2024 LiveCD Memory Usage Compare

I am using pretty much the exact same setup I did in 2020. Let's see who is more efficient in a live session!

But first let's take a look at the image sizes:

Image size (in G) 001122334455UbuntuXubuntuXubuntu-minimalKubuntuLubuntuUbuntu MateManjaro 24.1 (KDE)Linux Mint 22 (Cinnamon)Fedora 40 (Gnome)Endless OS 65.840.565286906228884237.3745496805519Ubuntu3.998.51569677227016312.14438462634905Xubuntu2.5156.46610663831143367.2379472179891Xubuntu-minimal4.1214.4165165043527304.27387568468623Kubuntu3.1272.36692637039397343.62642039300044Lubuntu4330.31733623643527308.20913015551764Ubuntu Mate3.9388.2677461024765312.14438462634905Manjaro 24.1 (KDE)2.8446.21815596851775355.4321838054948Linux Mint 22 (Cinnamon)2.2504.1685658345591379.04371063048336Fedora 40 (Gnome)3.9562.1189757006003312.14438462634905Endless OS 6Image size (in G)

Charge Open Movie is what I viewed if I can make it to YouTube.

I decided to be more selective and remove those that did very porly at 1.5G, which was most.

  • Ubuntu - booted but desktop not stable, took 1.5 minutes to load Firefox
  • Xubuntu-minimal - does not include a web browser so can't further test. Snap is preinstaled even though no apps are - but trying to install a web browser worked but couldn't start.
  • Manjaro KDE - Desktop loads, but browser doesn't
  • Xubuntu - laggy when Firefox is opened, can't load sites
  • Ubuntu Mate -laggy when Firefox is opened, can't load sites
  • Kubuntu - laggy when Firefox is opened, can't load sites
  • Linux Mint 22 - desktop loads, browsers isn't responsive

Memory usage compared (in G) 000.10.10.20.20.30.30.40.40.50.50.60.60.70.70.80.80.90.9111.11.11.21.21.31.31.41.4LubuntuEndless OS 6.0Fedora 400.4557.52699314991314372.0296569207792Lubuntu1273.2532174620874286.9854710078829Endless OS 6.00.7488.97944177426166333.3732087785536Fedora 400.9120.8066856148176302.4480502647731Lubuntu1336.5329099269918286.9854710078829Endless OS 6.01.1552.2591342391661271.5228917509926Fedora 401.1184.086378079722271.5228917509926Lubuntu1.3399.81260239189635240.5977332372121Endless OS 6.01.4615.5388267040705225.13515398032192Fedora 40Memory usage compared (in G)Desktop responsiveWeb browser loads simple siteYouTube worked fullscreen

Fedora video is a bit laggy, but watchable.. EndlessOS with Chromium is the most smooth and resonsive watching YouTube.

For fun let's look at startup time with 2GB (with me hitting buttons as needed to open a folder)

Startup time (Seconds) 00101020203030404050506060707080809090LubuntuEndless OS 6.0Fedora 4033107.38104458917655401.2549765487598Lubuntu93299.13290992699183247.63515398032195Endless OS 6.045490.8847752648071370.53101203507225Fedora 40Startup time (Seconds)Seconds

Conclusion

  • Lubuntu lowered it's memory usage from 2020 for loading a desktop 585M to 450M! Kudos to Lubuntu team!
  • Both Fedora and Endless desktops worked in lower memory then 2020 too!
  • Lubuntu, Fedora and Endless all used Zram.
  • Chromium has definitely improved it's memory usage as last time Endless got dinged for using it. Now it appears to work better then Firefox.

Notes:

  • qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -cdrom lubuntu-24.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso -m 1.5G -smp 4 -cpu host -vga virtio --full-screen
  • Screen size was set to 1080p/60Hz.
  • I tried to reproduce 585M on Lubuntu 20.04 build, but it failed on anything below 1G.
  • Getting out of full screen on YouTube apparently is an intensive task. Dropped testing that.
  • All Ubuntu was 24.04.1 LTS.