Optimization of Zorin OS 16

Hello! Can anyone list me the best possible way to speed up performance and minimise RAM usage? I'm currently running it on 4GB Ram on a Core 2 Duo T4200 and runs pretty well!

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If it runs pretty well as you say, why would you seek performance boost? RAM is there to be used. Linux is good to administrate the RAM contraire Windows (it may got better with Windows 10-11 who knows). If you are zealous regarding RAM usage you can always switch from Core to Lite or drop DE all together and switch to WM only.

Ram usage is what speeds up computers, the fact that zorin is populating it is a good thing. Use your startup option to specify which apps you want, turn off what you don't and enjoy. That way the apps you use most often are quickly available. The fact that 16 is the fastest zorin yet and it's doing well on your system is a testament to the improvements.

Ram is still faster than even NVMe drives (not by much) so it makes sense to populate it. You could shut off all startup applications and that would make zorin real quick as well a reduce ram usage. Your best bet is to add another 4gb stick to your laptop (or change to two 4gb sticks depending on the configuration). Your pocket and motherboard will be the only limitations to increasing the speed of your system. Providing more ram, at the same clock speed, will improve performance and availability.

The only other option is to upgrade to a newer machine.

It does run pretty well but we will see in the future as its just newly installed. Sometimes, like it has lag spikes for animations or loading stuff but that's okay

Oo okay, it does run well, but we'll see in the future because sometimes an OS runs well newly installed but after a few weeks slows down. My laptop is a Inspiron 1545 if you're wondering :slight_smile:

You can see if preload will optimize for the most used app on your computer.

sudo apt install preload

preload monitors applications that users run, and by analyzing this
data, predicts what applications users might run, and fetches those
binaries and their dependencies into memory for faster startup times.

If you're gaming you might want to check my gamemode guide: [HowTo] Use gamemode in Zorin OS 16

Never experienced that on a Linux machine other than if you ran out of RAM and need to swap with a 5600rpm HDD. But again Linux handles RAM pretty well.

Ooo, i was using Zorin 15 Lite and after i saw the UI I just couldn't resist it lol. It was too good

You can check this, I've created it and I'll post updates on how it performs

Linux uses cache files and fills up logs differently than windows. There shouldn't be a lag because either are getting to large. Once they hit a predetermined size they make a new file. There should be no slow down like in windows.

I am looking for an easy to install system clean/defrag/optimizer software. Haven't had much luck so far except Bleachbit. I am used to CCleaner on windows, good gui control?

You might try ubuntu cleaner which is a very simple GUI app that is powerful and not complicated.
Add repo:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gerardpuig/ppa -y

Update sources and install Ubuntu Cleaner:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install ubuntu-cleaner

Defraging is not a problem on Linux partition, only if you fill them up to 99% can it be a problem. In that area Linux is superior than Windows. If you find a cleaner App, be advise to use carefully, if you not know what you're doing - I have seen horror stories how people brick their system with automatically cleaner app.

You can have a look at Stacer.

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Same - I am one of them. My horror story was in using the gtkorphan app that when I misclicked and selected it to clean a certain parameter of files, it wiped out most of my system files. That was an unexpected and non-backedup reinstall of Zorin OS...

This is part of why I suggested Ubuntu Cleaner above - it is a very safe app to use.

Decrease swap use - One of the ways to boost your system performance is by decreasing swappiness value. Open terminal and type:

sudo gedit /etc/sysctl.conf

Add vm.swappiness=10 at the end and save the file. Reboot your system.

I never had problems using Stacer. It's really good. :+1:

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I, too, was going to recommend stacer. It has an Android/Windows like system cleaner that clears temp, cache, log and recycle bin in a few clicks.

I've never had an issue with it. It's also great for managing repository addresses and checking your RAM/disk/CPU usage. It includes a process manager (what is running) as well as an application manager also (though I use these much less). You can also adjust startup applications and services from stacer, but again, I rarely use these features.

It can be set to stay at boot, even minimized, if you so choose (becomes an icon in the system tray, near the clock, like a speedometer, not animated).

Stacer is very good and is actually built into the Garuda OS - just turn it off when done or it will run in background.