# Best Linux OS for desktop use?



## MannDude (Dec 5, 2013)

Been running Linux for years. Everything from e-live Linux, PCLinuxOS, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Mint, etc. Currently rocking Crunchbang and quite the fan of it, but recently acquired a new (used) computer from a friend that came with a fresh install of Windows 7. I thought I'd give it a try, might be nice to have one Windows device in the house... Thirty minutes later, nope. Going pure Linux.

What are the hot new distros all the kids are talking about nowadays?


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## WelltodoInformalCattle (Dec 5, 2013)

By hot new distro do you mean a distro that hipsters are currently in love with? https://www.archlinux.org/


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## MannDude (Dec 5, 2013)

Arch has been all the buzz for a while now. I have no idea what I'm looking for, but hankering for something... new.

The PC will be used for, I don't know. Will be networked with my other stuff locally eventually. Maybe a media PC/server. Unsure. Tell me what I want.


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## drmike (Dec 5, 2013)

Arch really seems to be picking up momentum.

Me, I am still on Debian and derivatives.  Lately, way too much breakage and I am just hanging out in the stable branch.


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## fisle (Dec 5, 2013)

Myself I run Debian Unstable. I find it to be more stable than Arch Linux ever was for me. (Used arch for like 3 years like 5 years ago though)

Apart from the constant pacman -Syu, Arch is a really nice distro. Or was. Maybe I should try it again. I did learn a lot since I always broke my system =)


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## NickM (Dec 5, 2013)

For servers, I'm a Debian guy.  When it comes to desktops, I've always looked for 3 things in a Linux distro:


A great KDE experience
Relatively up-to-date
Debian, or at least Debian-based
Obviously, requirement #2 precludes the use of Debian, as even Debian Sid is usually way behind when it comes to KDE.  So... I'm running Kubuntu.  I've been using Kubuntu since '06.  Every once in a while, I get the itch to try something else, so I've tried OpenSuSE, since it has supposedly one of the best KDE experiences out there (it was OK, but I felt out of place without apt), I've tried Gentoo (compiling stuff got old fast), and Arch has always seemed a bit too... involved for me.  I've heard it described as an overly needy girlfriend, though that was quite some time ago.


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## Aldryic C'boas (Dec 5, 2013)

Debian and Gentoo here.

Honestly, if you're looking for a new experience and are comfortable with a linux environment already, Gentoo would be a good path to take.  I will warn you though - once you get past the stigmas and get a feel for just _HOW_ customizable everything is, it can get rather addictive


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## DomainBop (Dec 5, 2013)

> Gentoo would be a good path to take.


...or if you'd like a little binary in your life instead of endless hours compiling you could try its bastard children Sabayon and Calculate Linux..   Both of them are rolling releases which is always a plus in my book.   I have Sabayon installed on a couple of desktops.


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## Aldryic C'boas (Dec 5, 2013)

See, that's exactly what I mean by stigma   Not everything in Gentoo is about compiling >_>


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## rsk (Dec 5, 2013)

ubuntu for sure


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## GIANT_CRAB (Dec 5, 2013)

INSTALL GENTOO

On a serious note, Fedora 20 is good because RHELel is a good company.


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## Mun (Dec 5, 2013)

Xubuntu


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## Magiobiwan (Dec 5, 2013)

I like PCLinuxOS. It's pretty easy to use. Otherwise, Fedora.


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## dano (Dec 5, 2013)

Ubuntu latest mostly on the desktop here, with Mint being my old favorite, and Crunchbang(before they switched base). I think I will try Crunchbang again, as it was so light and stable. Fedora always seems to bomb out on me at some point, so I stopped using it on the desktop.


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## bizzard (Dec 5, 2013)

Mint for a newcomer and Debian Sid, if you need to customize and break things. Debian has been the main distro on my laptop and I never had to reinstall it. I have a 50GB free partition on which I try out new distros, but it has been a while.


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## MannDude (Dec 5, 2013)

Think I may just go straight Debian w/XFCE. Probably the most stable. I really like XFCE, simple and light. Don't need that Unity or Gnome 3 eye candy BS.


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## Aldryic C'boas (Dec 5, 2013)

Skip the XFCE, go right for Fluxbox :3


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## notFound (Dec 5, 2013)

Personally I stick with my Debian and XFCE setup, simple and just works for me. Customizable enough for me and anyone really, no need for any fancy distro's, you can do pretty much the same thing as any fancy distros on Debian if you wanted to.


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## Shados (Dec 5, 2013)

NixOS, because it's awesome and needs moar love.


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## NodeBytes (Dec 5, 2013)

Considering I've been using Ubuntu since 2004, I've always enjoyed Debian and it's what I'm most familiar with. I went through a CentOS phase for about 3 months, but I realized Debian is just what I need and does everything I want my OS to do.

Ubuntu is my favorite Linux desktop OS.


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## WelltodoInformalCattle (Dec 5, 2013)

Hmmm you guys are giving me ideas. I'm curious, what do you all think of Fedora? I've used it before but got fed up with some of the glitches I experienced so I went back to Debian.


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## spry (Dec 6, 2013)

Aldryic C said:


> Debian and Gentoo here.
> 
> Honestly, if you're looking for a new experience and are comfortable with a linux environment already, Gentoo would be a good path to take.  I will warn you though - once you get past the stigmas and get a feel for just _HOW_ customizable everything is, it can get rather addictive


Same here. You can not go wrong with the both.

 

To work with Gentoo might be a frustrating one at first (or is it just me) but you'll not regret it when you see the end-results and the overall 'awesome-ness' of it. — Needless to say about Debian. It's awesome out-of-the-box.

 

As for which desktop environments to go for. Well, it's up to the individual really. _*cough*_ anything_besides_kde _*cough*_


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## fisle (Dec 13, 2013)

Aldryic C said:


> Skip the XFCE, go right for Fluxbox :3



Get with the times, go AwesomeWM :3


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