Best OS for kids on an old PC: Windows or Linux?

Old setup - still running perfectly fine

Athlon 64
1GB RAM
70GB HDD
Nvidia Riva 128/ZX

What should I throw on this—it’ll be used for installing some educational games, coloring apps, typing tutors, etc., for the kids (stuff I can find online)—should I go with Windows or stick with Linux?

Windows XP.

I bet all those educational games have Linux versions, and XP will handle them just fine.

I’d honestly take Windows 7 Starter over Windows XP any day—at least it feels current. XP is just so outdated now, isn't it? It’s lost all its support, and it seems like more and more programs are dropping compatibility with it every single day...

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Larry Ortiz5 said:I’d honestly take Windows 7 Starter over Windows XP any day—at least it feels current. XP is just so outdated now, isn't it? It’s lost all its support, and it seems like more and more programs are dropping compatibility with it every single day...

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Windows 7 Starter ran fine enough on my old IBM laptop. It had a 1GB RAM upgrade and I think it was running an Intel Core 2 Duo or some kind of Athlon processor under the hood.

It won't work this week since there aren't any GPU drivers for the week...

Unless Windows Update decides to pull in its own "special" drivers just to get the monitor's native resolution working—that might be enough 😁

Windows XP is definitely the better way to go here. It’s much lighter on RAM, looks a whole lot better than Starter, and there are plenty of guides out there to help you max out the performance. If I were you, I'd just install Opera 12.16 and Adobe Flash Player; YouTube should run perfectly smooth without any stuttering. Just skip Chrome.

And what kind of "educational games" are you planning to install exactly???

wiredotter14 said:👍👍👍

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Windows 7 Starter ran fine enough on my old IBM laptop. It had a 1GB RAM upgrade and I think it was running an Intel Core 2 Duo or some kind of Athlon processor under the hood.

The Core 2 Duo absolutely crushes that single-core Athlon we're talking about here. It isn't even close.

Why bother struggling with Windows 7? Even with the Starter edition, it’s still going to run significantly slower than Windows XP.

As far as software support and compatibility issues go, I highly doubt anyone is going to be running heavy-duty programs on a piece of junk like that anyway. Honestly, the bigger headache will be just trying to hunt down all the drivers for Windows 7 on that relic. I’ve had enough trouble finding drivers for much newer laptops than that.

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I don't know what you want from me. Just give me some actual content to work with. says:
The C2D T7200 absolutely smokes that single-core Athlon being discussed here. It's not even a contest.

Don't bother struggling with Windows 7. Even with the Starter version, it’s going to run way slower than XP.

Software compatibility? Please. You aren't exactly running high-end software on a piece of junk like that. Honestly, before you even worry about apps, you'll be struggling just to hunt down basic Windows 7 drivers for that scrap metal. Even with much newer laptops, finding the right drivers can be a total nightmare.

I was convinced that thing hit 3200MHz, but turns out it’s just more AMD marketing bullshit...