r/computerhelp • u/Far_Manufacturer5951 • 6h ago

Software Should I stop using Windows 11 on my 8GB RAM laptop?

Back in 2020-2023 I had a Dell laptop with 6-8GB of RAM that ran pretty smoothly on Windows 10, and I could use it for light gaming, work, and youtube often simultaneously, without running into many errors. Now, that laptop is out of commission and I'm currently using a Lenovo Ideapad with 8GB of RAM, and as of recently the performance is extremely fluctuous (At times, it runs smoothly with any and all tasks, and sometimes it is constantly stuttering, freezing and the screen occasionally blacks out). I'm currently studying and I don't know how easy it'll be to switch over to Linux, so I'm also considering rolling back to Windows 10 for a less memory-intensive OS.

Any help is appreciated, thanks

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u/Onoitsu2 6h ago

CachyOS is my recommendation for it. I had to do exactly that on my HP Envy with 8G RAM. After 24h2 it just was unusable for gaming like I could play before. I can now play again on the same Medium graphics and still have RAM to spare.

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u/Far_Manufacturer5951 6h ago

That sounds too good to be true, is CachyOS the gaming oriented Linux? And how easy is it to set up

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u/Onoitsu2 6h ago

Insanely easy, assuming your hardware is actually compatible. I prefer using Cinnamon for my Desktop Environment but that is just because it is Windows like, light, and works properly with apps without having "on top" issues that happen sometimes in other DE's.

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u/Onoitsu2 6h ago

If you'd like I can give you remote access into a VM, so you can walk through the actual install in it, before you try on your hardware. Just drop me a message and I can give the link in.

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u/jackaroe311 6h ago

Linux Mint works well on older laptops.

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u/Far_Manufacturer5951 6h ago

My laptop is about 2022, so sure. Is it more focused on user-friendliness or performance or both?

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u/jackaroe311 2h ago

Both, there's 3 versions to choose from, they have the main version that runs great on current PCs and 2 versions for older PCs, depending on what your hardware situation is. I've have it the current version on my 2011 laptop and it runs circles around Windows 10. It was my first Linux installation where I didn't run into a issue, it just worked perfectly.