GNOME, KDE, Xfce and LXDE

Alright gents, still working on getting a grasp on everything that has happened in the Linux world in the past several years..at the moment I am leaning towards Mint as a distro for the time being..but I am looking to get some opinions on what desktop environment everyone is currently 'geeking' over..

I understand the basics; the resource and battery consumption differences..that Xfce has an easier time working with older hardware..that KDE is revered as the most 'windows' similar..that LXDE is minimal for resources, so newer computers can go into Speedy Gonzalez mode

But it is also to my understanding that any of these Desktop Environments can be made to look, essentially, like anything you want.

So getting down to it, what are the crucial differences between these GUI's?

Does it all come down to their Window Manager's?

What made you use what you are (currently) using?

Thank You!

 

I still use Gnome 2.x because it's easy to browse and transfer files across my network. Also I use Gnome 2.x on my HTPC because, even though it's sluggish on the atom platform, it's possible to easily scale the desktop so that it's readable across the room.

Since XFCE 4.8 recently added support for browsing files across the network I have to say that I've been very happy with it on my netbook. LXDE with the addition of Thunar is equally great.

I've never been a KDE fan myself but it is pretty and offers some nice features.

I don't know why you wouldn't want to go with Gnome 2.x, Gnome 3, Unity KDE or XFCE on your new Lotus. I would try them all in a live session and see which one you like best. The selection of a desktop environment for a high-powered machine isn't so much an issue of which one offers the best eye candy as which one offers the features and overall organization that suits your needs.

Just remember that with Mint you have to put with or work around the annoying fact that it hijacks your searches. I would be a big supporter of Mint, especially its debian edition, if it weren't for this.

 

I've used bout everything. For a long time I was an Openbox user (I just recently switched).

I was a big KDE fan back in the day with the 2-3X series, 4 is not my thing. I use Gnome 3 not and I love it.

I at one time ran Ubuntu (yuck) and would sit and watch top show me while doing nothing that I would be using 6-7% of my CPU. I want my CPU 100% ready for the things I need (and probably explains why I was an Openbox user so long).

Gnome 3 just rocks! Today I did a little test and opened every program on my box, ran a top and I was using 3% of my CPU WOW! Memory was up there but that was expected.

Switching between running programs is the thing I love most. Having a task bar just seems so yesterday to me (KDE,Gnome2,Tint 2 ect.). Move my pointer up to the top left of my screen, all my running programs presented in a nice little wall, choose what I want and click! It's just so simple it's stupid awesome lol.

I agree with v1k1ng1001, it's a matter of what you want and need. Customizing a small WM is a lot of fun, having it ready to go is nice to. Up to you. Hell, install many .

 

Thanks for the replies guys!

I will be using Linux for just everyday stuff; everything from web browsing, to file organizing, pretty anything that isn't solely limited to W7(car tuning software and video games)

So I am thinking speed and looks are my two big deciding factors; not to mention a good navigation/file system. I am big on aesthetics, so I don't mind using more resources..its on an i7 box..so I haz processors

 

I was running Fedora 15 with Gnome 3, but I didn't really care for how it acts. I re-installed Fedora 14 and updated everything that I could. I now have all my stuff working and running great.

Running Gnome 2.32 atm and quite happy ^_^

 

I used to use use Gnome and KDE equally. I wanted to be proficient in both. However, I eventually got tired of Gnome's mentality of taking away user's choice by removing features. One that I find particularly jarring is the inability of renaming files or folders from the File Dialog (like when saving a file). However, I have to say that on occasion I still use Gnome on some machines and it is usable enough. However, on my personal machines, I want all the power available at my finger tips when I needed. KDE offers me that. It runs great on all my machines. It can do everything all the other desktop environments can do and more. So, I am happy with it. But, use what you like.

 

Thanks for the review rm2, I'm liking KDE+Mint so far.

Still up in the air about the distro but despite my earlier notions, I am actually liking KDE better at this point.

I want the power!

 

I use gnome 2.x - I was a KDE user more than a year ago but switched to gnome just because KDE was getting sluggish in usage on my aging laptop... Yes initially I happen to miss a lot of deep customizations and settings available in KDE but not in gnome - but in the end it turned out I could just live with that.... Now I've never regretted switching to gnome 2.x

I tried XFCE and LXDE - I liked LXDE better but both didnt come close to gnome or KDE in terms of features....

I tried gnome 3.x - the one thing I realized was that unless you're the person who tends to use the mouse a lot especially for switching between windows and stuff - you wouldn't like gnome 3.x. Yes I tend to stick to keyboard shortcuts 99% of the time being more of a terminal person.... Also in terms of features it meant a step back from gnome 2.x

Unity - I've never tried and I dont think I'll ever either since I hardly ever use Ubuntu....

 

Maybe this will be helpful:
What is the difference between GNOME, KDE, Xfce, and LXDE? - Renewable PCs

 

Two years ago KDE was a lot more sluggish than it is today. The latest optimizations have really made a difference in speed and stability. You might enjoy taking another look one of these days. Especially with a distro that does KDE well, like Suse or PCLinuxOS.

 

In fact yes I'm going to give KDE another try because openSUSE 12.1 is going to have only gnome 3 (no 2.x) - and hence need to try out other DEs

 

What distributions you thinking about using?

My P150HM shipped today!! I'll be loading up Win7/Mint+KDE to start and I'll probably give Xfce a try as well. But I am quite pumped to get back into the Linux game.

 

I'm a Gnome 2.x fan but I have to admit that KDE is pretty nice these days.

 

I just got Arch installed for the first time (so far so good, no hickups). I installed Gnome 3 and found the menu area pretty atrocious. Maybe I didn't RTFM, but it really did seem like a whole lot of clicking to get to the program you need. I could probably give it a chance and get used to it, but because I had installed PCLinuxOS and gotten a taste of KDE4, I decided to remove Gnome3 and install KDE.

I have to say that so far I am impressed with it. The ease of customizing it is great, and it looks nice and shiny to boot. I might try out one of the lightweight DE's in the future, but it's not like system resources are a problem on this laptop.

So far I'm really enjoying Arch as well. Coming from Ubuntu, it's nice to install exactly what you want when you need it. I also really like that the Arch repo's are so up to date. On every other distro I've tried, if I went to get Blender from their repo's, it was still 2.49 after how long 2.5 has been out now. I tried it with Arch, and the latest version is now installed. Pretty dang sweet.