I’m relatively new to the linux space, I was introduced by the steam deck which uses kde, and it’s pretty similar to windows in terms of how it works so that’s the DE i’d be leaning towards when I eventually switch. I’ve never used gnome so i’m not sure if it’d be worth using I guess?

So I’m just looking for some input from the community, do you use Gnome or Plasma, why do you use it, and what’s kind of like a pros and cons kinda thing between the two?

  • Drito@sh.itjust.works
    2·
    3 days ago

    You are used to KDE and Gnome is very different But also KDE is buggy, I dont know how Steamdeck people make it better. If you chose Xfce, you will get a KDE similar desktop but more robust. Xfce can look modern with few efforts. MX Linux distro is a good example of a nice Xfce config.

        • _donnadie_@feddit.cl
          1·
          2 days ago

          Nah I’m more into the main distros, they tend to have better support. Debian, Fedora are my main OSs, with Debian being what I use with old hardware that I still want to use on a daily basis, and Fedora for anything that’s new and might require a more up to date kernel.

    • bpt11@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      2·
      4 days ago

      I didn’t know it existed till making this post, as someone that’s new those are just the only two I hear about.

    • richardisaguy@lemmy.world
      1·
      5 days ago

      after changing animation speed in KDE i have never managed to get back to gnome, holy cow does my computer feels responsive

  • mlg@lemmy.worldEnglish
    81·
    4 days ago

    KDE for best fully integrated, out of box, modern DE.

    XFCE + Compiz if you’re running on lower end hardware (uses less ram and utilizes gpu better). Also if you want even more customization than KDE with the drawback of limited SVG support (and still on X11 if that matters for you)

    GNOME if you hate yourself and want to use a knockoff of ChromeOS or Mac.

    Cinnamon and MATE if you want to see when GNOME used to be good.

    LXQt is the XFCE equivalent of KDE, but is now on wayland with GPU accel, so it can fit the same area as XFCE+Compiz.

    Wayfire (compositor) basically Compiz for Wayland if you want all the fancy effects on anything that uses wayland.

  • bad_news@lemmy.billiam.net
    434·
    6 days ago

    Gnome is Snow Leopard OSX basically in attitude and experience, do NOT try to customize anything, go limp and do the experience. KDE is Windows 98, full of fun customizations, but unpolished in odd ways no matter what you do. Choose your fighter!

    • Zeoic@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      Uhm, what? Gnome is all about customization lol Mine looks more like windows than it does mac

    • audaxdreik@pawb.social
      182·
      6 days ago

      KDE is Windows 98, full of fun customizations, but unpolished in odd ways no matter what you do.

      Absolutely perfect. And part of why I’ve grown to love it.

      • bad_news@lemmy.billiam.net
        1·
        4 days ago

        I agree, but I got hooked on Apple gestures from work. I’m like a cop who had to go undercover and got hooked on speed to operate

      • vrighter@discuss.tchncs.de
        34·
        5 days ago

        but only until the next update, which will probably break half your extensions, because they are entirely unsupported and uncared for bythe gnometeam

        • Jiří Král@discuss.tchncs.de
          2·
          5 days ago

          I had about 16 extensions before the last update. After I updated 2 of them became unsupported which 1 of them is already supported again if I am not mistaken. It depends on what extensions you use of course.

          • bad_news@lemmy.billiam.net
            1·
            4 days ago

            I’m still waiting for Gnome’s titlebar hiding on fullscreen extension to work again on Fedora 41 Gnome. As an enlightened individual where Gnome is good, tell me how to hide it again since I am dumb and you are smart.

            • Jiří Král@discuss.tchncs.de
              1·
              4 days ago

              You could use dash to panel extension, in the settings move the bar to the top, reorganize it as you wish (you should be able to make it look practically indentical to the original panel), make it thinner and turn on autohide. Even though I have some bad experience with the dash to panel authide feature and know this is a half baked solution. See if it works for you.

  • toastal@lemmy.ml
    11·
    5 days ago

    KDE if these are my choices & by a long shot.

    I usually cobble together my own tiling setup. This has less bloat, but also a lot less integration.

  • WereCat@lemmy.world
    8·
    5 days ago

    I just like GNOME better. Especially on a laptop. KDE is technically better on a desktop but all the things that annoy me on KDE tip the scales enough for me to use GNOME instead.

  • verdigris@lemmy.ml
    193·
    5 days ago

    I use GNOME. KDE is nice in that it allows you to customize everything, but if I want that degree of control I’d rather use a fully customized window manager setup (sway is generally my go-to).

    GNOME is also designed to be used in a keyboard-centric workflow, which I prefer. It’s a nice comfy default for when I want the option to use my computer “lazily”, i.e. just kicking back mostly using the mouse to browse the web, but still has enough power-user functionality to make zipping around without touching the mouse feel good.

    I also just like their defaults a lot. If you start to install a bunch of third party extensions etc it starts to get messy and degrade the point of the whole unified vision, and at that point you’re better off with KDE IMO.

    It’s also worth noting that I don’t really like the default Mac OS UX – while I can see why people say “KDE is like Windows, GNOME is like Mac,” it’s really only a surface level comparison that mostly ends at “KDE uses a taskbar and GNOME has a dock”.

    • OmegaLemmy@discuss.online
      3·
      5 days ago

      Gnome is so much more different, the closest comparison would be android but android is frankly a downgrade of gnome for me with how slow and clunky it is even with touch controls funnily enough

  • BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.worldEnglish
    201·
    5 days ago

    I use KDE. It’s very powerful and flexible. While it can be windows like, you an also craft pretty much any GUI you like with it with relative ease. It can be Mac like or something unique, or even Gnome like if you really want that.

    It’s also intuitive and user friendly, with well made apps and a comprehensive settings menu.

    I’ve found KDE to be reliable and stable, as well as attractive and customisable.

    There are a lot of apps made for it - the only downside is software bloat if you install all of them. I’d start with the basics KDE desktop and add apps one by one rather than install the whole KDE app suite. Although the apps are usually excellent lots of the apps may not be useful to you personally . For example I don’t like installing the PIM suite (email, contacts etc) as I don’t use it - all that is online for me so I don’t need the native apps.

    I’m personally not a fan of Gnome. It’s got a single rigid GUI philosophy which you can now expand with extensions but I find they can be hit and miss on whether they work or are stable, and time consuming to set up how you want.

    So for gnome you either like it as is or you don’t, and if you dont like it then honestly I’d say don’t bother trying to make it be what you want - just use something more flexible.

    But regardless of what desktop you use, Apps will work on either or any of the others available.

  • HiddenLayer555@lemmy.mlEnglish
    10·
    5 days ago

    Plasma.

    As a Linux convert from Windows, IMO it’s really close in look and feel to Windows 7 or 10 but with none of the bullshit. You barely have to change your workflow if you’re already used to Windows.