Confusing desktop system requirements

[Jun Kobayashi]

On http://www.ubuntu.com/products/WhatIsUbuntu/desktopedition , there is a part at the bottom which says:

"At least 256 MB of RAM is required to run the desktop install CD. Install requires at least 4 GB of disk space."

But on https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/SystemRequirements , recommended minimum requirements of 8.04 are 384 MB of RAM and 8 GB of disk space.

[Yagisan (yagisan)]

This seems pretty clear to me.

You *NEED* 256MB of RAM to install, but it works much BETTER if you have 384MB of RAM.

[Volans (volans)]

I think that there is some incoherent data between the two pages, at least for the Alternate CD minimum requirements.
The documentation page tell that the Bare Minimum requirements (with the Alternate CD) are "64 MB of system memory (RAM)" while the ubuntu.com page tell that "At least 256 MB of RAM is required to run the alternate install CD".

[Matthew Nuzum (newz)]

Both pages are correct. I've confirmed with the developers that 256MB is appropriate to install with the alternate cd and have a satisfying desktop experience afterwards. The installer itself will work on systems with less than 256MB (64 maybe the case) however it is not recommended for a usable desktop system. This is mentioned in the document preceding the absolute min requirements on the help website.

[Yagisan (yagisan)]

I have tested a successful install on 192MB of ram - on a Pentium 2, 233Mhz system. It installs. Xubuntu feels like a better choice on a system that old however. It certainly is usable, just not that fast.- but on systems that old, more ram really helps.