I'm making the switch to Linux permanently and need some advice on choosing between Fedora KDE and Kubuntu. So far, I've used Kubuntu for about a week and I tried the GNOME version of Fedora for several months. My top priority is battery life since I have a Huawei Matebook D15 with an AMD Ryzen 5 5500U. I know Kubuntu employs power-profiles-daemon while Fedora uses TuneD for battery optimization. Additionally, I found it a bit tricky to set up hardware acceleration and codecs on Fedora compared to Kubuntu. Given all these factors, which distro would you recommend?
8 Answers
You might want to consider Bazzite, which is based on Fedora but tailored for ease of use, especially for gamers. Just something to think about!
I switched to Kubuntu after having some crashes and issues with Fedora 42 KDE. With Kubuntu, everything has gone smoothly for me. I was surprised because I used to enjoy Fedora KDE quite a bit!
When comparing Fedora KDE to Kubuntu, you might want to pick the latest version of Kubuntu instead of the LTS one for a fair comparison, especially since both will be on Plasma 6. Battery life and tuning capabilities are pretty similar between them. Fedora tends to have an edge with security using SElinux over apparmor, which is worth noting. However, Kubuntu makes it easier to set up codecs compared to Fedora—those can be a hassle on Fedora, where you'll have to swap libraries for some media support. Personally, I prefer Fedora KDE, but it’s really up to your comfort level with setup and tuning.
I lean towards Fedora too, but with AMD integrated graphics, you might hit some snags getting hardware acceleration to work in browsers—just be prepared to deal with drivers.
Kubuntu LTS often has a more extensive software library and is generally easier to handle when dealing with proprietary drivers, especially Nvidia. Fedora KDE has the benefit of newer software versions, but the library isn't as comprehensive. I’d say stick with Kubuntu LTS; a new version with Plasma 6 is coming out soon!
Why not go for Arch? Just throwing that out there!
It really depends on which system you liked better! Both are solid choices.
If you find Fedora to be a hassle, maybe just stick with Kubuntu. Fedora does have a KDE version, but for ease of use, Debian's live KDE edition could also be a good match. You’ll have some flexibility with both. Just know that both are based on Debian, so repositories will be similar. With Fedora, you can install power-profiles-daemon as well if you choose KDE.
Even though I prefer Fedora, it can be annoying to configure some drivers for hardware acceleration that you might need.
Since you're new to Linux, don't overthink the distro choice too much. The software is similar across distributions, with only surface-level differences. Focus on the communities behind them. If you align more with the Fedora Project's philosophy, go for Fedora. I have my reasons for choosing Fedora that I could share, but it mainly comes down to preferences!
Fedora KDE tends to run the latest version, currently Plasma 6.5, while Kubuntu is on 6.1, which could influence your experience depending on your need for the latest features.