However the full desktop environment is quite a lot for the Pi to handle. Up >until now, we've recommended users stick to models with either 4GB or 8GB of >RAM to be confident that it will perform well. One of our goals for the >upcoming Ubuntu 22.04 LTS release is to lower that barrier to entry. This >means targeting a viable Desktop experience on Raspberry Pi 4 2GB models.
The secret to this optimisation is a Linux kernel feature called zswap.
what does Ubuntu have that raspian does not have?
The main change is that Ubuntu on the Raspberry Pi will use the Linux kernel's zswap feature by default, which compresses blocks of memory instead of completely relying on a swap file (where RAM contents are moved in and
out of a swap area in the internal storage). This decreases the amount of
I/O operations that can occur, which is important when most Raspberry Pi owners use simple SD cards as the main drive. However, memory compression also increases CPU usage, which is presumably why this won't be enabled on older Raspberry Pi boards with less powerful CPUs.
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