Can a computer with 2 GB RAM run Ubuntu with Wayland?

Solution 1:

While it has just enough power to run GNOME or KDE in Wayland, this computer does not have enough resources to run the GNOME desktop with many applications. KDE consumes less memory, but it consumes relatively higher CPU cycles if you turn on fancy effects, and the Intel Atom processor of this computer may not be able to run it smoothly.

I suggest you to use Xubuntu or Lubuntu instead (or Kubuntu, without any fancy effects. Nowadays Kubuntu uses less RAM than Xubuntu). They need relatively less resource to run.

In case even Xubuntu or Lubuntu seem to be slow, you can use other distros tailored for older computers with less computing power. Some examples are LXLE, Puppy Linux, anTiX or Bodhi. (Note that they are not supported on this website. But being Debian based, the user experience would be very similar to Ubuntu).