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?
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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.
I don’t really like Gnome as I like to tinker with everything, so I use KDE. I also have a laptop with Cinnamon, which is also pretty good.
I use KDE Plasma on my desktop and GNOME on my laptop — though, by my experience, GNOME has been mildly annoying. I just find it too “restrictive” when compared with KDE. I’m also not super fond of how some apps seem to integrate rather poorly with GNOME. I do think that GNOME’s interface works well with a laptop, but the UX hasn’t been the best for me. I have few, if any, complaints regarding KDE.
I prefer GNOME on my Microsoft Surface because I fine it much better than KDE for touchscreens. And GNOME’s dynamic workspaces are amazing to use for my screen.
I prefer KDE on my desktop and laptop. Highly customizable and works great. I wish it natively had dynamic workspaces though
I’m pretty happy using GNOME on my laptop. Never tried KDE in my ~6 years of using Linux, maybe if I install it onto another device I will.
I used KDE for about 10 years, but switched to GNOME when 3 came out and haven’t looked back. It’s a little unusual if you’re coming from Windows, but I’ve found that once I let go of old paradigms like a start bar and icons and embraced multiple workspaces, that GNOME is pretty damned amazing.
Yes
I tried a lot of desktop environments and I think KDE is the best one, games runs much better than GNOME while the desktop is so smart and many features… I really tried so hard GNOME but the UI sucks, it is slower running games, there are missing options very important for me that KDE has, so for me GNOME is a NO for working/gaming purposes.
Unless you’re barely meeting the minimum specs for a game, on a properly configured system any impact on game performance between the two should be a rounding error.
Use both! You can switch between them when you log in. Find what you like.
I enjoy gnome but that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
yo i tried installing kde alongside gnome before and it ended up just feeling sorta “after the fact” and scrambled, with mishmashed applications on both environments.
I prolly just did it wrong tho, is there a way to do this seamlessly you know of?
I imagine it’s due to the default apps not being changed when you switch between the environments. For example it’s probably still using GNOME’s Files application in KDE instead of Dolphin (or maybe vice versa). You should still be able to manually launch the “correct” app in each case, but of course you’ll have to know which is which. There’s no actual problems created by having both installed, but most people don’t because of this and other annoyances.
This. When you install a desktop environment (DE) in most Linux distros, it’s just available, not forced on you. Then, as OC said, you can choose which to use each time you login.
Try them all, decide for yourself. This is the way.
Gnome. Love how it just gets out of the way and let’s me do whatever I want without interruptions.
I’m using Cinnamon, I find it better when using a customized Cinnamenu applet (instead of the default app launcher).
Used to use GNOME on my workstation, switched to KDE and regretting it, now using GNOME on the laptops and will use GNOME on my new workstation once I get it
KDE - Was Gnome, but I switched for a reason. I, uh, forgot the reason.
Been using KDE for 2 years and love it. Only weird issue is my old desktop i am running Arch with KDE headless to stream to the steam link in the kids room and plasma shell crashes a bunch. Still haven’t figured out why.
