Though most of the TCL distros work with i486 PCs , the peoblem comes while using different desktops. GNOME , KDE etc are a no-no !.
One has to be content with XFCE , and be aware that with your amount of RAM LXDE or a Window Manager, like one of the *boxes or IceWM etc are OK.
I would prefer TCv5.x series for reasonable speed with no heavy extention loaded , if you are interested in compiletc etc !