I've noticed that some older hardware can run version 18 just fine, as seen on N-Celeron laptops with only 2GB. Others are complaining that their old computers are "sluggish" as they say.
From my experience with Puppy Linux, old hardware can only support versions up to a certain year, say, processors from the late 2000s are suitable for 32-bit versions up to 2018.
Suggestions would be helpful, because I don't have older hardware for trial and error, anymore (they all broke).
12, 15 and 16 are no Options when You want Update Support. And when the specs are low, I wouldn't recommend Zorin Core. Only Lite. If it is older Hardware, it might be neccessary to install an older Kernel. Maybe the 5.15. It still gets Updates.
Zorin OS 12 is great for old hardware, because it doesn't require 4GB of system RAM. As Ponce said however, OS 12, 15, 16 don't receive security updates, because they are end of life OS's.
If you don't go on the internet, OS 12 is perfectly safe to use on old hardware. If you are going to use a computer on the net, and your machine is too old for OS 17 & 18, it might be time to think about buying a newer machine.
‘Archive (2009--2023)’ with said versions available for download, last checked @ October 26, 2025
I would give Q4OS Plasma a try. I installed it to a machine I built in 2006 with:
Single AMD Athlon 64-bit Processor
2 Gb RAM (Max)
512 Mb 8x AGP card
It runs like a 3 legged dog and you can't have multiple Apps open or it will
freeze. You could give their 32-bit Trinity Desktop a try (also available as 64-bit).
