Which of Fluxbox or XFCE4 can takes less memory ?

[burek]

To have lightest-weight but either xfce4 or fluxbox


Thank you for the information

=
==================
update:
I investigated: XFCE is definitely not a very lightweight one !!! (for up to 128MB ram PC)
XFCE (140MB) takes me ~40% more than fluxbox (70MB).

List of lightweight window manager:
(default install, no tuning) (classment from the minimalist)
(first, we have quite a lot of windows manager under linux, whihc is great)
(legend:
THEMES1 quite minimalist theme chooser and freshmeat.org visit adviced and terminal too but theme working !
THEMES2 Window THEMES chooser from the apt-get or already available !!))
THEMES3 High-Tech themes levels

(I should do to a binding level window chooser... (bindingswm))



== ultra light == level 0 ===
0 - TinyWM (you cannot find lighter) 50 lines of C
1 - twm
2 - jwm (and sisters)


== minimalist == level 1 ===
2 - Openbox 65MB fvwm and blackbox (the two lightest) 65-69 MB THEMES1

3 - fvwm based

4 - Icewm (69,9 MB) THEMES1-2





== minimalist advanced === level 2 ====
5 - fluxbox (70-72MB) THEMES1
5 - Metacity (70-72MB) (apt-get install metacity) THEMES3 bindings
... fvwm based advanced ; metacity is very great since you can use the stuffs from gnome
and still very light. nfo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacity)




=== level 3 ====
6 - light-xfce4 (tuned) (75MB) THEMES2 (bindingswm)

7 - sawfish (80-82MB) THEMES2 (bindingswm)





=== level 4 ====
8 - (XFCE = quite slow for very old machines for museums) THEMES2
(Please stop saying that a ultra lightweight, it is medium )
(flubox is great for very old machines for museums)
110MB (bindingswm)





==== level 5 === Userfrienly ===
... and far away:
10 - gnome / KDE (hug of memory damn !! but we like it this so userfriendly) (bindingswm) THEMES3


UPDATE II:KS
==========
After fighting with mw linux machine in config files; I just found the way to make it lighter thsi xfce with keeping the possibility of changing your windows styles and so on:


apt-get -f install thunar orage xfmedia xfce4-mixer
apt-get install python2.4-xfce python-xfce
apt-get install python-dev
apt-get -f install libxfce4util4 libxfce4util-dev
apt-get -f install python-xfce

You can edit go in /usr/share/xsessions
cp xfce4.desktop lightxfce.desktop
into lightxfce.desktop ;
change to make the name lightxfce
and replace startxfce4 by /usr/bin/xfwm4

restart gdm /etc/init.d/gdm restart

then;
select for sessions from the gdm lightxfce

your lighterxfce starts I guess
to configure your bindings and lightxfce ; type : xfce-setting-show


qnd eveerythings works like it was more or less : windows styles; bindings ....

I am still looking for a light menu to logout/ I used logout via bindings
and xfce-setting-show taht I define as flag + pause

and the New Dude is as LIGHTWEIGHT as flubox !! a bit lighter even !
and I have my windows styles and can change them as much as xfce-pluging themes as



Burek
=====

[dca]

Fluxbox probably takes up the least amount of memory. That and maybe IceWM compared to XFCE...

[mips]

Probably Fluxbox, I don't have the proof but I suspect Fluxbox is lighter.

[dbbolton]

i've never heard of fluxbox :(

but i thought the whole point of xfce was to be lightweight...

[deanlinkous]

flux probably lighter in general, but if you add features to it that xfce already has, well.....obvious :D

[GStubbs43]

Well, XFCE is an actual Desktop Environment, like GNOME or KDE.
Fluxbox is a Window Manager, which requires another Desktop Environment such as GNOME or KDE.

So... Fluxbox is lightwheight, but you must also have another DE, with XFCE you can just have XFCE, nothing else. :)

Edit: nevermind... this is messed up... ;)

[mips]

Well, XFCE is an actual Desktop Environment, like GNOME or KDE.
Fluxbox is a Window Manager, which requires another Desktop Environment such as GNOME or KDE.

So... Fluxbox is lightwheight, but you must also have another DE, with XFCE you can just have XFCE, nothing else. :)

Since when, never heard of this before. You just do a server install, X11 & fluxbox and bobs your uncle. no need for gnome or kde.

Where did you hear this ?

[GStubbs43]

Since when, never heard of this before. You just do a server install, X11 & fluxbox and bobs your uncle. no need for gnome or kde.

Where did you hear this ?

Ok, you're right. I got confused... but...
A desktop Environment does needs a Window manager to display stuff.
:mrgreen:

[MedivhX]

Go for Flux.

[WalmartSniperLX]

Im using flux now as a primary wm (other than my kde session).

If I remember correctly, fluxbox uses less than 100MB of ram on boot (somewhere like 70-90MB)

I put xfce on a friends computer. I think it uses more than a 100MB on boot (maybe close to 200MB)

:cool:

[kerry_s]

I use a command-line install & fluxbox, my system is very light.

[burek]

I updated my first post of this thread ; study made.

[IYY]

It basically goes... Gnome/KDE is heavier than Fluxbox is heavier than everything else. IceWM is my favourite.

[lapsey]

IceWM is great in that it has all the basics you need.

I like FVWM but it could be even greater if there were a tool for creating the environment, like a graphical desktop creation thingy. Otherwise you have to spend a ton of time programming a desktop in code or suffer someone else's idea of a DE. Even FVWM Crystal suffers from the "ricer effect"

[shining]

IceWM is great in that it has all the basics you need.

I like FVWM but it could be even greater if there were a tool for creating the environment, like a graphical desktop creation thingy. Otherwise you have to spend a ton of time programming a desktop in code or suffer someone else's idea of a DE. Even FVWM Crystal suffers from the "ricer effect"

I believe ricing is more about useless customizations.
Being able to configure your environment to be exactly like you want can be useful IMHO, so I wouldn't call that ricing.
It's just the dilemma between configurability and simplicity.

[burek]

I believe ricing is more about useless customizations.
Being able to configure your environment to be exactly like you want can be useful IMHO, so I wouldn't call that ricing.
It's just the dilemma between configurability and simplicity.
I kind of replied to your dilemma !!!



UPDATE II
==========
After fighting with mw linux machine in config files; I just found the way to make it lighter thsi xfce with keeping the possibility of changing your windows styles and so on:

UPDATE in my first post of this thread


:KS :KS :KS :KS

[Albi]

It basically goes... Gnome/KDE is heavier than Fluxbox is heavier than everything else. IceWM is my favourite.

I'm pretty sure IceWM is heavier than fluxbox...by your post it makes it sound like fluxbox is only SLIGHTLY ligher than gnome, and it's much less

[burek]

I'm pretty sure IceWM is heavier than fluxbox...by your post it makes it sound like fluxbox is only SLIGHTLY ligher than gnome, and it's much less

Indeed; oki; it ll update to improve it. thx

[happy-and-lost]

I put xfce on a friends computer. I think it uses more than a 100MB on boot (maybe close to 200MB)

Wow. My GNOME uses 140mb RAM and 0 swapspace on boot. It's just that hungry Firefox which bumps it up beyond 200 for me.

[burek]

i updated first post of this thread,

even better now with the memory usage and themes informations

[burek]

Wow. My GNOME uses 140mb RAM and 0 swapspace on boot. It's just that hungry Firefox which bumps it up beyond 200 for me.

try this :
apt-get install metacity
run it
and you will see; that you will have much more memory with your desktop

[deanlinkous]

woops sorry

[bonzodog]

*cough*


$sudo apt-get install openbox obconf pypanel.

Try Openbox, it's even lighter than Fluxbox, but has very similar features.

[maddog39]

I would have to argue with you when u say that XFCE takes up 130MB because when I used to use Xubuntu (6.10), just sitting on my desktop after boot I would only use 92MB of ram.

[burek]

I would have to argue with you when u say that XFCE takes up 130MB because when I used to use Xubuntu (6.10), just sitting on my desktop after boot I would only use 92MB of ram.

I tried again and got 110MB. I guess as you say we can decrease it. But the problem it is that xfce needs to open some processses when you start to click a bit; that are using memory
I reduced to 110 MB
Dont know; could yuou try all the windows manager and make too investigation of memory ;..
we could make a small nfo webpage.

Cheers

[burek]

*cough*


$sudo apt-get install openbox obconf pypanel.

Try Openbox, it's even lighter than Fluxbox, but has very similar features.

69-74MB ; openbox is cool
it is too nice
btw how do you alt+rightmouse for resize
and also for workspace wrap...
i got odconf:

~$ obconf
obconf: error while loading shared libraries: libobrender.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
that I am fixing now ...
https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/obconf/+bug/71863

[maddog39]

Wow, well I was surprised to find that GNOME only uses 108MB just sitting on my desktop. This means right after i've just logged in and I open system monitor and it's using 108MB of RAM. When I open firefox this of course jumps 20MB.

[Rui Pais]

I have an very old pentium MMX 200 Mhz and tried fluxbox, openbox and windowmaker on it.
Windowmaker is the fast and the more responsive of those.
Don't take much care on memory used, most of the time some app will be eaten more mem then the all window manager.