Ask HN: LXDE (Mint) or Xfce (XUbuntu)

[mrng]

1. I have a relatively old laptop (Pentium Dual-Core, T4200); 2. Its memory is OK(-ish): 4GB; 3. I never cared about eye candy and fluff, I always wanted the snappiest response available with zero visual effects; 4. I've narrowed down my choices to Xfce4 or LXDE (Ubuntu, respectively Mint);

Has anyone gone from one to the other? Which one has provided you with a better experience overall (meaning here not only the Desktop layer, but also the patches and general stability of the respective distribution)?

[bbakersmith]

I've tried both and have settled on Xubuntu because it runs faster (particularly on my Netbook) and provides a solid non-Unity experience.

Mint is pretty nice too, but I generally recommend it to people who are new to Linux because it comes with more software out-the-box, looks a bit flashier, and seems to be a bit more familiar to people coming from Windows.

[thomaslee]

I can't comment on XUbuntu, but I went from LXDE to Debian+Xfce and finally settled on Debian+OpenBox.

If you're really only interested in Xfce vs. LXDE, I'd go with Xfce -- but only because it should be less of a memory hog & I doubt you'll miss much from its heavier cousin. Honestly though, either would probably work fine.

Or hey, give OpenBox a crack. :)

(Be warned I'm a keyboard junkie, so my love of OpenBox might be tainted by that :) Between the customizable shortcuts + menu & some of my own stuff [http://tomlee.co/code/ginvoke] I rarely have a reason to reach for the mouse outside of the browser.)

[qbrass → thomaslee]

I have to parrot this suggestion.

Xfce is nicer than LXDE, and OpenBox on it's own is better than both once you pick the apps you want to go with it.

[mrng → thomaslee]

Hm, I've already looked at OpenBox and quite liked it. Maybe I should take it for a longer spin.

[devb0x]

XFCE4 on a netbook.. 2gb RAM, Atom...

Works awesome and really is my run around, using it alot. xfce is a great DE