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I need to install a new Linux/Gnu OS soon. The present one, Linux Mint (Mate) Debian edition no longer fills my needs. I run 4 screens with 3 X sessions. Mate worked great for this, then an update broke it to one screen. I tried Cinnamon but it won't even start on multiple X sessions. XFCE works but with some serious drawbacks although that may be caused by my current system. Enlightenment actually worked well until it started crashing and I had to restore the settings file. When it finally crashed so nothing got it to run again I gave up on it.
I need a OS with multimedia support, the ability to install programs that may not be in the repositories ( Mythtv ), and multi X screen support. I am also looking for a file manager that has something like Gnome scripts. I have fair command line skills. I presently have Nvidia cards but I will go shopping if I have to. I might try Xinerama but I usually watch one screen while switching the other 2's desktops. Also not having a menu on all screens would be a pain.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday November 27 2019, @03:45AM
Here's the naked-install RAM usage, from a recent test done using PCLinuxOS as the base:
KDE/Plasma: 595mb
Mate: 546mb
Xfce: 516mb
LXDE: 389mb
Trinity: 294mb
Openbox: 264mb
So Xfce is really not all that much 'lighter' than KDE.
But DE is not, in my observation, the real factor. Rather, the distro itself. Frex, Mint runs rings around Ubuntu, even with the same DE (because Mint loads about a quarter as much crap, per actual count). PCLOS/KDE is far more spry than Mageia with the same KDE. And so on. In my observation this is more CPU load than memory load.
When low system resources are a problem, tho... Puppy and JWM, about as light as you can get and still be full-featured and modern.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.