make this task considerably easier, or you can use the terminal and delete all unnecessary files from the /tmp and /var/tmp directories. You can also use commands like sudo apt-get clean or sudo dnf remove -y to remove cached packages. You might also regularly clear your web browser’s cache and empty the trash via your file manager.
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4. Use Zram
ZRAM (Zeromalloc RAM) is a memory management technology used in Linux systems that enables transparent compression of swap space using the ZSTD algorithm. This reduces disk usage, improves disk I/O performance, reduces swap overhead, improves memory management, delivers faster disk access, and improves performance. ZRAM works like this:
- When a process is swapped out, its data is compressed using ZSTD.
- The compressed data is stored in RAM.
- When the compressed pages are needed again, they’re decompressed and returned to memory.
I’ve used ZRAM on several machines, and the difference in performance is noticeable. ZRAM is supported in Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, and more.
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5. Install preload
Preload is a special daemon that analyzes user behavior to improve the performance of your distributions. Preload handles page cache tuning, compression optimization, and makes compression adjustments for data.
Preload works by periodically scanning the system’s page cache to identify infrequently used pages (or those that are not essential for performance) and then removes those pages from memory and adjusts the compression settings to optimize the size of compressed data in both memory and on storage devices.
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After installing preload (which can be done via the standard repositories), give it time to learn your habits, and you’ll eventually notice improved performance.
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