Hardware Recommendations

• Relevant to all editions of PCLinuxOS.

YOU ARE HERE :: Main Page > Table of contents > Introduction > Minimum hardware requirements

This page lists a rough guide for the minimum and recommended hardware requirements to run PCLinuxOS.

Requirements in detail

Processor :

• Modern Intel or AMD processor.

Hard Disk Space :

• 10 GB or more free space recommended.

RAM :

• Minimum 2 GB of memory. - Recommended 4 GB or more.

Video card :

• Any modern video card by nVidia, ATI, Intel, SiS, Matrox, or VIA.
• 3D desktop support requires a 3D instructions set compatible card.

Sound card :

• Any Sound Blaster, AC97 or HDA compatible card.

Removable Storage :

• A CD/DVD drive or USB storage for installation media..

Network card :

• Generally any on-board network card will suffice.

Internet :

• A high speed internet connection is recommended for performing any updates / software installations as necessary.

Lightweight Desktops

"Remasters" or "Spins" of PCLinuxOS which use lightweight desktops, such as LXDE, Openbox, or even WMii (for an advanced user) are available.

• These do not have nearly as many hardware requirements as the KDE or Gnome versions.

• XFCE is somewhat in the middle, being much lighter than KDE and Gnome, so as to be able to run quite easily on 386MB of memory, but not as light as Openbox, LXDE, or WMii, which will work quite nicely on even 256MB.

• WMii can even work on as low as 128MB of memory!

• Similarly, hard drive space requirements are also considerably lower, especially with the "mini" versions, which might install on as low as 1.5GB of hard drive space!

A Word on Internet Connections

A broadband connection is recommended for best performance. You can use a dial-up connection, but performance will be noticeably slower. Connections through wireless 3G or 4G will perform well with PCLinuxOS.

However, be sure to consult the terms of service with your cellular provider before running applications that transfer large amounts of data such as Synaptic, to see if you can run such applications or to prevent bill shock.