Ubuntu Unity Proves Very Slow To KDE, GNOME, Xfce, LXDE

[GreatEmerald]

More like someone else saying that the headlines are wrongly made. Which is a fair point.

[Artemis3]

XFCE compositor can be turned off

If you turn off the compositor, XFCE will match the speeds of KDE suspend and LXDE.


Now i would like to see true desktop usage benchmarks. Time to boot, time to open the file browser, time to open a default app (libreoffice?), memory usage, power usage, fps on the desktop itself, etc.

[Artemis3]

And so .. Was anyone saying KDE is heavy and slow and that XFCE is better for performance/gaming etc?

Do the benchmarks with a window instead of fullscreen, and the truth will come out. I often play rpg games windowed, as the need to browse documentation online comes very often. Also, the time KDE takes to boot is absurd, even worse than gnome3, which in itself is quite unbearable.

[Artemis3]

Actually, Xfce has a fully supported and configurable compositor, it is just not on by default. On 4.8 it can be toggled from the "Window Manager Tweaks" settings option under the "Compositor" tab. From there you can also tweak the compositor effects and also specifically set the compositor to "Display fullscreen overlay windows directly". Considering you took the time to tweak KDE for this benchmark, I would appreciate it if you would also do the same for Xfce in future tests.

No, the compositor is turned on by default in Xubuntu, which is why the benchmarks show lower FPS with XFCE than LXDE. Perhaps testing with both compositor on and off should clarify this. I rather use my desktop with the compositor off, the menu shadows and transparency of objects are not worth the tearing in videos and fewer FPS.

[Artemis3]

I wouldn't call that "to tweak KDE". You only need to check an option in system configuration.

Its the same with XFCE (a check box to turn on/off compositor). Only the gnome developers would think of the absurd...

[Artemis3]

Ubuntu and Unity aren't the same thing.

Ubuntu defaults to Unity, and the graphical installer won't let you choose. In support channels "Ubuntu" implies you are using Unity. This is unfortunate and i personally don't like it, but at least ppl can still join (K,X,L)buntu channels.

I advise people to use the "Ubuntu MinimalCD" and choose the desktop they like. It is pretty much the same as Debian netinstall. (tip: Lubuntu is actually called LXDE Ubuntu desktop or such in the tasksel :P)

[Rigaldo]

Do the benchmarks with a window instead of fullscreen, and the truth will come out. I often play rpg games windowed, as the need to browse documentation online comes very often. Also, the time KDE takes to boot is absurd, even worse than gnome3, which in itself is quite unbearable.

I was mostly kidding. But I believe it's worth to mention that KDE has a keyboard shortcut to turn off compositing on and off at will still
And I disagree about gnome 3, KDE does take some time to load indeed, but gnome 3 loads very fast for me. Also, I don't think they affect anything before the display manager is started anyways(I count the time after the "flicker" that shows the DM/xorg starts ). And Gnome 3 isn't bad at all. I'd elaborate, but I'm afraid I might write pages ......

Its the same with XFCE (a check box to turn on/off compositor). Only the gnome developers would think of the absurd...

It's a bit different, I don't have XFCE in front of me right now to tell for sure, but in KDE you check a check-box once and you're done. In XFCE you'd have to go there every time you want to change it(or set a keyboard shortcut), but KDE does the switching on and off automatically(also it affects only the window I think, so if you have other screens where different apps are running they should be normal)(Also, from my understanding, KWin doesn't completely switch compositing off, only the effects for the fullscreen app, so it's kinda different).

[Hamish Wilson]

No, the compositor is turned on by default in Xubuntu, which is why the benchmarks show lower FPS with XFCE than LXDE. Perhaps testing with both compositor on and off should clarify this. I rather use my desktop with the compositor off, the menu shadows and transparency of objects are not worth the tearing in videos and fewer FPS.

Never used Xubuntu, so I would not have known. On Fedora it is off by default, and I also believe that is the default of the DE itself.

It's a bit different, I don't have XFCE in front of me right now to tell for sure, but in KDE you check a check-box once and you're done. In XFCE you'd have to go there every time you want to change it(or set a keyboard shortcut), but KDE does the switching on and off automatically(also it affects only the window I think, so if you have other screens where different apps are running they should be normal)(Also, from my understanding, KWin doesn't completely switch compositing off, only the effects for the fullscreen app, so it's kinda different).

Actually, Xfce does that to - it has an option to display full screen overlay windows directly, just like KDE does. You can also turn the compositor off as Artemis3 suggested, but that is not the only option.

[Rigaldo]

Actually, Xfce does that to - it has an option to display full screen overlay windows directly, just like KDE does. You can also turn the compositor off as Artemis3 suggested, but that is not the only option.

Ok, good to know then. I'm glad it also has this feature.

[mrugiero]

Never used Xubuntu, so I would not have known. On Fedora it is off by default, and I also believe that is the default of the DE itself.

Yes, DE's default is off for compositing.