Hello,
I have been a Linux user for about a year and a half now. I started with Kubuntu, then switched to regular Ubuntu. After that, I switched to OpenSUSE KDE, really liked it, but abandoned it after corrupting it somehow. Then, I kind of refrained from using Linux after falling in love with the Windows 7 beta... I rediscovered Linux about 6 months ago, (Ubuntu), then installed Debian. Tried gOS, Mint, then Mandriva KDE... I loved it, but it was way too slow for my laptop with 512 MB's of RAM. Even the GNOME one. I also will NEVER go back to Mint, after it CAME with broken dependencies... Then, I installed sidux KDE on my desktop. I have it currently, but I think that it is too unstable to be my main distro.
So, can you guys help me decide which distro I should choose? I need:
1. A KDE distro for my desktop. One that doesn't have to be lightweight at all, but should be (for the most part) stable, yet still contain more modern packages (at least kde 4). Also should contain more GUI-related tools, as I hate editing config files...
2. A KDE distro for my laptop... Should be more lightweight (only 512 megs of RAM), yet still be as usable as the desktop one.
3.A KDE distro that runs easily off of a USB flash drive... Should boot quickly (No way OpenSUSE would work, it boots slowly even installed!) My flash drive is 8 gigs, so the size of the distro should not be much of an issue... I tried SLAX, but I want something with KDE 4.x
So, what do you think? Keep in mind that these don't necessarily even need to be Linux, just free... I was thinking maybe PC-BSD for my desktop, but no way for my laptop... I could only get an 800X600 resolution on it.
I also would like the installer(s) to contain some sort of a GUI, but I could live with text-based ones, just that I don't want to have to use a command line to install, or to have to compile packages myself .

This is my personal taste.

I like very much the Gentoo KDE, and Also Arch KDE. Arch is a roling release, and uses always the latest versions, so it's living a little on the edge. Both are difficult to install for the average user, but I think Arch is easier.

1 members found this post helpful.

I've just converted all my systems to Arch + KDE 4.3.3 (Arch will always have the latest version---or close to it)

I would not describe Arch install and setup as difficult---more like "tedious". You have to install **everything** as a conscious decision. Documentation is in the top 5% of all distros I have used. The package management is the best of any I have ever used.

In my experience, the rolling release philosophy has almost never created a reliability issue.

I wouldn't mind using Arch. My only problem would be the installation process (I'm somewhat lazy). Doesn't Chakra contain Arch + KDE, but (much) easier to install? Since it is in alpha, how stable is it exactly?

Chakra grew out of "kdemod"---a streamlined version of KDE optimized for Arch. The last time I tried kdemod, I had some issues. From where I sit, I would have no motivation to try Chakra.

I think PC-BSD is a great distro if
a) you like BSD (or the PBI system) - not everyone does
b) it works without a lot of fuss

I use it as my daily OS on a few boxes with KDE - one of them an older laptop. If it has issues with your video, you might try using PC-BSD 8 alpha just to see if it can detect your card better. You know, keep it in mind for when it comes out in a month or two.

Other than that, you might want to try Debian. You can start with a very small base install and use KDE instead of Gnome. Another good one you might want to check out is Pen Drive Linux. Very small, very fast, great website.

I have Sidux on 2 machines (desktop and laptop) for the last year or two, and find it quite stable. Is it unstable, or do you only perceive it that way since it is using Debian unstable?

If your main concern is up to date KDE then Kubuntu or Arch may be your best bet since they generally have the files available the day new versions are released. Sidux is a bit behind them in getting updates, but not horribly so.

It is actually quite unstable for me. Many applications will just hang, then close. Once I had a kernel failure for no reason whatsoever on my part...

hi aleccj,
My laptop also consists 512Mb RAM only, I am using openSUSE 11.0 KDE 3.5. It is so fast. I had never face a problem of slowness, hang ..etc.

Kde 4.3 is stable release. If you are not conform to use higher versions which you expecting slowing down your system, then you may use KDE 3.5 It is a stable release.

I would prefer KDE 4.x. Are there any KDE 4.x distros that are lightweight enough for 512 Mb of RAM (that run decently on it, too, no lagging)?
Also, what should I put on my flash drive? I've narrowed it down to OpenSUSE 11.2 (seems to load faster now with 11.2), and Kubuntu 9.10 Karmic. Which one of these would be better for the flash drive? More lightweight? Any other suggestions?

I run Fedora 11's KDE on 512 RAM, it's ever so slightly sluggish, but definitely usable. That's back when it WAS working, but that's another story - read my post on it here: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ora-11-773809/

Never mind, you mention you tried Mandriva. With 512mb of memory, not sure if a kde distro is the way to go.

Try one with xfce or lxde desktop environment, mileage may vary better.

Slackware 13.0 comes with KDE4. It's a very stable and dependable choice, not always easiest for newbies, but persistence and curiosity are greatly rewarded.