Please help me to choose the right linux mint version : KDE, Cinnamon, MATE or XFCE?

Question

I have been using Ubuntu on my laptop for the past few years alongside Windows 7. But now I'm thinking of switching over exclusively to Linux. I have been reading some nice reviews about Linux Mint and I would like to try it. I tried researching a bit on the different desktop environments, but still I'm not very sure. Which Linux Mint version would suit me best? KDE, Cinnamon, MATE or XFCE?

I'm going to run it on my Laptop with the following specs:
i5 CPU, 2.53GHZ
4GB RAM + 1GB Nvidia Graphics Card

Also please suggest if I should go for a 32-bit or 64-bit OS. I'm a newbie in Linux. Thanks.

Answer 1

I agree with what the above poster said.



your hardware can run any of them.



it really comes down to preference.



everyone has their own habits and needs.



some people want fancy effects, sure they can be fun, but some people also don't require them or maybe find it irritating.



you also should think if you want to be able to have lots of configuration options or medium or small amount.



perhaps you can't be bothered to configure at all, and will take the desktop as it is..



explore them and discover which is best for you.

Answer 2

I recommend that you start with their official releases which would be Cinnamon or Mate. KDE and Xfce are supported, but they are not the primary versions.



Between Cinnamon and Mate, I would go with Cinnamon as it is a primary project and focus of the Mint Team. The Mint team also contribute to Mate as well, however, Mate is under a different development group.



Something that I would do when I first started getting into Linux, install one version (Gnome 2) as a test run. Once installed, I would open the synaptic package manager and install all of the Desktop Environments that I was interested in, LXDE, Xfce, E16 & E17, KDE, &c. Then I would log out and log back in under a different environment and just test the hell out of the DE. From there I found myself preferring Gnome over all others. Once I was done testing them, I would download the version of my preferred choice, then reinstall.



Be sure to sign up into the Mint Forums http://forums.linuxmint.com/ and Community http://community.linuxmint.com/ . Once you start using the distro, you essentially become apart of that community; somewhat like a family.

Answer 3

Which Linux To Choose

Answer 4

I would go with Cinnamon (32-bit) because it has a better sleeker interface than others and its a primary main focus than MATE, others. You would get more update, stable system. It also has special forums for the distro when you get it.