During the past 2 weeks, I distro-hopped among multiple different distros and desktop environments. Below is a list of distros I tried on my laptops (in a timely order).

On my MSI GT60D 2015, I tried:

  • Ubuntu (final choice)
  • Pop OS

On my Legion R9000p 2021, I tried:

  • Ubuntu (final choice)
  • Manjaro KDE
  • Kubuntu (close 2nd due to display & driver issue)
  • Fedora KDE
  • Elementory OS

On my MacBook Air 2011, I tried:

  • Ubuntu
  • Lubuntu
  • Linux Mint Cinnamon
  • Chrome OS
  • Manjaro KDE (final choice)

On my Thinkpad X100e 2010, I tried:

  • Lubuntu
  • Linux Mint
  • Lakka
  • Manjaro XFCE
  • Lubuntu 16.04
  • Xubuntu 16.04 (final choice)
  • Zorin OS Lite
  • antiX Linux
  • Android X86

Below is a summary of my experiences with the 3 main distros and DEs.

Comparision of main Linux distros

  • Ubuntu
  • Fedora
  • Manjaro

Package availability

  • Ubuntu has most pacakges in the official repo
  • Fedora has fewer packages in official repo
  • Manjaro AUR has everything you need.

Stability

  • Ubuntu is most stable while having oldest packages.
  • Fedora is more up to date with newer packages, but not as bleeding edge as Manjaro, thus relatively more stable.
  • Manjaro is bleeding edge, most up-to-date, but also possible to become unbootable after update.

Hardware support

  • Ubuntu has the best hardward support (supported by most OEMs).
  • Fedora doesn’t include pripertory drivers by default
  • Manjaro has built-in hardware detection.

Comparision of main Linux Desktop Environments

  • Gnome
  • KDE
  • XFCE

UX experience

  • Gnome has the best UX design out of the box.
  • More app are made with GTK in Linux.
  • KDE has good default UX.
  • KDE has better support for Gnome apps then Gnome for KDE apps.
  • KDE apps are more powerful and more customizable.
  • XFCE can have a good UX after customization.

Customizability

  • Gnome is not customizable.
  • KDE is very easy to customize.
  • XFCE is very customizable.