KDE or Gnome? My last reinstall of openSuse 11.3 and I need your help to decide...

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1

Hey guys, I am in a rut right now. I need to reinstall openSuse 11.3 again so I can start fresh one last time. I have reinstalled so many times in the past week that I’ve lost count. The reasoning behind them are not important.

However, I would like your guys’ opinion on which desktop to use for my last install: KDE or Gnome. Lots of people say it’s a personal preference, but I’ve tried both, and have my own opinions about them. And that is why I’m coming to my fellow Suse users.

So, please respond with your opinions about either or, because I’d love to hear them before I install it tomorrow morning. Before I leave this post in your hands, I will leave my personal experiences with them both. Thanks in advance for all of your responses!

Gnome:

  • I love how neatly organized it is. The Menu bar with Applications, Places and System is just pure awesome
  • The community downloads to modify the GUI is great, I love having a lot to choose from
  • Its performance is top-notch. I rarely have any problems with my computer slowing down and applications crashing

KDE:

  • I love how the GUI is similar to Windows 7. It’s not opaque like Gnome, and looks next-gen
  • System performance is affected more than Gnome’s. Applications crash more frequently and the notifications and other popup windows just don’t feel stable
  • I like using KDE because of its history and its followers. Apparently KDE is highly acclaimed and I’d like to tap into its potential more
2

I’m a KDE die hard but I installed Gnome 11.3 on my main box. My wife uses it. Enough said. :wink:

3

well… its personal preference really :slight_smile: I personally started with KDE3 when I switched over from windows simply because it felt closer to home at that time and I sticked with it.

I would think that if you already noticed that on your setup gnome performance and stability is better then KDE’s I would pick gnome, the desktop is the item you interact the most with and the most stable it is for you the more you will enjoy it.

Nothing stopping you from adding KDE later and simply switch over but go with the one that feels most stable to you so you avoid any frustrations or irritations on that end.

4

I use KDE, mainly out of habit.
I did install Gnome once, started it up, and didn’t even give it a chance, because old habits die hard.

I get pretty annoyed when apps start crashing, and even KDE itself.

After this, I might actually give Gnome a chance :slight_smile:

5

switched to GNOME, and I like it for now… looks like I’ll ditch KDE :slight_smile:

6

kde4x is a love hate thing. I love the active development and current applications available. But I hate the fact its so fast paced that it becomes a roller coaster ie Dolphin/kwin regressions almost drove me away but luckily Krusader and Konqueror don’t suffer from these stability issues. Right now with kde 4.5.1 I’m not having any stability issues. I abuse it and it just keeps going. I am using the newer dbus from mvidner’s repository which I think has made a lot of difference with dolphin.

7

You’re likely to get a 50-50 split and a flame war going.
Just choose what you like best. If you like fast performance
and stability, you can try Xfce for your ‘final’ install.