power than to run Windows. The kernel is more adept at adjusting to weaker systems and the interface that runs on top of it (GNOME, KDE, Unity) is lighter weight. The only case that comes to mind where this is different is gaming as graphics card support on Linux is inferior to Windows so you're getting less out of your horses (Edit: I read that this is less and less of a problem, but I'm yet to experience it being better, mostly from lack of exploring it.). It also doesn't apply for weird specific distributions that aren't really general purpose. You might also find issues with various hardware like WiFi, Printers, etc. The probability of trouble with a particular piece of hardware is pretty low until it increases drastically at older than say ~2007ish and also with obscurity (i.e. that weird thingy where only 100 were ever sold).

I'd be shocked, unless your 10 year old system was trash when it was new, if you had problems. The usual upgrades more RAM, SSD, etc. will all pay off in Linux too if you want some easy upgrades.

Most basic programs will run just as well, if they are available. There is almost always a decent equivalent. For example, Office is replaced by LibreOffice (or OpenOffice, but usually Libre at this point).

[Post edited by jmanatVT at 01/17/2019 4:12PM]