As a long-time GNOME user, I’ve always been content with my desktop environment. However, I’ve often wondered why KDE seems to be more popular than GNOME. Was it just a matter of personal preference, or was there something more to KDE that I was missing?
I recently had the opportunity to try out KDE on CachyOS, and I was blown away by the features and improvements that I discovered. One of the first things I noticed was that KDE resolved a frustrating issue I had with my studio monitors – no more annoying pop sounds on boot or reboot!
But that was just the beginning. I soon discovered that KDE has a built-in option to limit battery charging, which requires a third-party extension in GNOME. This feature alone has been a game-changer for me.
I also noticed that the audio interface in KDE was much more intuitive and user-friendly than in GNOME. With a Pro Audio setting and support for my audio interface’s four input channels, I can finally use my equipment to its full potential.
Discovering the Power of KDE
As I continued to explore KDE, I discovered even more features that have won me over. The desktop environment does an excellent job scaling my laptop’s 1440p display, making it usable even at 125% scaling. This is a huge improvement over my previous setup, where I had to use an external monitor or drop the resolution to 1080p.
One of the most surprising discoveries I made while using KDE was the significantly lower temperature of my NVIDIA graphics card. As you can see in the screenshot below, my graphics card temperature is now consistently running at around 40°C, which is a significant drop from the 60-70°C I was seeing with GNOME.
I’m also loving the Dolphin file manager, which allows me to access files on my local network with ease. And then there’s Gwenview, a feature that’s quickly becoming my favorite tool. As a web designer, I often need to take screenshots, and Gwenview makes it easy to edit them on the fly without having to open GIMP.
Replacing VSCodium with Kate: A Game-Changer for Developers
One of the features that’s really got me excited is Kate, KDE’s built-in text editor. I’ve been using VSCodium for a while now, but Kate is quickly becoming my go-to editor. With its advanced features like syntax highlighting, code completion, and project management, Kate is a powerful tool that’s perfect for web design.
Conclusion: I am Sticking with KDE
I have to admit, I never quite understood the enthusiasm for KDE on Linux forums. But now that I’ve had a chance to work with it for a few days, I’m starting to get it. The attention to detail and thoughtful design that’s gone into KDE 6.1 is truly impressive.
I still have a lot to learn, but so far, I’m thoroughly enjoying my experience with KDE. If you’re a GNOME user like I was, I highly recommend giving KDE a try. You might just find yourself falling in love with it, like I have.
