I’ve been using Fedora for a couple of months now, and have been loving it. Very soon after I jumped into this community (among other Linux communities) and started laughing at all the people saying “KDE rules, GNOME drools,” and “GNOME is better, KDE is for babies.” But then I thought, “Why not give KDE a try? The worst that happens is I go back to using GNOME.”
Now I get it. The level of customization is incredible, it’s way faster than GNOME, and looks beautiful too. At this point, I’m not going back.
I’ll happily contribute to the playground fight over desktop environments. KDE rules, GNOME drools.
KDE has a lot of nice points, I do really like the customization and I think I prefer a lot of the default KDE apps over their GNOME counterparts.
But there’s just something about GNOME I find really comfortable to use. I feel like on paper I should like KDE more, but I always end up going back to GNOME and being happier with it.
I have a similar feeling about it. I think I would prefer the customization of KDE, etc, but GNOME just works for me right out of the box. I don’t think I change anything except the monospace font nowadays (in Tweaks). It works great and gets out of the way. For people who do not like the GNOME workflow I suspect it would be horrific because there is far less customization.
I don’t think I change anything except the monospace font nowadays
Which font do you use?
It works great and gets out of the way.
I think that that’s why some Gnome users just stick with it. I personally don’t want to customize anything, if possible. I don’t even want to concern myself with the DE at all if possible. Any time I spend on the DE is time I don’t spend doing the things I actually want to do. But that’s the beauty of Linux: everyone can use whatever fits their needs best, be it Gnome, KDE, xfce or anything else.
I will swap out the default font with a monospace Nerd Font. I’m currently using the Cascadia Code Mono Nerd Font, but I will change it every so often.
Thanks. I didn’t even know that Nerd Fonts existed! :D
Gnome is sleek, gnome is special, gnome is unique. I love gnome. I’ve used KDE, but I don’t want a Windows clone, I want something special.
[…] but I don’t want a Windows clone, […]
KDE fortunately doesn’t have to be a Windows clone. There are several guides available on how to customize the UX / workflow to something completely different. I get what you mean, though, the default UX seems to be at least inspired by Windows.
I hear you there. I like the workflow of GNOME, and I wish I could make the app launcher in KDE be as minimalist as the GNOME launcher in ArcMenus. But at the same time, a number of things I was using the launcher for can be done as a keystroke in KDE, so it kinda makes up for it.
I’m in the opposite situation. I started on KDE but moved to GNOME. I sometimes think about moving back to KDE but I do love the design consistency of GNOME. KDE’s endless theming is great, but I only ever used the default them because I’d notice little inconsistencies otherwise. I’ll probably be on KDE Plasma 6 though, because I tend to jump ship to the shiny new thing that will solve all my problems.
I always use Breeze lol. Breeze cursor is a true gem. Icons not so much, the big ones are okay, the file icons are sometimes very okay and the small b/w ones are pretty horrible.
I love Adapta Qt theme, but only for the small icons.
Yeah I have the breeze cursor on my i3wm setup, it is the only cursor I like.
it’s way faster than GNOME
Real question, are you on modern hardware? Only time I’ve noticed anything slow on gnome is on a pretty under powered laptop
Actually KDE devs said they use the GPU a lot for Desktop stuff so it breaks more often but is performant
Same. I have zero performance issues with Gnome, but I’m using a badass $3000 custom gaming computer.
I appreciate KDE for being a comprehensive toolbox that will let just about anyone craft the mouse-driven GUI of their dreams given enough time and effort. I appreciate GNOME for its bold and unified vision, which isn’t afraid to cull features or embrace innovation.
In what sense do you mean “faster” though? If you mean more performant, I haven’t experienced that – both desktops are extremely responsive.
This is purely anecdotal evidence, but on my 2013 ThinkPad X220 (dual-core i5, 12GB RAM) Plasma “feels” snappier and more responsive than GNOME.
I can also back that up! KDE feels way faster than Gnome (and especially Cinnamon) on older computers
Sokath, his eyes open.
+1 Plasma. However, I don’t dislike gnome. Gnome just doesn’t fit my personal taste of workflow and customizability. Other that that, gnome did a pretty good job on the look and feel department. I feel at home on Plasma (and almost at home on xfce)
Welcome to the KDE gang.
Both DE have different targets. Gnome takes a bit more time for development. They are both great projects.
That sums it up quite nicely. Thanks
You’re not entirely incorrect. But, KDE is better.
In your opinion.
I’d take Gnome anyday.
I can respect GNOME, it’s just not for me. There are a lot of other DE’s I really don’t get, for example: Xfce, Mate, Budgie, LXQt, any pure WM desktop in existence, the list goes on… But if people still develop them, I guess there is a market.
Well, for example, Xfce is very lightweight, so it works better for old hardware.
Xfce works better everywhere and with everything, however it falls to the same pitfall that KDE has, eventually you’ll require some libadwaita application, flatpak and whatnot and then you’ll end up with a Frankenstein system half Xfce half GNOME components and themes that don’t apply to all apps equally. :(
I essentially did the same. Used GNOME for almost 10 years, then got my first try of KDE last year and don’t plan on going back either. GNOME has some really good points, I wouldn’t have used it so long if it didn’t, but I can actually use an honest to goodness theme on my desktop and customize without having extensions break on every update. Also, the UI in GTK is just too big and chunky for me, it’s like every window is designed for tablets or something. I don’t need a title bar that’s practically an entire inch tall. If you like GNOME, awesome, I will likely never say GNOME is bad, but I’m a KDE guy now.
EDIT: apparently I need to specify that the “entire inch tall” comment is exaggeration, because internet. My point being that GNOME’s UI is too big for my tastes.
title bar that’s practically an entire inch tall
… I think this is quite an exaggeration
You don’t know, they might be using a 70in TV as a monitor.
Yeeees, GTK looks awesome but I just cant see how apps like Plasma systemsessings, qBittorrent etc using Qt could work like that.
Gimp 3 alpha is pretty crazy, as GTK2 was very nice and usable, but already with GTK3 everything got huge, so now the buttons dont fit as well anymore.
Also I have to say GNOME would have some big issues for me.
- I dont want a top panel on a laptop, as it makes me look down more
- docks are weird as they waste screen space. Why not use a normal panel, everything there, at the bottom or side?
- not seeing all my open apps is weird, also not being able to open or close from the panel is weird
- I and I guess 99% of Desktop users dont need virtual Desktops. As they dont change the panel and more, I dont even use Workspaces on Plasma
- thus, normal window decorations are necessary
- hitboxes need to be in the upper corner and not some padded thing in the center. Every decoration failing this (looking at you Firefox & Thunderbird) just sucks
- UIs need to be compact when needed. Not everyone is a child and settings are not that simple.
Gnome has some nice apps like Loupe that are actually more secure. And it probably is way more stable. But KDE apps are so great, at least for usability! Could not live without Dolphin for example
Edit: incomplete scentence
Gimp 3 alpha is pretty crazy, as GTK2 was very nice and usable, but already with GTK3 everything got huge, so now the buttons dont fit as well anymore.
I reported that issue to gnome a while ago: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gimp/-/issues/9907
Hopefully they will fix it one day because it means I wont be using gimp 3 otherwise.
Agree, on the point issue. 1440*900px is not low res haha, I have a HD screen in my other laptop.
Yes it just makes no sense.
Gnome is great because of the large UI size. Like my 14" notebook has a roughly 2800x1600 screen resolution and it’s still pretty usable without any UI scaling. If the bars are an inch tall, you’re either using a huge TV or a screen from the garbage dump. Gnome really needs a modern system.
I love both. I can’t decide on which to make my full daily. GNOME sleek. KDE is nostalgic and customizable. I have Fedora with GNOME and OpenSuse with KDE. OpenSuse has issues with some SD cards and some phone’s flash memory. GNOME can’t have desktop shortcuts, which I find annoying. I may just go back to Debian with KDE and GNOME and switch back and forth. I think that still possible. I haven’t tried that in a while.
IMHO no desktop icons is the one major thing that stuck with me. I use KDE Plasma now, but the desktop folder might as well not exist.
I see the merit in it, but I see the desktop as a shortcut area for most used apps. Like the dock, but I can’t stand docks. I normally have 2-3 icons on the desktop. Terminal is by keyboard shortcut.
Sleek is a great way to describe GNOME. It’s really pretty and slick, and I was sure happy with how it worked. Plus, with all my google accounts hooked into GNOME, Evolution just pulled all that info and gave me real easy access to my mail. I wish KMail did the same thing.
I never tied my accounts to anything, but that sounds awesome!
Gnome and KDE are both great for different reasons. One of the things that’s great about Linux as a whole is it gives people the ability to choose the stack they like most
Yes! I wholeheartedly agree with you. There are pieces of GNOME I wish I could bring into KDE, and vice versa.
I like 90% about KDE, GNOME and XFCE.
Depending in my changing needs and preferences I switch between them.
If I ever find the perfect DE (or maybe WM), I’ll let everyone know.
I think having options is the best part of Linux. I’ve used XFCE for years, but if I ever get tired of it there are plenty of great options.
I tried GNOME for all but three minutes until I found out that you could be scrolling along with your mouse wheel and oop, a slider suddenly appears under your cursor, steals focus, and now your mouse wheel is moving the slider before you can notice where it used to be.
What an awful default choice for UI/UX behavior.
That has never happened to me in the many years I’ve been using Gnome.
I used Gnome for half an hour when I noticed I can three-finger-swipe left/right to switch workspaces and swipe up/down to open and close the overview. I’ll never use anything else on my laptop!
That is not a UX choice, not default behaviour, and has not happened to me ever, after a decade+ of use.
