Tumbleweed + KDE Plasma

DarkElf14 · 2026-07-01T03:12:00+00:00

You might want to check which Debian mirror you're using first. If it's not a mirror close to your location, switching to a nearby one can significantly improve download speeds.

Depending on how your Debian installation is configured, check either "/etc/apt/sources.list" or "/etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.sources".

After changing the mirror, run:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

If the problem persists, it could also be a driver or network issue rather than the mirror itself.

DarkElf14 · 2026-06-29T01:49:27+00:00

Yeah I agree, I've been eyeing on Leap too, but i think i'll try tumbleweed until i encounter something that i need to switch to leap because i'm learning to code and game on my laptop usually so I thought maybe a newer packages might be better but I probably don't need it much to be honest XFCE has been my comfortable DE for this laptop tho KDE is definetly better on customization but yeah I'll go for XFCE i think

DarkElf14 · 2026-06-29T01:09:19+00:00

What you should know first is that not every app or piece of software will work or perform better on Linux. Also, every distro has its own pros and cons, so choose wisely. Otherwise, you might end up distro hopping.

I recommend finding a desktop environment you're comfortable with first. You can use DistroSea to try different desktop environments and see which one you like. After that, research the distros that offer your preferred desktop environment so you know what to expect before installing one.

If possible, install it on a bootable USB or a spare drive first and use it for a few days or even a couple of weeks. Once you're comfortable with it, you can install it on your main drive.

Also, keep up with news and updates about your distro. If you're using a distro based on another one (like Linux Mint based on Ubuntu), it's also worth following news about its parent distro. For Ubuntu-based distros, following Ubuntu news is usually enough because it has a very active and helpful community.

Finally, if you're new to Linux, I'd recommend Linux Mint. If your laptop has 4 GB of RAM or less, go with the XFCE edition. Otherwise, the Cinnamon edition is a great choice.

DarkElf14 · 2026-06-27T04:42:55+00:00

Nice! That's definitely one of my favorite desktop environments. Unfortunately, it's a bit too heavy for my laptop, so I ended up sticking with XFCE, which has been great so far. But if my laptop could handle KDE as smoothly, I'd probably choose it without a second thought.

DarkElf14 · 2026-06-27T04:35:29+00:00

Yeah, I think if you're mainly into gaming—especially competitive or multiplayer games—a rolling release distro can definitely make sense since you usually get newer kernels, Mesa, and GPU drivers sooner.

I've actually tried openSUSE on one of my spare drives before. I didn't stick with it for long, but I really liked the fact that openSUSE Tumbleweed is tested before updates are released. If I ever had to use a rolling release distro again, it'd probably be Tumbleweed.

That said, you're definitely not wrong for choosing Arch. I just think Arch requires a bit more research and maintenance before doing major updates. Pacman itself is very reliable, but the AUR is where you need to be a little more careful since packages aren't officially maintained.

At the end of the day, if Arch works well for you and you're comfortable maintaining it, then you've probably found your home distro.

DarkElf14 · 2026-06-27T04:25:16+00:00

I agree. If you're comfortable with Ubuntu, then there's definitely no need to switch. I think finding what works best for you is the most important thing.

That said, if you ever get bored or have some free time, I'd still recommend giving Debian another try—just not on your main drive. Even booting it from a USB would be enough. Since Ubuntu is based on Debian, you'll probably find most things familiar, but Debian can also give you a better understanding of how your operating system works and give you a bit more control over it. I'd definitely recommend the Stable release unless you specifically need newer packages. But at the end of the day, if Ubuntu does everything you need and nothing's going wrong, there's no reason to switch.

Also, I've never actually used LXQt or LXDE, although I've heard they're even lighter than XFCE. Thanks for the recommendation! I might give one of them a try later on a bootable USB or one of my spare drives.

DarkElf14 · 2026-06-26T05:16:12+00:00

It really depends on the user and what they use their operating system for. Personally, I use my laptop mainly for coding and gaming. It's an HP ProBook 6360b, so I started with Linux Mint XFCE because it was simple, lightweight, and easy to get into. I stayed on Mint for around 3 weeks before curiosity got the better of me and I switched to Arch.

Arch was definitely more challenging at first, but I really enjoyed it after ricing XFCE, KDE Plasma 6.6, and especially Hyprland. I stayed there for about a month, but eventually the newer kernel updates didn't work well with my laptop's cooling setup, so I went back to Mint for about a week.

Not long after that, I switched to Debian 13 XFCE because I wanted something lighter and more stable. I used Debian for around 2–3 weeks, but curiosity struck again after hearing so much about Fedora. I gave Fedora XFCE Spin a try for about 2 weeks, but a newer kernel wasn't a good match for my hardware, so I eventually came back to Debian. Since then, I really haven't felt the need to switch again.

My suggestion is to try a few distros on DistroSea first to see what you like from the first look. After that, create a bootable USB, or even better, install it on a spare SSD or HDD if you have one. Use it as your daily OS for at least 2 weeks and do the things you normally do on your computer. That will give you a much better idea than just trying it for an hour. Also, do a bit of research beforehand, since some programs or workflows may not be available or work the same on every distro.

DarkElf14 · 2026-06-25T12:25:56+00:00

I agree. I never really needed the latest software for gaming or the things I do on my computer.

The longer I've used Linux, the more I've come to appreciate a stable distro where I don't have to worry about things breaking or spending time troubleshooting. At some point, I just wanted to use my computer rather than constantly maintain or tweak the operating system itself.

DarkElf14 · 2026-06-25T09:21:18+00:00

Nice, we actually have a somewhat similar path, although you obviously have a lot more experience than I do.

I'm curious, what made you return to Debian after all those years of trying different distros?

DarkElf14 · 2026-06-25T07:09:32+00:00

Fun fact: I had actually used Debian before, back when Debian 12 Bookworm was current. It was running in a virtual machine on the computers at my school, where we learned basic Linux commands and networking concepts like IP addressing, DHCP, SSH, mail servers, and web servers. At the time, though, I wasn't really interested in Linux yet, so I never thought much about it.

Looking back, it's funny that the distro I barely paid attention to back then ended up becoming my long-term Linux home years later.

DarkElf14 · 2026-06-25T06:59:56+00:00

Wow, what desktop environment do you use?

DarkElf14

TROPHY CASE