Clear Linux 2021 Daily Driver

Clear Linux is the fastest distribution that I have ever used and because of that, I am testing to see if Clear Linux can be my daily driver for 2021. A few months ago, I’ve switched from Arch-based distributions to OpenSUSE because I heard good things about it. All in all, OpenSUSE worked well but getting Blender configured proved tedious. In addition, I was tired of running a different Linux distribution on each of my computers and to make my life easier, I’ve settled on Ubuntu which performed better than I had imagined.

On my computer, Clear Linux runs faster than Arch-based distributions

There are many articles online which state that Clear Linux is the fasted Linux distribution but I never believe anything I read online and so I had to see for myself. After learning that Clear Linux had an option to live-boot the operating system without installing, I had to try and quickly realized that it is indeed a speedy little devil. My new Dell Precision 3440 workstation features an Intel 530 built-in GFX chip which is good enough since this machine is not used for 3D and CAD work.

Installing Clear Linux

Over the last 20 years, I have installed Linux countless times so installing Clear Linux was a breeze. Since I had a hunch that Clear Linux might stay, I’ve opted for an encrypted install because the computer stores SSH keys. Because of the Samsung NVME SSD, the install took just minutes and after rebooting, I’ve added a few more programs which I need to manage a handful of websites and servers.

Gnome desktop

Until I started using Ubuntu, my desktop of choice was XFCE. Since Ubuntu works well with Gnome, I’ve decided to try the Gnome desktop and once I saw that my Wacom tablet was quick and easy to configure, I’ve stuck with it. Not to mention that setting up a local network on Ubuntu is the easiest procedure I had ever experienced. For that and a few other reasons, I’ve decided to stick with Gnome.

Clear Linux memory usage

Gnome has a reputation of being memory hungry but the way Intel has implemented Gnome, the basic system takes under one gigabyte of RAM. This is handy in case I have to run docker containers or virtual servers for testing purposes. Clear Linux includes a lot of useful software such as HTop which confirms what everyone else is saying about the efficiency of Gnome running on Clear Linux.

Gnome tweaks

For some reason, I am not a fan of having the dock hidden and on the left edge of my ultrawide monitor. After installing Dash to Dock (from within Software), I was able to move the dock to the bottom of the screen just as I have done previously.

I’ve also added the WhiteSir Dark theme and Kora icon theme which, in my opinion, turn Gnome into a quasi macOS imposter. I have tried Gnome 40 and based on what I saw, am in no hurry to upgrade. For now, Clear Linux uses Gnome version 3.38.x which will probably change before long. All of the software that is available via the Software repository is current which is refreshing.

Conclusion

Clear Linux is a very polished and super fast operating system which is not surprising considering that it originates from Intel. Since my Dell Precision workstation is Intel based, the speed increase and performance boost is nice and helps me to focus more on my work. If nothing weird pops up, then I see no reason why Clear Linux wouldn’t be my daily driver for 2021. This new and fast distribution has everything I need for web design and then some.

I also like to mention the well-written and up-to-date documentation which is the best I have read I a while. OpenSUSE has a ton of documentation but who wants to read for hours to fix a five minute problem. So yes, the distribution is fast and browsing their documentation is quick and easy.

Are you searching for the fastest Linux distribution in 2021? If yes then I recommend that you check out Clear Linux. The live-boot option will quickly convince you if Clear Linux is for you or not.
If you have specific questions then please leave a comment below. Thank you for reading.