any benefits using older mx version on old PC?

[dotw]

I have been using mx 23.1 xfce for 3 moths and I have so far did not encounter any lags or stutters. Someone suggested that I should use 21.3 instead since my PC is very old. But is there any benefits to be derived from using older mx version?

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-13-amd64 [6.1.55-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-13-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
  Desktop: Xfce v: 4.18.1 tk: Gtk v: 3.24.36 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm v: 4.18.0 vt: 7
    dm: LightDM v: 1.26.0 Distro: MX-23.1_x64 Libretto July 31  2023 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12
    (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: Hewlett-Packard product: HP Pro 3330 MT v: N/A serial: <superuser required>
    Chassis: type: 3 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Foxconn model: 17A0 v: 2.10 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: AMI v: 8.09
    date: 10/22/2013
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i3-3240 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Ivy Bridge gen: core 3 level: v2
    built: 2012-15 process: Intel 22nm family: 6 model-id: 0x3A (58) stepping: 9 microcode: 0x21
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 2 tpc: 2 threads: 4 smt: enabled cache: L1: 128 KiB
    desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 512 KiB desc: 2x256 KiB L3: 3 MiB desc: 1x3 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 1705 high: 1774 min/max: 1600/3400 scaling: driver: intel_cpufreq
    governor: ondemand cores: 1: 1659 2: 1704 3: 1774 4: 1685 bogomips: 27138
  Flags: avx ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX unsupported
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion
  Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Unknown: No mitigations
  Type: retbleed status: Not affected
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines, IBPB: conditional, IBRS_FW, STIBP: conditional, RSB
    filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor Graphics vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-7 process: Intel 22nm built: 2012-13 ports: active: HDMI-A-1
    empty: DP-1,VGA-1 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:0152 class-ID: 0300
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 compositor: xfwm v: 4.18.0 driver: X:
    loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: crocus gpu: i915 display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x285mm (20.00x11.22") s-diag: 582mm (22.93")
  Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-1 model: Acer KA222Q H serial: <filter> built: 2023
    res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 102 gamma: 1.2 size: 478x260mm (18.82x10.24") diag: 544mm (21.4")
    ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
  API: OpenGL v: 4.2 Mesa 22.3.6 renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 2500 (IVB GT1)
    direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Family High Definition Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard 6
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:1c20 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-13-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 0.3.65 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: e000 bus-ID: 05:00.0
    chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
  IF: eth0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 111.79 GiB used: 35.54 GiB (31.8%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Lexar model: SSD NS10LT 120GB size: 111.79 GiB block-size:
    physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 0.2 scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 41.08 GiB size: 40.14 GiB (97.71%) used: 35.54 GiB (88.5%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sda7 maj-min: 8:7
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 477 MiB size: 476 MiB (99.80%) used: 288 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/sda5 maj-min: 8:5
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 1.91 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 dev: /dev/sda6
    maj-min: 8:6
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 40.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: 2446 pm: dpkg pkgs: 2412 libs: 1277 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala,synaptic pm: rpm
    pkgs: 0 pm: flatpak pkgs: 34
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/microsoft-edge.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/onlyoffice.list
    1: deb https://download.onlyoffice.com/repo/debian squeeze main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/softmaker.list
    1: deb http://shop.softmaker.com/repo/apt stable non-free
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list
    1: deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free
Info:
  Processes: 218 Uptime: 37m wakeups: 1 Memory: 7.64 GiB used: 3.7 GiB (48.4%) Init: SysVinit
  v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 12
  Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: UEFI

[dolphin_oracle]

the only time I would even think about it is if my hardware was only supported by an older kernel or mesa graphics stack. some older intels are seeing their graphics support dropped to an extent, but I don't think your PC is one.

older kernels might use less ram, but at 8gb of ram I wouldn't worry about it. the change is smaller than you think.

basically if you are happy, then there is no reason to use an older system. All of my systems, including some truly old parts, are running the 23 series, either antiX or MX.

[MadMax]

Using an older version without a specific reason is not necessary - it's even the other way around. You want to keep the system up-to-date (i.e. use the newest release) for as long as possible on old hardware, so you get updates for the longest time and keep the hardware running. I'm using MX 23 on 12-year-old hardware right now (replaced a defective PSU 2 weeks ago, still going strong )

IF there was a compatibility reason however, you could get stuck on a specific kernel version at some point, but this happens rarely in my experience. It might be a little more common with old GPUs and their drivers.

The additional ram usage from newer software is negligible (might be around 200-300 MB a most) on a system with 8 GB of ram.

[j2mcgreg]

Just to back up what the others have said, here's the QSI for my Acer V5 which is a year older than your HP: It's very quick and still boots to a working desktop much faster than my late model Win 11 desktop does.

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-13-amd64 [6.1.55-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-13-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.5 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 7 dm: SDDM Distro: MX-23.1_KDE_x64 Libretto
    October 15 2023 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Acer product: Aspire V5-571 v: V1.12 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Acer model: Aspire V5-571 v: V1.12 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: Phoenix v: 1.12
    date: 06/12/2012
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 24.7 Wh (95.7%) condition: 25.8/37.0 Wh (69.8%) volts: 17.0 min: 14.8
    model: SANYO AL12A32 type: Li-ion serial: <filter> status: not charging
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech Wireless Mouse M325 serial: <filter>
    charge: 55% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: discharging
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i3-2367M bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Sandy Bridge gen: core 2 level: v2
    built: 2010-12 process: Intel 32nm family: 6 model-id: 0x2A (42) stepping: 7 microcode: 0x2F
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 2 tpc: 2 threads: 4 smt: enabled cache: L1: 128 KiB
    desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 512 KiB desc: 2x256 KiB L3: 3 MiB desc: 1x3 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 836 high: 895 min/max: 800/1400 scaling: driver: intel_cpufreq
    governor: ondemand cores: 1: 850 2: 895 3: 800 4: 800 bogomips: 11174
  Flags: avx ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
  Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Unknown: No mitigations
  Type: retbleed status: Not affected
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines, IBPB: conditional, IBRS_FW, STIBP: conditional, RSB
    filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics
    vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-6 code: Sandybridge
    process: Intel 32nm built: 2011 ports: active: LVDS-1 empty: DP-1,HDMI-A-1,VGA-1
    bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:0116 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Chicony HD WebCam type: USB driver: uvcvideo bus-ID: 2-4:3 chip-ID: 04f2:b336
    class-ID: 0e02
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 with: Xwayland v: 22.1.9 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X:
    loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: crocus gpu: i915 display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1366x768 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 361x203mm (14.21x7.99") s-diag: 414mm (16.31")
  Monitor-1: LVDS-1 model: LG Display 0x030a built: 2010 res: 1366x768 hz: 60 dpi: 101 gamma: 1.2
    size: 345x194mm (13.58x7.64") diag: 396mm (15.6") ratio: 16:9 modes: 1366x768
  API: OpenGL v: 3.3 Mesa 23.1.2-1~mx23ahs renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 3000 (SNB GT2)
    direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 7 Series/C216 Family High Definition Audio vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI 7
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:1e20 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-13-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 0.3.65 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Acer Incorporated ALI
    driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: 2000 bus-ID: 02:00.2
    chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
  IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR9462 Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Lite-On driver: ath9k
    v: kernel modules: wl pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 168c:0034
    class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 465.76 GiB used: 22.02 GiB (4.7%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital model: WDS500G2B0A-00SM50 size: 465.76 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 20WD
    scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 465.51 GiB size: 457.13 GiB (98.20%) used: 22.02 GiB (4.8%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 256 MiB size: 252 MiB (98.46%) used: 274 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 3 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swap/swap
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 36.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: pm: dpkg pkgs: 2427 libs: 1333 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala pm: rpm pkgs: 0
    pm: flatpak pkgs: 0
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
    2: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bookworm ahs
Info:
  Processes: 210 Uptime: 1m wakeups: 4 Memory: 7.55 GiB used: 1.35 GiB (17.8%) Init: SysVinit
  v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 12
  Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: UEFI

[uncle mark]

I have been using mx 23.1 xfce for 3 moths and I have so far did not encounter any lags or stutters. Someone suggested that I should use 21.3 instead since my PC is very old. But is there any benefits to be derived from using older mx version?

Is it broke? No? Then it don't need fixin'.

[topcat]

@uncle mark I thought your motto was if you ain't broke, I'll fix it

[richb]

I have an Acer V5-572 laptop that has MX 21 on it that is very fast boot up and performs well.. I will put MX 23 on it to test the results.

[j2mcgreg]

I have an Acer V5-572 laptop that has MX 21 on it that is very fast boot up and performs well.. I will put MX 23 on it to test the results.

I did not notice any performance loss when I had MX 23 XFCE on mine, but with MX 23 KDE there is a slight increase in the boot to desktop time --> however that's to be expected.

[thequickbrownfox]

I doubt it. I'm running MX23 on a 2009 macbook with a core 2 duo and an ssd with zero problems.

Of course, YYMV

[Charlie Brown]

Nope: YMMV