Xfce Forum

dotw

Member

Registered: 2023-08-10

Posts: 3

fastest xfce based distro?

my pc is very old. more than 10 years to be specific. I was wondering which xfce based distro is the fastest and most suited for my PC?

ds

Member

Registered: 2023-09-06

Posts: 6

Re: fastest xfce based distro?

Hello. My laptop is a very old one too (a lowly 2nd gen Intel i3 from 2013) and I've tried many many distros before settle down on Manjaro. I think Manjaro's XFCE is very polished, if not the most, and everything works real hassle-free so far. Granted, I've downloaded EndeavourOS but haven't install it yet because I think this Manjaro already fits my needs best. You may want to check that out as well.

Moreover, my other Linux PC is even lower spec, a classic Intel Atom D2700 with 4GB of RAM and the best one I could find is PeppermintOS, based on Debian. I've even tried old-school Trinity DE of Q4OS, but XFCE is actually snappier and smoother, a tiny bit faster than KDE 5 too. In my experience PeppermintOS is the one that works best on that weakling mini PC... and I've tried quite a lot. Mind you, it has some rather unique quirks but nothing that can't be fixed easily.

Last edited by ds (2023-09-06 15:40:41)

dotw

Member

Registered: 2023-08-10

Posts: 3

Re: fastest xfce based distro?

Moreover, my other Linux PC is even lower spec, a classic Intel Atom D2700 with 4GB of RAM and the best one I could find is PeppermintOS, based on Debian.

thanks for the suggestion. However, have you used MX linux 23 xfce? I heard that it is even snappier and lighter than peppermint os

ds

Member

Registered: 2023-09-06

Posts: 6

Re: fastest xfce based distro?

I've tried MX Linux and I didn't notice any difference in snappiness. In fact, I don't notice any difference on any of the XFCE dekstops. It's just some distros may have a few small hiccups for a very old, very weak PC that you have to fix by yourself. PeppermintOS just happened to have a flawless installation on my particular system, but it also have it's own set of... uh, roughness around the edges. I'd say, it's definitely not as polished as Manjaro's XFCE.

That said, MX Linux doesn't use systemd (by default) and from my little experience, systemd-based systems boot a tiny bit faster on mine, not that I measured it or anything, just by my feeling from using it day-to-day (I always boot up and shutdown my PCs every time.)

You can always just try them; there are too many variables and preferences. Manjaro, MX Linux, PeppermintOS are just some good starting points.