Upgrading to Windows on a netbook for a less tech-savvy parent is possible.
Upgrading to Windows on a netbook for a less tech-savvy parent is possible.
I acquired a RPi 4 equipped with 4GB RAM for my grandpa, and it functions smoothly without any problems. However, streaming soccer matches live feels a bit overwhelming on certain sites. Linux definitely boosts performance on older systems, but the more popular distros have become heavier over time. Even Lubuntu needs at least several gigabytes of memory. For an old netbook, a very minimal Linux such as "Puppy Linux" or "Damn Small Linux" would suffice with under 512 MB. The main concern is whether it’s worth the effort. Adding a modern web browser usually requires similar RAM and CPU power as on a gaming PC. Linux may offer some advantages over Windows, but only modestly. Older hardware often struggles with current codecs and resolutions—higher quality videos or newer formats like H265 may not play without lag. In general, it’s worth noting that reviving old devices with Linux is unlikely to succeed due to driver shortages. I’ve seen many cases where GPU drivers were missing, causing even simple tasks to become slow. Even a fairly recent notebook with an AMD FX processor lacked GPU support years later.