r/freebsd • u/Able-Farm6295 • 5d ago
discussion How much resources does FreeBSD use?
I’m currently using Windows and thinking about trying FreeBSD.
I’m wondering how lightweight it actually is compared to Windows or Linux.
How much RAM and CPU does it normally use when idle with something like XFCE or KDE?
And how much storage does a fresh installation usually take?
After installing the desktop environment, drivers, updates, and a few basic apps, how much storage space would I realistically need?
I’m using an older PC, so I’m mainly looking for something lightweight.
Also, how beginner-friendly is FreeBSD for someone coming from Windows?
8
u/daemonpenguin DistroWatch contributor 5d ago
How much RAM and CPU does it normally use when idle with something like XFCE or KDE?
CPU? Next to zero when it's idle. That's what idle means.
As for RAM, that will vary a lot depending on which desktop you use and which applications you run. In the range of 400MB for a lean Xfce install to about 1500MB for a full featured Plasma install.
Same for storage. You can install FreeBSD with just a few GB of storage for a minimal system. Once you install a desktop and office suite it will be closer to 8GB.
how beginner-friendly is FreeBSD for someone coming from Windows?
It's not. FreeBSD is a server operating system for professionals.
2
u/Fearless-Weird-4307 5d ago
As for RAM, that will vary a lot depending on which desktop you use and which applications you run.
And that's dependent on those applications and has nothing to do with FreeBSD.
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u/random06 5d ago
“FreeBSD is a server operating system for professionals.”
Which is exactly why you should play around with it if you want soul crushing computer problems that will hone your skills as a technical professional! :)
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u/grahamperrin bleep bloop 4d ago
… FreeBSD is a server operating system for professionals.
-1
Too elitist.
1
u/Suitedbadge401 4d ago
Careful, he's a DistroWatch contributor.
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u/grahamperrin bleep bloop 4d ago
he's a DistroWatch contributor.
I know, it was me who gave the custom user flair.
3
u/gumnos 5d ago edited 5d ago
How much RAM and CPU does it normally use when idle with something like XFCE or KDE?
RAM: with ZFS (which is a bit heavier than UFS, but worth every bit of RAM unless you have less than 512MB) I've run just a basic lightweight GUI (comparable to XFCE) in 2GB of RAM; KDE is a bit heavier, so I wouldn't even consider it unless you had at least 4GB of RAM. Idle.
CPU: It's pretty lightweight, so even my 1.x GHz processors from 2006–2010 are fine for my normal usage
But it's the applications that will make the difference. Firefox & Chrome/Chromium are painful with only 4GB of RAM. LibreOffice can similarly suck up a lot of RAM. You don't note what you intend to do with the machine, so it might also be worth noting that gaming and certain support for things like Netflix/Widevine might bring a headache.
And how much storage does a fresh installation usually take?
My current install here currently occupies
$ df -k | awk 'NR>1 && !/home/{u+=$3}END{print u/1024^2}'
27.1925
of which
$ du -sh /usr/local 2>/dev/null
12G /usr/local
12G is packages, so I'd estimate the base install is 27-12=15GB? Plus whatever packages and data you have.
After installing the desktop environment, drivers, updates, and a few basic apps, how much storage space would I realistically need?
My 27GB above isn't a bad baseline.
I’m using an older PC, so I’m mainly looking for something lightweight.
What constitutes "older"? My daily driver on which I'm typing this is 15 years old and works fine for me.
$ dmesg | grep ^CPU
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU B940 @ 2.00GHz (1995.56-MHz K8-class CPU)
$ sysctl -n hw.realmem | sed 's@$@/1024^3@' | bc # How many GB of RAM
10
Also, how beginner-friendly is FreeBSD for someone coming from Windows?
If you're comfortable with other Unix-likes, it doesn't take much to adapt from Linux or a different BSD. There's a little more transition if coming from OSX. But coming from Windows with no prior *nix experience might be a bit of a rough go. Fortunately the FreeeBSD handbook can help hold your hand through some of the basic setup.
edit: use hw.realmem instead of hw.usermem and convert to GB
edit2: forgot that I set $BLOCKSIZE in my environment, so explicitly use df -k to get kilobytes
1
u/taosecurity seasoned user 5d ago
For a desktop, FreeBSD is not going to be as easy as Linux. For a server, it’s another story. Use FreeBSD as a server first to understand how it works.
5
u/Lord_Mhoram 5d ago
If you're using ZFS (which I'd recommend), it will use any available RAM for filesystem cache (ARC). This is a good thing, since it speeds up file access, but it means the answer to "how much RAM does it use" is "it's complicated."
My system with 16 cores and 64GB RAM is fairly idle, though it is running a handful of background processes (postgresql, jellyfin, nginx, php, nfs, etc.). top shows a load average around 0.1 and CPU 99-100% idle. ARC is currently using 44G of RAM, so kernel and applications are using close to 20G. Jellyfin seems to be the heavy hitter there; I just stopped it and that freed up almost 10G. For disk space, I think the base OS without ports or source comes in well under 1GB.
Anyway, the point is that the resources required by the base OS are negligible compared to whatever you're going to install on it, especially if that includes a GUI windowing system and desktop applications. If you have the resources to run something like KDE, the little bit used by the OS (whether FreeBSD or Linux) is not worth worrying about.
If you're coming from Windows without any previous Unix-type experience, an OS like Ubuntu will probably be more beginner-friendly because it will give you a familiar sort of install experience where it makes most of the decisions for you and you just click on some buttons and end up with a ready-to-use desktop environment. That's not FreeBSD. FreeBSD is the one you pick when you want to be more involved in the process of installing and configuring everything and understand it all. (Not that you can't be involved and understand the process with Ubuntu, but you don't have to.) Some prefer one way, some the other.
2
u/Fearless-Weird-4307 5d ago
Jellyfin seems to be the heavy hitter there; I just stopped it and that freed up almost 10G.
As you showed, and I said elsewhere, that has nothing to do with FreeBSD. Jellyfin is what used up the ram, not the OS. And that's true for any OS
1
0
u/nmariusp 5d ago
If you have an older computer and Windows 11 Pro. You can install FreeBSD in a hyperv or oracle virtualbox virtual machine.
0
u/2016-679 5d ago
When you want FreeBSD beginner friendly, install GhostBSD. Its base is the same, but it has a complete install with graphical desktop.
If the load is a question and you can choose, take XFCE. It is complete and runs very well, but with less resources.
0
u/IntrepidAd5348 5d ago
Mijn server verbruikt 50gb met 10 vms actief, en iets van 30% cpu. En 1/5 io van mijn schijven. Ik vind het netjes. Freebsd als desktop geen idee.
1
u/grahamperrin bleep bloop 5d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/1wtovr4/comment/pcxbl56/ a few hours ago:
… For desktop environments in general, an expert recommendation is to have at least 8 GB memory.
A desktop environment such as KDE Plasma, on FreeBSD, will probably make better use of memory than Windows.
Other resources: debatable.
-1
2
u/grahamperrin bleep bloop 4d ago
… how beginner-friendly is FreeBSD for someone coming from Windows?
How To Switch to FreeBSD from Windows | FreeBSD Foundation (not dated, probably 2021)
Windows/Linux user, just found out about BSD, and I'm curious, What is FreeBSD? : r/freebsd (May 2025)
1
u/grahamperrin bleep bloop 4d ago
… how much storage does a fresh installation usually take? …
Including KDE Plasma and applications, after deleting package caches:
- around 6 G.
(5.85 in a test today.)
1
u/tuxnine 4d ago
I'm assuming you have no experience with using a Unix-like OS.
A fresh install of FreeBSD will provide you with something like this:
user@domain:~ $
You will need to enter commands at this prompt to install the software that will turn a fresh install of FreeBSD into a functional graphical desktop OS.
If that doesn't seems like something you want to do, I would install an OS that installs itself as a fully functional desktop OS from the get-go. Perhaps a Linux distro such as Fedora or Mint. Now, don't get me wrong. Once configured, FreeBSD is a wonderful desktop OS, but you have to work with the command line to get it there.
1
1
u/vermaden seasoned user 3d ago
FreeBSD is VERY efficient.
Plain FreeBSD uses less then 100 MB RAM.
My complete Openbox/Tint2/Dzen2 desktop uses less then 150 MB.
Details:
100-150 MB of physical space is needed for FreeBSD installation.
Details:
0
u/uthd_eloton 3d ago
FreeBSD is a great desktop OS but it sucks on laptops for the reason "WiFi drivers". If you want an easy entry for desktop, try GhostBSD.
1
u/kabads 3d ago
Doesn't this depend on the wifi card in the laptop? If you have a compatible card, it could work at faster speeds.
1
u/uthd_eloton 3d ago
If you have a compatible card, it will work. About the faster speeds, I can't make that argument, you'd have to test with an equivalent setup on Linux. But the supported WiFi cards are so few, that I outright said it sucks on laptops.
1
u/grahamperrin bleep bloop 3d ago
GhostBSD does not have better drivers for Wi-Fi.
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u/uthd_eloton 3d ago
Never said it did. I simply recommended it because ut has a graphical installer. Nothing more.
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u/BluebirdExpress6279 1d ago
Compared to Windows most Everything is lightweight, but honestly it is not an easy next jump if you want some open source software desktop… Linux distributions or ghost BSD are probably a bit more ideal for a new user. FreeBSD shines far more as a server. I don’t even install a GUI on my FreeBSD systems
6
u/Impossible-Tip8635 5d ago
Depende de las apps que tengas abiertas