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Add to SafariWhen comparing Archbang vs Slax, the Slant community recommends Slax for most people. In the question“What are the best Linux distributions for an old machine?” Slax is ranked 28th while Archbang is ranked 46th. The most important reason people chose Slax is:
Changes you make in the configuration persist if you run from USB.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro The best features of Arch without the hassle
ArchBang is minimal but completely functional out of the box. It's still up to you to set up to your liking. You still get Arch's unmatched documentation, insanely vast number of packages (in AUR) and extreme customizability. And a small but friendly and approachable community.
Pro Rolling release
Being based on Arch, Archbang follows a rolling release schedule, ensuring that the software will always be on the bleeding edge.
Pro Lightweight
Archbang is a pretty lightweight distro. It uses Openbox as a Window Manager by default, without having the need to use a desktop environment which would only bloat the OS further.
Pro Persistent changes
Changes you make in the configuration persist if you run from USB.
Pro Pretty fast to boot up
It was considerably fast to turn on when booting from cd.
Pro Modules
Standard tar archives plus some simple shell scripting produces modules that you can load dynamically into the OS for added apps and functionality.
Pro Modern desktop
Pro Small footprint
About 200mb, but with a full KDE4 environment and loads of useful apps.
Cons
Con Overly complicated HDD/SSD installation
While it has a nice layout Slax's lack of an installer tool like Tinycore's just can't be justified. It seems strange that it comes built in with programs that some users may not want, yet it doesn't have an easy way to install it. Due to its heavier use of RAM, built in software, and lack of an installer its hard to choose it over TC.
Con Works slowly on old computers
Con Infrequent releases
Since Slax is maintained by only one person, releases are not that frequent. So it may take a while to get bug fixes or new features once you start using it.
