Method of comparing the RAM use of an OS?

[darrelljon]

Any ideas of how to compare operating systems (mainly distros) memory consumption? Possibly with a view to creating a list of distros suitable for old machines on criteria of memory use (rather than compressed image size).
Installing the distro (wouldn't work live, would it work virtualised?).
Installing conky.
Recording the result.

[myusername]

i do it the old fasioned way....install. write down results. compare.

[tamoneya]

make sure you always measure it the same way. If you use something like system monitor it isnt all that accurate especially if you use different programs on different OSes. Instead use the command free -m

[Blakefreak]

You should also note CPU usage.
I've noticed that many distros use less memory but more processing power.
Symptoms are about the same.