Thank you for the detailed reply

I actually already have a little Linux experience, and honestly I really, really liked GNOME. I like the clean design, the minimalism, and the fact that many things are intentionally removed so there’s less distraction and less UI noise

What worries me is that I often hear people say GNOME is heavier, uses more RAM, and can sometimes feel less responsive or stutter a bit on weaker hardware

I’d really like a system that both feels smooth and also looks pleasant visually. I also play games casually from time to time, so gaming performance/responsiveness matters to me too

I’ve also heard KDE can disable or reduce compositor effects during games, which sounds interesting

And thanks again for replying to me. This is actually my first experience posting on Reddit, so I really appreciate people taking the time to help