There is a place for graphically gorgeous distro’s, but when it comes to ease and speed, Xfce is just the best for me.
I started using Xfce when Xubuntu first came out and I switched to Linux Mint Xfce when that started. I did try other distro’s when others recommended them, but always switched back to Xfce.
I have an old Eeepc that runs so smoothly on the latest Mint Xfce despite being a senior in computer years.
And that’s why it was about time I gushed about Xfce on here 😀
Every time I try another DE I always come back to XFCE. Lightweight, stays out of the way, gets the job done. NEVER crashes. Ever.
I remember installing XFCE on an old Pentium 3 tower some office had stored under the stairs. It was like magic - the system just... worked again?! It was the first time I successfully installed Linux and it felt so fast. With Windows the thing barely worked.
That became my younger sister's first computer. The tower and monitor etc. all just stayed on the ground and we played games on it together. Eventually I found an ethernet card and learned how to plug it in. I ran an ethernet cable from our modem through the house along the floor. Then we could go on Myspace and send email to each other.
Can't believe my parents were ok with tripping over all that stuff, ha!
I main and ♥️ xfce. we are friends now 🤣 and anybody else that feels the way we do. 🫂
XFCE is the distro for getting stuff done. I run it even on new PCs. I know that whatever device I'm using, because of XFCE, my desktop is gonna be blindingly fast. I try to switch to other desktops sometimes but I always go back to XFCE because the speed and reliability are off the charts. Windows wishes it could be this (it kind of was, in the XP or 7 era).
Windows was never as zippy and stable as XFCE. And I hate to be a know-it-all, but XFCE is a Desktop Environment, not a Distro.
The first Linux distro I used was Xubuntu and I've use Xfce primarily ever since. I've used a lot of different distros over the years but have almost always used Xfce. I think my only serious time away from it was using Plasma for a while before Xfce had hidpi support.
XFCE is my favorite Desktop Environment, and I use a lot of their apps (because they're they're very good and don't have many dependencies) as a part of my Window Manager workflow.
Xfce has been great at giving old PCs some extra life. I've got some people using a Pentium E2180/2GB Ram/Hard Drive machine for some browsing with Mint Xfce. It runs great and is quite reliable. I just hope that it does eventually gain support for Wayland.
I just tried EndeavourOS with XFCE on a really old laptop and it works quite well. Xfce lacks some niceties that Gnome or KDE would provide, but its stability and reliability are unquestionable.
I switched from XFCE to Mate; I aways loved crazy & light desktops, like XFCE, Enlightenment, Window Maker! Simple things that DO work!!!