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?
KDE Plasma. It makes sense to me and everything functions more or less how I prefer it to. If I need something, it’s usually easy enough to find. Plasma being flexible is a plus, but I rarely need to do any modifications.
I loathe GNOME. Any time I use it it’s like pulling teeth. On a touch surface I can maybe get it, but on desktop I honestly think it has some serious usability problems cooked in. And since GNOME extensions can break at any time, trying to “fix” GNOME is a losing battle. If I had to use GNOME, I’d install GNOME Classic which is ok. Or better yet, use XFCE or MATE. GNOME is highly opinionated and that’s fair enough, they can do their thing and people seem to like what they offer, but boy is it not for me.
GNOME on desktop is built for keyboard-centric workflows, it really shines when you don’t need to use the mouse. I’ll also say that the official extensions do not break, that’s why they’re official. Third party extensions can and do break and have weird wonky behavior, because they’re not up to the same standards.
It’s certainly not for everyone, but a big part of the reason some people have such negative views of it is because they install a bunch of third party extensions to change it into something it was never designed for, and then inevitably there are bugs or conflicts or updates break some of them. A vanilla GNOME environment with maybe a couple judiciously picked third party extensions is a very comfy experience.
Check Bodhi Linux’s Moksha Desktop. Pretty lightweight and does work
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.
KDE.
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 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.
I’m OK with GNOME.
Both KDE and GNOME are good DEs (and there are many other great ones, and you don’t even need to use a DE; a mismash of applications with your compositor of choice works just aswell - but I digress), you can’t really go wrong with either.
For someone new to Linux, I would likely recommend GNOME, because it is more opinionated. While KDE is a lot more configurable, that also has a huge downside: configuration fatigue. GNOME is more restrictive, yes, but that has the advantage of not overwhelming you right out of the box.
If you like and wish to tinker, though, go with KDE. If you want to gently ease into Linux, go with GNOME first, and once you’re comfortable, you can still experiment with KDE. You can install both, and switch between them simply by logging out of one and into the other.
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.
KDE, coming from Windows it was the easiest to get used to for me. It has a lot of options and required some tweaking to get it the way I like, but once I did it was smooth sailing.
Kde, nothing against gnome, I just need to adjust KDE less to get what I want.
I use and love both. KDE (Bazzite) on my desktop gaming PC, and Gnome (Bluefin) on my laptop for casual stuff, mostly YouTube.
KDE is a bit better for gaming since it has HDR and VRR and is the standard DE on the Steam Deck. I tried Gnome too just a few days ago, but it felt inferior in regards of gaming and content creation.
Gnome on the other hand has a place reserved on my laptop aswell as in my heart. Especially the ultra smooth and well thought out touch gestures and minimalist UI makes it perfect for laptop usage.
For me personally, I prefer Gnome over KDE. KDE is a bit more capable, but it overwhelms me sometimes. Gnome has a better concept and workflow for me. You either love or hate it, I do the first.
I use KDE atm I’m really new to Linux at the moment though and I will switch at some point to see the other side. But KDE seams really good after just coming from Windows.
I used Gnome on my desktop and it was great! But after a while I just wanted to try something else, so I switched to KDE on my desktop and laptop which is also great. I technically have both installed but I mainly just use KDE plasma. I also recently switched to Wayland. For me at least both are equally good buy in different ways.
Gnome. Love how it just gets out of the way and let’s me do whatever I want without interruptions.
