I've been exploring different desktop environments and I'm eager to try out KDE Plasma. I've already heard of Kubuntu and KDE Neon. Are there any other distributions that come with KDE Plasma pre-installed? Just so you know, I'll be testing them in a virtual machine, which might be important when considering performance.
4 Answers
CachyOS is another one to consider. It defaults to KDE Plasma and has plenty of customizable options, so it might suit your needs well.
Kubuntu, Fedora KDE, and OpenSUSE Tumbleweed are great choices if you're looking to dive into KDE. While you can install it on almost any distribution, I'd recommend steering clear of Linux Mint for this purpose. It's just not the best fit for Plasma.
OpenSUSE with KDE is excellent! I've had a decent experience with Kubuntu, but it's a bit sluggish since it's not running on an SSD. For Debian users, Debian or Kubuntu would be solid picks. Neon is another good option, or you could check out RPM-based distros like Fedora or OpenSUSE. Just don't feel the need to jump into Arch just for KDE.
If you're after something minimal, check out Garuda KDE Lite. It’s a lightweight installation without any bloat—no web browser even. Perfect for a seamless KDE experience on older hardware.
Consider Manjaro or Debian—Manjaro for a rolling release experience and Debian if you prefer something stable. Both are solid with KDE on board.
What's the difference between rolling release and stable?
I currently use Mint, haha. Out of those you mentioned, how are they performance-wise? My PC is getting a bit old with only 4GB of RAM, so I'm curious if any of these might work well for me if I decide to switch.