Lee DunaUbuntu Linux raises minimum system memory requirements by 50% — requirements bumped to 6GB of RAM, previously raised from 1GB to 4GB in 2018
GutterRat42How will this affect Linux Mint, and should I make my move to Linux Mint: Debian Edition?
unexposedhazardA lot (most) of it depends on the desktop environment you use. If you look for idle RAM usage compared by desktop environment you will see how drastic it is.
This kinda thing forum.endeavouros.com/t/…/70060
Linux DE's resource usage compared
Nick of The Linux Experiment posted a comparison of resource usage for Desktop Environments, that could be quite useful, particularly when it comes to tailoring options to older hardware. Below is a summary of sorts. RAM seems to be the real standout, with a nearly 100% difference between lowest usage and highest usage. All tests were performed on a Slimbook Evo 14, with Fedora 42 beta as the base OS. Tested desktop environments include: Budgie Cinnamon Cosmic Gnome KDE Plasma LXQt XFCE ...
It’s not that linear. Some background services will cache more things in RAM if memory usage is low and release it if total usage goes above a threshold, for example.