Theirs a pretty good list in this thread Robdin. http://spacesimcentral.com/ssc/topic/675-netbook-space-sims/

Wow, where did you get your hands on that thing?  I sort of wish I still had some of my old computers lying around... maybe I could make myself a little museum, it'd be wonderful.

Anyway, that's a great list, but it missed some of my favorites:

Independence War (GOG)

Independence War 2 (might have a hard time running this actually, but it's a very old game now) (GOG)

Wing Commander: Privateer (GOG)

X: Beyond the Frontier (Steam)

X-Tension (Steam)

And more!

• Wing Commander V: Prophecy (GOG)
• Freespace & Freespace 2 (GOG/Steam)
• Arvoch Alliance & Arvoch Conflict (StarWraith 3D Games Store)
• Tachyon: The Fringe (Steam/Novalogic Store)
• SpaceForce: Rogue Universe (Steam)
• Starshatter (Free. You can download in this web)

And some Arcade-Scifi Games:

• Incoming & Incoming Forces (GOG)
• GunMetal (Desura/Steam)
• Shogo (Desura/Steam)
• MDK/MDK 2 (Gog/Steam)

Regards!

Thank you very much everyone for your replies!

One thing I want to add that I had an idea in my mind but didn't quite explain it:

What about space-sims that are new (made not long ago) but are fairly low-spec?

For example Mount & Blade: Warband (which is not a space sim but fits the bill) is a 2010 game and it runs on older computers too. Plus it has thousands of modifications which extend it's gameplay time (and experience) greatly.

Other than that, I was browsing this forum and found some games which could have the potential to run on my PC.

It's from this thread: http://spacesimcentral.com/ssc/topic/4234-ten-games-for-2014/

Rogue System

Enemy Starfighter

Skyjacker

Any other ideas? It can be games from 2008 to 2013 too, because I can see a resurgence of space sims nowadays.

What about space-sims that are new (made not long ago) but are fairly low-spec?

 A good place to look would be the mobile forum as some of the games have PC version as well http://spacesimcentral.com/ssc/forum/44-mobile-and-web-gaming/ they should not have any problems running on a low spec PC, although check which OS they require.

Dangerous, Galaxy on Fire 2, Beyond Space and FTL are good examples of mobile games which have PC versions and all can be found on Steam ect.

PS Robdin I have moved your thread to this forum.

Dangerous, Galaxy on Fire 2, Beyond Space and FTL are good examples of mobile games which have PC versions and all can be found on Steam ect.

 

Those are great suggestions, I think FTL is one of the best games ever made, though it's not really a space-sim in the traditional sense.  Galaxy on Fire 2 is also really great if your expectations are sufficiently low.  When I played it, it was on a Steam sale for like $0.99, and I knew it was a port of a mobile game so I was expecting it to be truly terrible, and I was delighted when it turned out to be great fun.

I have to say though, all the best space-sims are old.  That really isn't just rosy-colored nostalgia (like it arguably would be if I made the same statement about, say, RPG's).  It's a sad truth, but if you are specifically looking for low-spec games, perhaps it's not so sad.  I can pretty much guarantee that you won't find anything modern that comes close to Freespace, Privateer, X-Wing, IWar, or even Freelancer (excepting EVE Online and maybe X3).  I think it's safe to say the Elite Dangerous will compare favorably to these, but it isn't actually out yet and it's high-spec.  Other than that, I think others will agree that despite all the space games currently in production, nothing all that great has materialized yet.

So, I say play old games.  Just my opinion, but you're probably in for much more enjoyment that way.