Irretrievably derailed thread.

[guiverc]

There is no best desktop.

It's personal preference, plus what tasks I want to do on a particular day that makes me choose. This 19.10 desktop has `ubuntu-desktop` (GNOME), `ubuntu-mate-desktop` (MATE), `xubuntu-desktop` (XFCE) & LXQt (lubuntu-desktop) installed. (technically that's not all, I still have LXDE & other stuff)....

I decide at login which I want to use, and which I think will best suit what I want to accomplish in a session.

Given this current 19.10 install was done when 17.10 was still in alpha; the choice I'd most of have used is XFCE/Xubuntu; however if I was to look at the most used in the last twelve months - that would be LXQt/Lubuntu. (my being on the Lubuntu team may have something to do with that though)

I don't think there is a BEST. Myself I do believe some roles/use-cases/work-flows do fit some desktops better than others, but why limit yourself to ONE choice! I can decide LXQt/XFCE/MATE or GNOME at login (plus whatever else is there). The best is choice & having multiple choices installed

[malspa]

The best is choice & having multiple choices installed

I agree!

[Artim]

I've tried them all, but it has been a while since I've run anything but Xfce, and for awhile, Openbox (ultralight, very cool). I should revisit KDE at least, since it's been so long and it has changed so very much in such a short time.

The question ought to be,

What's the best 'Buntu for me?

[ardouronerous]

Lubuntu for me.
Lighter in resources than Xubuntu. Case in point, playing OpenMW while browsing the web with Firefox on Xubuntu with 4GB RAM, my system became starved of memory and froze, but not so in Lubuntu, it gave me at least 1GB of memory to play around with.

That's no longer an issue for me with my new (used) laptop with 8GB RAM, but I fell in love with Lubuntu already, plus I made it look like Windows 10, which is easy since Lubuntu's UI kinda resembles Windows, which made it easy to convert my father and sister to Linux, so another +1 for Lubuntu.

[Tadaen_Sylvermane]

If your hardware can handle it, I have to pick vanilla Ubuntu. Best supported flat out. I don't like to deviate to much from what a distro is originally designed around. Hardware limitations, Xubuntu has my vote.

[connordroid1201]

For hardware that can handle it, I personally prefer Kubuntu. Huge amount of customization options, yet simple and straightforward out of the box. KDE isn't the most resource-efficient, but it still runs circles around Windows 10.

[SeijiSensei]

I only use Kubuntu on desktops. I don't have any basis for comparison, but Plasma doesn't seem all that resource-hungry.

It's currently using about 200 MB plus another 100 MB of shared memory. On modern machines that's not all that much.

This is Plasma 5.16.5 from the Kubuntu backports repository.

[uRock]

As far as *ubuntu 18.04 is concerned, I've run Kubuntu, Ubuntu, Lubuntu, and Xubuntu at some point.

Ubuntu seems to use the most resources, which caused me to start looking at others. I prefer Debian Buster's default Gnome over Ubuntu's, but Debian is Debian.

Kubuntu was my primary for quite some time. I had few complaints. Such as dragging a file and to a folder and having the folder open. I hated that. The only thing that caused me to remove it was the very slow boot time caused by running updates on an LVM install. It got to where it took more than thirty seconds to get from the PC's POST screen to the encryption password screen. I noticed the time getting longer with every kernel update. That was no fault of the KDE packaging. I stopped using full disk encryption on the next install.

Lubuntu is nice, but I like Debian Buster's default theming more. It wasn't quite what I wanted.

Xubuntu, IMHO, is the best so far. Easy on resources. I only have 6GB RAM and like to experiment with VMs, so a few hundred MB of RAM usage makes a huge difference to me. My only complaint with Xubuntu is very petty. There doesn't seem to be an About Xubuntu screen that shows the version of Xubuntu. I upgraded my laptop from Xubuntu 18.04 to 19.04 last night and it was a flawless victory. I plan to upgrade it to testing in the next few days. I need to check out the development sub-forum first to see what I am getting myself in to.

[Frogs Hair]

The purpose of this thread was and is to discuss and offer suggestions for the sticky posted on the top of the forum.

https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2415676

[(kyT%0)]

The best is choice & having multiple choices installed

i like multiple choices when it comes to footwear.

Lubuntu's UI kinda resembles Windows

precisely why i prefer gnome. gnome has its own identity & does not resemble nothing.

I don't like to deviate to much from what a distro is originally designed around.

ditto that.