GNOME, KDE, and Xfce: Which Desktop is Right for You?
How do you choose which GNU/Linux desktop to use? No easy answer exists, because the choice is so full of difficulties.
For one thing, if you're migrating from Mac or Windows, you may have trouble getting your head around the idea that you have any choice of desktops, let alone several.
For another, few guides exist, and those you can find online are often outdated. For example, not too many years ago, the consensus was that KDE was easier to use than GNOME and felt more like Windows. Then the KDE 4 series was released. Now, few people would agree that the generality is still true.
In much the same way, comparisons of such elements as the speed of a desktop are next to impossible, because they can vary so greatly with the distribution. In Debian, KDE and Xfce are both extremely quick, while in Kubuntu and Xubuntu (their Ubuntu incarnations) they often seem slower than GNOME.
But the biggest reason that no definitive answer is possible is that the choice of a desktop is highly personal. And no wonder, considering that many of us spend twelve hours a day or more in front of our choice. More than anything else, that's why, when someone new to GNU/Linux asks me what desktop they should use, I answer the same way that I do here, summarizing the general feel and some of the desktop-specific applications, then adding any cultural issues that might affect them.
Regardless of which of the most popular desktops you settle on -- GNOME, KDE, and Xfce -- the choice is too personal to trust to endorsements.
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