Ubuntu or KDE Neon
Posted by Stereowalker@reddit | linux | View on Reddit | 38 comments
I've only really ever used Ubuntu for the entirety of my Linux lifetime and I now want to change laptops. Since my iso of Ubuntu is pretty outdated (I've got 22.04 on my flashdrive) I'm considering either jumping over to Neon or download 24.04.3 LTS. I'm only considering Neon because I use KDE Plasma as my DE. Are there any cons to using Neon? Or is Ubuntu just more stable?
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Unclear-Direction@reddit
The choice between KDE Neon and Kubuntu comes down to whether you want the newest Plasma releases, or not. There are up- and downsides to both.
You should definitely install Kubuntu directly. While it's certainly possible to have two different desktops alongside each other (the main Ubuntu edition comes with Gnome), it becomes a bit of a mess because of the different toolkits they use, so better to just avoid that altogether.
Las-pen@reddit
Have a look at Tuxedo OS. It's Kubuntu without Canonical and snaps
davilinkicefire@reddit
i personaly drive KDE Neon, and don't have any issue with it but: - it's doesn't include driver for nvidia gpu, so only amd - it's "stuck" on Ubuntu 24.04 (KDE neon only use it's Ubuntu LTS version)
KDE neon is basically for using Ubuntu with the always on edge for the Plasma DE
Stereowalker@reddit (OP)
Anonymo@reddit
Doesn't mean you can't install it. Just install software-properties-qt, and it should be the same as Ubuntu with Kubuntu type software.
davilinkicefire@reddit
my bad it does include the open source driver "nouveau" for nvidia but not the proprietary one and as their FAQ it's unsupported and totally at your own risk, also i'm unaware if thr "nouveau" driver is good enough for your usecases
Stereowalker@reddit (OP)
The new laptop has a 1050Ti in it and I wanna game on it. It's the first laptop I've owned with a decent GPU. I'm coming from a Quadro K2000M. Sure, I could continue to use windows to game, but windows is unstable and I want little to do with it as possible in the event it breaks again
zeroz41@reddit
kde neon and kubuntu both appear to target Ubuntu LTS support and libraries. Neon may be quicker to fix kde specific issues? (not sure).
Stereowalker@reddit (OP)
The earlier comment stated that Kubuntu seems more stable than neon and stability is the name of the game for me rn. My current setup is an Ubuntu install then I manually installed Plasma over. So my main question now is whether I repeat that with an updated Ubuntu or just go with Kubuntu right out the gate
zeroz41@reddit
thats pretty fair!
It depends. If i were you....and i had a working LTS ubuntu with kde.
Does everything update appropriately with apt update and apt upgrade? Never breaks?
I'd keep that if you really just want ubuntu with kde desktop. Like keep the actual OS with its upgrades, but your slight deviation, which won't get in the way of official updates.
Stereowalker@reddit (OP)
I would've, but Polychromatic and Discord no longer work on my current install no matter how many times I uninstall and reinstall the apps. I tried running discord on my browser (Edge), but that doesn't work. It does work on Firefox tho
zeroz41@reddit
for real, why? not sure what your poly app is but discord should have worked fine.
do you think it has to do with how it is still trying to launch with gnome after you installed kde or something?
Stereowalker@reddit (OP)
Polychromatic is an app that allows you to mess with the colors on your razer gear. It's got a driver error or something. I have up on trying to resolve it. As for discord, it starts fine but it does the spinning discord logo thing like it normally does when I don't have Internet. I'm sure this is a chromium browser thing as it's got that behavior when running on Edge but not with Firefox
zeroz41@reddit
well start from basics. launch those apps in terminal and see what errors you get when they crash?
Stereowalker@reddit (OP)
How do I do that?
kaneua@reddit
It's usually goes like this:
polychromatic-controller, for Discord it'sdiscord.zeroz41@reddit
look it up. if you find out somethin ill help bud.
WrongdoerEqual5796@reddit
Kubuntu is the way i believe, the former option install additional gnome packages that i dont think you need
cla_ydoh@reddit
KDE neon is Ubuntu LTS, with the current official Plasma releases, in the User Edition.
In a good sense, it is a bit like Kubuntu but with a 'rolling' Plasma. It is not a test bed or experimental, unless you use the developer-focused testing and Unstable. But it is more suited to those with some experience with Ubuntu under the hood.
Kubuntu LTS will be more stable in the sense that there won't be any Plasma related updates at all, but will have Plasma 5, which has been unsupported by KDE for close to 2 years now.
But seeing as you may prefer to have a less-changing system, Kubuntu LTS is not a bad choice at all. The next LTS is coming in April, as well.
My own opinion is to install Kubuntu 25.10, which will have Plasma 6 and is reasonably current. Then upgrade to 26.04 LTS. The move from Plasma 5 to Plasma 6 might not be a huge shock, but it will be a somewhat significant jump.
I do not recommend installing Kubuntu's Plasma on top of Ubuntu. It can get messy, and often somewhat buggy ( or more), and it is very difficult to remove any unwanted desktop environment. Install Kubuntu directly.
MaruThePug@reddit
KDE Neon is technically the test bed for Plasma so it might be a smidge unstable. Kubuntu is pretty decent though
Stereowalker@reddit (OP)
Ah. Is Kubuntu more stable than Ubuntu?
MaruThePug@reddit
Kubuntu is Ubuntu with KDE Plasma. Ubuntu doesn't really come with KDE, unless you build it yourself using the server version
Stereowalker@reddit (OP)
So, what I'm hearing is the moment I installed KDE Plasma on my Ubuntu install, it became Kubuntu?
kaneua@reddit
It's more of a philosophical question. At what point an Ubuntu installation becomes a Kubuntu one and ceases to be Ubuntu? Ship of Theseus in software.
I'd treat the different Ubuntu variants as "starter packs". Just Ubuntu is "Base + GNOME starter pack", Kubuntu is "Base + KDE starter pack", Xubuntu is "Base + XFCE starter pack" and so on. Whether you want to switch between desktop environments or keep just one, use applications built for specific desktop or mix and match is up to you. It will still be Ubuntu base plus whatever you chose to have installed.
MaruThePug@reddit
Did you uninstall all the gtk apps and replace them with the qt apps?
Stereowalker@reddit (OP)
No I did not
MaruThePug@reddit
Then no
time-wizud@reddit
Kubuntu is going to have some level of testing to have a cohesive experience and make sure KDE works well with the other software.
In practice it may not make much difference, but sometimes things can go wrong when you go outside of the developers' intended experience.
Haruka-Oh@reddit
It's pretty stable Kubuntu than Neon, but Neon has newer experimental versions of Plasma. I like Neon because I can accept instability.
lKrauzer@reddit
Kubuntu is the best choice, make sure to use the latest version instead of the LTS, if the LTS atm is not the latest version and etc.
Stereowalker@reddit (OP)
Why the latest version? I was just about to download LTS
lKrauzer@reddit
Scratch that, only use the latest version if you intend on playing games on it, since it'll benefit from a more recent driver and kernel versions, otherwise, the LTS is more tha eough.
hammedhaaret@reddit
I would not use KDE Neon at all. I did for a month or two. It is made by KDE but follow every new version of KDE which means there's gigabytes if updates every other day but almost no apparent changes and even occasional crashes.
Kubuntu, or try out MX Linux which is Debian based. I was happily on that for years before jumping to OpenSuse Tumbleweed which has excellent KDE too, but might be a smidge more advanced.
Stereowalker@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the warning. Internet is expensive here and I do not have gigabytes to spare
hammedhaaret@reddit
Then Tumbleweed is maybe also a too frequent updated distro. gigabytes weekly as well but at least the changes are substantial :)
You can also try straight Debian. Latest version is quite new so software versions are newer. Else MX Linux has some really excellent gui tools for its system settings and config if terminal is still daunting.
Time_Way_6670@reddit
Everything I've heard, I would probably run with Kubuntu. KDE Neon is experimental, and if anything goes wrong there will definitely be less support for it online.
sublime_369@reddit
Neon if you want a more up to date plasma at the expense of more updates and arguably a higher chance of bugs. I've run both Neon and Kubuntu and only had any serious headache when updating to a new LTS. Either will serve you well.