Let us have a distro test! Behold, a long, detailed review of MX Linux MX-21.3 Wildflower Xfce and KDE editions, tested in a triple-boot Windows and Linux setup on a laptop with AMD Ryzen 5 processor, Vega graphics and NVMe storage, covering live session, installation and post-install usage, including session save, look and feel, customization, MX Tools, everyday usage, hardware compatibility, performance, responsiveness, battery life, numerous problems like quirks with partitioning, boot screen brigthness, Wireless network reconnect, login and logout woes, desktop session crash, broken search, HD scaling artifacts, Samba speed, and more. Take a look. https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/mx-21-3-xfce-kde.html Cheers, Mrk
Thanks for the review, Mrkvonic. Once again you have cited numerous issue with a distro that in my experience has been one of the best ever I've used. Unless I'm missing something, your choice of the partitioning scheme is puzzling. It looks like you've allocated a total of only 14.9 GB for the installation, and then you chose to "Preserve live session" instead of just formatting /home and /root partitions to ext4 and installing fresh to them, with optionally 4-8 GB at the end for swap space. Even for basic needs, you probably want at least 40-48 GB total disk usage, with 2/3 of that used for the root partition. As for wireless issues, I did encounter that briefly with the live and installed sessions, but they somehow worked themselves out on next re-boot. My partition layout for Wildflower and disk usage so far: I probably should have put swap at the end, but maybe it doesn't really matter. I've even encrypted the /home partition. I've been using MX-21 full time for months now, with nothing more than minor issues, mostly resolved and no show stoppers.
Nope, that partition is 40gb, I did format it, and then preserved the live session. You're looking at what MX reports for the usb drive - which is another quirk, as it should not show the live media in the list. Look at the nvme drive, as that's the actual laptop's storage. Mrk
Ah yes that makes sense to me now, I missed that. Thanks for the clarification. I've never used "Preserve live session", always instead dividing up the space I want in to /root, /home and swap, then installing fresh. Too bad about all the issues you encountered. Maybe it is an "AMD thing"?
You saved me some wasted time @Mrkvonic -- many thanks for this review!!! I am presently very satisfied with Zorin Pro on my "get it done" computer but I have a second laptop that I plan to use for learning another Distro. I was moments away from installing MX-Linux XFCE on that 2nd laptop when I read your review -- just in the so-called nick-of-time. Here is a quote from your review ... I suppose that (a) "larger ones" means larger in terms of support staff, and (b) Debian & Ubuntu are among the "larger ones." QUESTION: Is there somewhere that I can find a list of large Distros? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BTW, based largely on what you wrote, it's Kubuntu for the 2nd laptop.
wat0114, the only AMD thing would be the screen dimming. But the rest is pure os stuff problems. bellgamin, DistroWatch has its list, but that won't tell you about the size. In essence, the "big" distros are few, and usually backed up by commercial entities. Mrk
Ubuntu and Mint are two completely different legal entities as far as I know. And Mint has both Ubuntu and Debian-based distros.
The renamed Alma Linux OS only offered Budgie as a complete desktop in the Fedora Copr Cappyishihara Budgie repo. Made the necessary changes, installed and rebooted. Had to compile Plank manually because of dependency hell. Installed Nemo from another Fedora Copr Yselkowitz Cinnamon repo. Did some tweaking and Budgie 10.5.3 runs as well as KDE 5.24.5 which is available as a live CD. Can we hope the RHEL clones will offer us a wider choice of desktop environments in the future? We shall see.
Mx linux is based on and uses debian repositries so it is far from being smaller than mint for example which has both debian and ubuntu flavours. I have been using mx linux wildflower for around 3 months now and it has been rock solid so far.
All this means is X number of more people visiting the DistroWatch site have clicked on the MX link. It means nothing in terms of user numbers, quality, reliability or anything else other than a mouse click. Apart from the true independents such as KaOS most distros adopt a base to use and then tweak this and add components to create their own ‘package’. Some cater for a specific market such as Ubuntu Studio but most target general home desktop users or gamers with their own choice of software. In reality most average home users won’t use half the programs preinstalled so they’ll just sit there waiting for an update and the potential dependency issues that can arrive with that. In recognition of this some developers offer stripped down versions of their distro such as PCLinuxOS Dark Star, Netrunner Core etc. or a selective approach at install or just after such as Q4OS. In terms of technical reviews it’s worth bearing in mind that Linux is not as hardware dependable as Windows by a mile so unless you own the exact same machine a particular Linux distro was tested on you might not encounter any of the issues related, especially during the install process. So too for many of the post install issues identified which the average home user is either not going to encounter/notice or at worst be slightly inconvenienced by but not a reason to dismiss one distro against another because of a ‘review’. Suffice to say you can eliminate 99% of the risk by doing a net install of Debian with your preferred desktop, installing Synaptic and building from there. Linux though is all about choice and for home users needing a general ability to surf, stream and use office based apps pretty much anything listed on DistroWatch will work fine every time you switch on no matter how many clicks it got. Major issues do happen, Kubuntu for example, but they are rare.
Yes you are right, although it doesn't take away from the fact that for the majority of those who have tried it and are using it, it is a stable and reliable distro, and it is currently recommended by several sources as being exactly that. It can easily hold its own against the better known distros such as Ubuntu and Mint. The most disappointing thing for me about this thread, is that a member has allowed a negative review from Mrkvonic to directly influence his decision to not even bother trying it, in spite of the many positive reviews found elsewhere on the web with just a Google search, but c'est la vie, at least he's happy with what he's using now.
Agreed. MX is an excellent option for general use. If they had a base version with KDE, the tools and a browser I'd be keen to use it. IMO their community re-spin 15 'kde added' was the best KDE4 distro I have ever used. Reviews are what they are, a personal view based on a specific hardware set at a given snapshot in time. The next update could change everything for better or worse. Some of the best and worst are on DistroWatch, the best being their linked full reviews and the worst appearing as often total junk under the pages of individual distros being a mix of trolls, shills and people I wouldn't trust to review a tin opener. In reality the best reviewer will always be the end user since how long does it take using a live session to check out the functions you would normally employ on a daily basis? IMO you would be really unlucky to then make a full install only to have something you didn't look at first fall over.
Right, and I certainly don't question the integrity or quality of the review. Mrk has in depth expert knowledge of Linux, way more than I'd ever hope to achieve. It's just disappointing that one would allow a single opinion to influence their decision to dismiss a test drive of the distro. Btw, I do at least find that the top ten or so distros on Distrowatch are typically the most recommended and mainstream releases.
DistroWatch does contain a huge amount of useful data, it’s just a pity most visitors miss the small print and regard their list as some sort of ranking exercise. For the same reason a lot of other sites play safe and use the top DistroWatch list placings for their own recommendations. This often means the likes of Neptune, Trisquel/Triskel, Calculate, Regata, BigLinux, KaOS, BunsenLabs and others get missed by potential users which is a real shame since these are all solid distros, some with unique features, many of which have been around for years. In terms of influence this unfortunately is what the internet is all about and why so many dumb people risk their lives trying out the latest TikTok trends and fight over cans of drink. People in my user group have uninstalled perfectly good distros for the same reason you highlight here. Likewise folks will install Garuda based on a glowing ‘review’ and then complain when it breaks. Totally agree about the content of MrK’s reviews. He cuts right through the gravy to get to the meat and veg and then calls out the whole meal for what it is. This provides a great base for folks to start their own Linux journey so long as they are not too influenced by some of the negative points.
I agree that it's a mistake to try or not try a distro based on a review, and if a distro is near the top of Distrowatch there is probably a reason it gets more hits. I'm no expert on Linux myself, though I've ditched Windows and been using it solely and happily for the past few years, and I'm not sure what makes Mrk an xprt (I find names and words without vowels a little strange). While he may have an entertaining way of writing, the impression I get is that he's a frustrated Windows user who looks at Linux with the belief that nothing can fully replace Windows (and maybe for his purposes it can't), but who likes to play around with Linux, yet never sticks with one distro, or even with Linux itself, long enough to get to fully learn or understand it. While I understand that updates may make or break distros, I find his reviews to be inconsistent (just compare his review with the one he did 18 months ago that he linked to in the review). But people like reviews, especially if it backs up their views, so I guess the entertaining and authoritative sounding review here will either please the MX and Linux detractors, or the older review will please them. So I guess he manages to strike a balance and get clicks on his website.
https://www.dedoimedo.com/about.html, maybe also google him. Changed your mind? I have to admit to being a disciple. I couldn't be bothered trying this and that and look to Igor to tell me the right direction - happy user of Kubuntu for the last 4 years. I was surprised with the latest MX review; I expected it to get a stellar review based on previous ones. But... things change. Interested to hear what you think about MX.
Actually, no. My impression is based solely on the Linux reviews he has written. All I know from the link and search is that he is apparently a gifted writer, and knows some about technology, I'm sure far more than I do. Most of the praise I see is written by himself, a search mainly turns up his fiction works. I'm sure there are those who could write all about cars, be excellent mechanics, and be mechanical engineers, speak at car conferences, and yet couldn't drive worth anything. As I recall, Jules Verne wrote about going to the moon, but never actually did so. Many of those car experts could also be looking for something different than us who just want cars that suit our purpose. I am using MX, and have used it since 2018, I only used one distro before that, and I haven't seen the need to switch, or even go through the hassle of trying other distros. Having used it since earlier versions, I do find it strange that MX 21 would be rated 9.5/10, and 21.3 would be rated 5/10. It seems clear there is more going on than the quality of the OS as it has not changed that much. Maybe someone who is an "IT nerd" and all is looking for something different than a normal user.
I get you're not a fan. Atm your comments read to me as Igor has an ego. You're an MX-21 user, so what don't you agree with and why? His reviews are fantastic to me because he starts with imaging and lets you now what issues he had and how he solved them. Are you saying the issues don't exist? I use MX-21 on a Dell 7040 I have connected to a TV for streaming. The other PC is Win10. I had issues with Win10 so have MX-21 as a backup if Win10 falls over, again. It's not my daily machine (Kubuntu), and as long as I can stream my sports in Chrome I'm happy. For that role it's perfectly adequate. As a daily user I don't have any experience, but you do. Thoughts on scaling, logout and login woes, screen dimming, Samba credentials, Wireless connect, and 'whatnot'? If you're not seeing these problems then that's good info for all of us.
That's correct, I'm not seeing any of those problems. Maybe because I don't use the same hardware, or maybe because he automatically uses the AHS version when he shouldn't, or what, I don't know. Nor do I care. His reviews are obviously inconsistent and, I believe, of limited value, or do you really believe there is such a radical difference in a couple of minor point differences? I don't. I'm not going to go back through all his reviews and critique point by point, but one thing I recall is that in an earlier review he complained that the MX package installer wasn't like the Windows or Apple app store. So what? The package manager works great in MX. Why should I have to log in to install a program so that Windows or Apple can keep track of all the software I use, or whatever his problem was? As I recall he never explained it too well. I got the idea it just wasn't what he was used to so he didn't like it. I seem to recall times he complained about not being able to use some Windows software on Linux when he hadn't even given native Linux options a good try. So I would advise anyone else looking for a distro not to just automatically hang on every word he says. Other people's experiences are likely to different than his, or mine for that matter, just as others here have said. So how 'bout you? When he decides to give a negative review on Kubuntu, are you going to automatically hang on every word he says and start seeing problems with your "daily machine"?
I trained as an engineer so won't be able to resist the temptation to put a test plan together, check out Igor's comments and tell the world. If he's talking BS I'm going to let him and the world know.
Yeah, well go ahead, play with one of your test computers. I have one computer, and I don't have the time or patience to play needless games with it, or to jump when you or your hero says so. Besides, to do it right, you have to use the exact same equipment and procedures he used, otherwise your test plan is worthless. But you know that if you were trained as an engineer, right? You demand that I prove him wrong, so put your plan together and prove me wrong.
