Hey there, folks! I'm about to do my first Linux install and I'm trying to figure out which DE I wanna use. I'm not concerned about how analogous the DE is to any other OS because I'm willing to learn and develop a new workflow.
From a performance and overall compatibility perspective, does either GNOME or KDE outshine over the other for this? This is specifically considering the latest non-beta/stable versions of each.
Does the Anaconda installer work in the KDE spin of Fedora, or is the install process different altogether? I know Fedora's default is GNOME, does this make for any less stability with KDE?
Both are pretty great on Fedora, although Fedora gives Gnome just a tiny bit more attention, given that they specifically align Fedora's release schedule with Gnome's.
Gnome will likely be a bit more stable, consistent in UX, and have a workflow that's very different but pretty amazing when it "clicks". Gnome has a pretty great Adwaita app ecosystem that matches the system theme very well. Features can take a little while to come to Gnome, because the devs are pretty anal about getting things implemented perfectly before they're added.
Plasma is more powerful and customisable, most things have a load of options you could spend hours going through and customising to your heart's content. Plasma out of the box pretty much operates like you'd expect a Windows PC to work (sans the enshittification of course lol) . Plasma adds features rapidly, and just works out the kinks while in production, so-to-speak.
Both of them are great, albeit very different, which keeps the Linux desktop interesting and varied IMO. I'd try both for a day or two and then make your choice, because it's highly subjective.
I am a big fan of KDE in general, but I feel like on Fedora, GNOME is more polished. I've tried using KDE on Fedora and it felt like a second-class citizen. Sadly this also applies to Alma Linux.
I use KDE regularly on Debian and Gentoo. I also have tried it on Ubuntu, Arch, and Slackware. So I have some ideas on how good it could've been.
KDE with version 6 is where it's at. at least for me. youncan use the default or put hours into customizing.
gnome is nice, too but bothers me because i want to minimize, maximize and control things like the volume without barriers. but that is personal preference. choose what you Like. if you arent happy or just curious you can always Switch
From a performance and overall compatibility perspective, does either GNOME or KDE outshine over the other for this?
Not unless you are doing specific things. Last I checked, but I know Gnome is moving on these fronts too. Things like HDR, VRR, Virtual Reality Games and stuff like that you are going to want KDE for. There was probably some other stuff, but that's what I have off the top of my head. However, if you try Gnome and decide that you really like them. They are making moves on those fronts too, but I'm not sure how long it is going to take.
Both KDE and Gnome are stable. Anaconda works the same way for both of them, because that stuff doesn't have anything to do with the DE.
It really depends on your preferences. KDE is easily customizaple and has a lot of features and UX improvements. But it can clutter quite easily: these options can be overwhelming.
GNOME follows a very strict workflou design that's more similar to how phones work and helps an ADHD brain, like me to focus more. You can customize it, but you'll do so at your own risk.
Best to try out both in a live system and do some things that emulate your day-to-day workflow. Then you can decide. And you can always change afterwards! If you have a separate home-partition, reinstalling a new DE/Distro is super trivial.
i always found gnome somehow irritating to use, like the tray area popping up all of the system controls when i just want to change the sound device. or little stuff like trying to paste a file into a folder that is too full to scroll past the bottom. i can't r-click to the background, can't adjust the columns to get empty space on the side. i need to use the menu. or pause fiddling with my noodle and ctrl+v...
Both GNOME and KDE are first-class DEs in Fedora - stability is a non issue. You can install both if you want and select your choice at the login screen to just switch back and forth. The only thing you might want to keep in mind is that both have their own prpgrams, like file managers for example, so you'll have two programs for the same task.
Performance is a wash, really, with a halfway modern setup. Your browser will be consuming way more resources than the desktop by far.
Compatibility is also a non issue nowadays, both implement the Freedesktop standard and are fully compatible with each other.
I'm pretty sure that the installer is the same for all major spins.
I've used them both in the past, but prefer Xfce now. So I'm probably not too biased either way on Gnome v. KDE. I'd say they're both extremely well-supported, popular, respectable, and safe choices. They're quite different in style though, so odds are you might find you have a preference for one or the other. Go with whichever you like best.
KDE Plasma has currently better upstream development (a side effect of Steam Deck) but the integration of KDE into Fedora is done by volunteers.
Gnome is integrated into Fedora by Red Hat employees but upstream development lags a bit behind in adopting some newer technologies Red Hat isn't that interested for RHEL.
I used Fedora in the past and found the KDE Spin a little less polished. I don't know the current situation but there was a time Fedora KDE shipped out of the box with three web browsers because the volunteers couldn't agree on one, whereas the RH employees just decided that they want Firefox and not Gnome Web for RHEL, so in Fedora they just did the same. Updates were rolled out in a timely manner (and I heard nothing that indicated anything changed in that regard), so the volunteer squad didn't do a worse job there than the paid Gnome people.
In my experience, KDE has too many features that are buggy and don't work. Like hiding the task bar automatically will break the search shortcut because the search is attached to the task bar, so it won't come up unless you mouse over the task bar
Gnome has no features, yet it's buggy and doesn't work. You alt tab out of a Wine game and it will think the alt button is constantly pressed down when you tab back in.
In KDE you can literally just start typing anywhere on the desktop (or set it up to activate with a hotkey), and it'll use krunner to search your PC, and do a bunch of other shit if you want. Never had anything about task bars interfere with it whatsoever.
In fact, it has saved my ass a few times when plasma shell would crash and I couldn't access a terminal for whatever reason, I was able to use krunner to restart plasma shell. Very useful.