Windows is, by and large, the most commonly used operating system, regardless of whether you love it or hate it. Until recently, it was difficult to game on other platforms such as Linux or Mac. However, with the introduction of Proton and the Steam Deck, Linux platforms have become more accessible, albeit with some game-breaking third party issues
(opens in new tab). For those with lower powered machines, however, there hasn’t been much of an option for running a new version of Windows – until Tom’s Hardware spotted NTDev’s work on Tiny11, a slimmed down version of the current Microsoft OS.
For the most part we like Windows 11 well enough (opens in new tab). It has had some teething problems, but with constant fixes it is becoming a viable option (opens in new tab) for PC gaming setups. It runs well on most modern machines, but with its need for over 20GB to install and 8GB of RAM (opens in new tab) to run, it is not suitable for older or smaller builds. Tiny11 is a project by NTDev which slims Windows 11 down to a much smaller size. With Tiny11, the 20GB of required install space is reduced to 8GB, potentially getting even lower with further drive compression. As for RAM, it only needs 2GB to run “great”, but can work, albeit very slowly on under 400 MB (opens in new tab).
