The 5 Best Xfce – based Linux Distributions
Hello everyone! I’m back!
After a very painful WP upgrade, I’m back on track.
I’ve been talking a lot about window managers and desktop environments. Nowadays most major distros simply go for KDE or GNOME, but it is not very common to see a distro use XFCE. This is a very sleek and useful little desktop environment, which provides great GTK compatibility and increases speed. Today we’ll take a quick look at which distros you should choose if you wish to have an instant Xfce experience.
Don’t be lazy, try Xfce out and see if it fits your needs. I assure you, if you find all the apps you need, you’ll never look back.
Linux Mint – XFCE Community Edition
I’m not a freedom hater. Sometimes I just don’t have the time to fiddle with the settings, download plugins & codes or to recompile something. Linux Mint has won my attention a long time ago. Only recently have I noticed that there is a number of derivative ‘community editions’ available. All the Ubuntu goodness, combined with excellent out-of-the-box performance and Xfce. Everything I’ve been asking for in one ISO. Full of win.
Vector Linux
One of my favorite Slackware-based distros (slapt-get helps) also uses the Xfce desktop environment. It is heavily themed, although some characteristics remain. I personally like Vector’s Xfce setup due to the fact that many people don’t find the ‘panel’ on a vanilla Xfce install very attractive. An alpha of version 6.0 has been released a month ago.
Xubuntu
Some of you are going to wonder why I didn’t put Xubuntu in first or second place. Make your own list then xD Everyone who likes a nice Debian Sid base and wants to have a very solid Xfce setup on a system where all of our beloved Ubuntu tutorials work, should go for Xubuntu.
Zenwalk
It is based on Slackware, but uses a strict ‘Zen’ approach, which means: no more than one app for each task. Sadly, one combination of apps doesn’t always work. Let’s put that aside though, because the important thing with Zenwalk is its speed and a great Xfce setup.
Debian + Xfce
This one is on the bottom – Debian doesn’t really use Xfce as its primary desktop, they also have a special Xfce CD available. Never had any problems, works very well, is stable. And the negative? Stock stuff 
Do you use Xfce? What do you think about it? Which distros did you try with Xfce?
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Use Xubuntu. I hate the GTK themed main distro. GTK for some reason just does not fit my brain like XFCE does. The simple interface stays out of my way so I can focus on the task at hand. The lighter touch of the interface is just icing on the cake for the hardware.
You forgot the best one… GoblinX…
Anyone who wonders about different desktop environments is probably already the type of user who is able to install xfce on any distribution.
@Johnmc: XFCE is GTK based just like Gnome. It is just a different windowmanager, panels, desktop, filemanager etc.
The Xfce version of Sidux is awesome. A live CD with Debian Sid goodness and awesome hardware detection. I ran it for a while on my Eee PC and it truly is a great Linux distro.
I use Xubuntu on my EeeBox with Compiz-Fusion and AWN and it is a beautiful setup.
I use Xubuntu with the idea to move to another distro but not trying to be rude, this is a very very incomplete recompilations.
The ones who use XFCE is because they use low/old machines I didn’t hear you talk about ram, cpu usage, necessary hard disk.
hello,
there is a distribution based on debian etch and used Xfce. it’s a french distribution : Evinux !
http://doc.linucie.net/Evinux/Docs
@+ petitbob
SAM LINUX 2008 RC1 based on PCLinuxOS shares the top with Mint in my opinion, even a tad in front with its menu hacked from a different Mint version.
I would add Arch and Gentoo: the first one for its lightweight approach (which means binary packages with less dependencies), the latter because with the right USE flags one can really strip down the system and avoid extra libraries (For example gnumeric and abiword without extra GNOME integration stuff).
Dear Gregor,
Have to kick in a comment: Wolvix. Take a look at wolvix.org – I found this to be the best-integrated Xfce-based distribution.
Morten: Wolvix hasn’t been updated in a while. That’s why it’s not included.
I have tried with success Mandriva 2008.1 with xfce as the window manager and it makes for an excellent Desktop on a laptop with only 384 megs of ram. The “regular wm’s that Mandriva has are too taxing on my laptop because of the insufficient ram (imho).
You have also forgot to mention the DreamLinux…
@Zalton – DreamLinux uses Enlightenment doesn’t it?
It is true that it has been some time since Wolvix was updated. It remains based on Slackware 11.0 – which was an excellent release, by the way; I am told that there is a new version in the works.
You have also forgot to mention the DreamLinux…
[...] The 5 Best Xfce – based Linux Distributions [...]
“Debian + Xfce” = Xubuntu
Dude do your homework please, so next time when you try to sound “techie” you won’t make fool of you.
xubuntu= crap
ubuntu= big crap
Dreamlinux 3.0 is a Debian-based desktop Linux distribuztion with Xfce and Gnome (to choose at boot-up).
It’a a wonderful distribution with an excellent look and feel.
Try it, please.
Ciao Ciao
I’ve always liked Dreamlinux and that it would’ve made the list.
I am not sure what ‘rtfm’ is on about, but I would expect that he is trying to… hint, for lack of a better word… at the fact that Ubuntu has come pretty far from Debian Sid at this point.
Debian Lenny with Xfce is an appealing option. I am looking forward to testing it.
““Debian + Xfce†= Xubuntu
Dude do your homework please, so next time when you try to sound “techie†you won’t make fool of you.”
Dude (rtfm), before you try to sound cool and try to bash the author, go rtfm and learn that there are some big differences between ubuntu and debian.
Ubuntu is a child of debian, but if you have tried both, they are very different.
I am using Sidux XFCE version.Very fast,excellent hardware detection,bleeding edge distro.Try it out.
Oh I forgot to mention Dreamlinux,another excellent distro.I am triple booting sidux,dreamlinux and a tweaked win xp.
Both BLAG and Sabayon have ‘out-of-the-box’ codec support and Xfce desktop options.
Xfce IS an excellent desktop…
@JohnMc: I believe you are confused, since GTK it’s self is a programing library that xfce is based on, GTK+ to be exact, do you mean Gnome?
people!!! Try using the PupX pupplet of Puppy linux. T is very small (around 350 megs) and it requires little ram. TRY HOT BRAZILIAN WAX. TRY VITAMIN WATER. TRY IT
Mythbuntu