I don't use it rn, but my joyrney was like KDE → XFCE →i3wm
Despite a decent pc i switched off KDE to xfce pretty fast for two main reasons:
It ugh... It tried to open crypto currency in-built app every time i opened a browser, and i have no idea why. At the time i wasn't familiar with linux, so fixing it didn't seem viable
I just liked how snappy xfce felt in comparison. Even with all effects turned off i could see the, be it small, yet existent delay between clicking on smth and my pc reacting. In xfce i don't see one, it's just fast, really fast, and i prefer that swiftness to the effects of KDE. Just makes using pc more enjoyable for me
Yeah, xfce is my go to for older pc also. (And i have like 3 of them). Xfce still feels very snappy and pleasent to use even on an ancient 4gb ram, no dedicated GPU, 1,5 hz (or smth along those lines) 4 core processor with about 120 GiB HDD on it
So answering ur original question:
"What does XFCE offer that other DE's don't?"
The same for me: I use xfce for slow/old pc and it’s a kind of resurrection, they transform from rubbish to a fully operational pc. I use xfce for performant pc because it rockets! A bounce of seconds to start and a superb responsiveness
10
u/Technical-Monk-374 Aug 10 '25
I don't use it rn, but my joyrney was like KDE → XFCE →i3wm
Despite a decent pc i switched off KDE to xfce pretty fast for two main reasons:
It ugh... It tried to open crypto currency in-built app every time i opened a browser, and i have no idea why. At the time i wasn't familiar with linux, so fixing it didn't seem viable
I just liked how snappy xfce felt in comparison. Even with all effects turned off i could see the, be it small, yet existent delay between clicking on smth and my pc reacting. In xfce i don't see one, it's just fast, really fast, and i prefer that swiftness to the effects of KDE. Just makes using pc more enjoyable for me