Last year, I started using PCLinuxOS KDE on a regular basis with 2012.02 and with 2012.08 release, I really fell in love with the distro. The July release provided almost every application I require, out of the box, and I hardly needed installing any more application from the repository. However, I found it to be a bit high on resource consumption compared to other KDE distros released in 2012.
Given the improvement I saw with the 2012 releases, I had high expectations with the 2013.02 release, especially on improvement in resource consumption. And I have to say, PCLinuxOS didn't disappoint! I begin with a note of thanks to the developers of this wonderful distro. I'll explain the incremental improvements in simple non-technical terms with results.
This assessment is done entirely by me. My assessment is based on installation on Asus K54C laptop with 2.2 Ghz Core i3 processor and 2 GB RAM and experience of using PCLinuxOS 2013.02 for the last 3 days. I downloaded the 32-bit ISO (1.4 GB in size) for this testing. PCLinuxOS has KDE 4.9.5 (upgraded from the last release) and Linux kernel 3.2.18 (same as the last release). File managers are upgraded to Dolphin 2.1 and Konqueror 4.9.5.
I did a live boot from USB and then installed the OS to my laptop. It took me about 30 minutes to successfully install PCLinuxOS.
Appearance
Appearance is more or less the same as previous PCLinuxOS releases in 2012 and I didn't note any significant change there. It looks professional with the all black theme and all the elegance of KDE. Dolphin 2.1 is much improved over it's predecessor and is definitely one of best file managers around.
KDE 4.x is highly customizable. I didn't go for any theme installation but just decorated it with clock, transparent panel and changed wallpaper.
Hardware recognition
Display, wifi, touchpad and sound worked without any issue and as expected.
Applications
Continuing with the trend in 2012.08 release with an enviable ensemble of applications, the present release too retains the same applications plus adds a few more in Graphics (Ebook viewer, Expo, Image Magick, KFlickr, LRF viewer, Photo layout manager, Show Foto) and Multimedia (Juk music player, Dragon video player) sections. A detailed summary of important applications is presented below:
In nutshell, PCLinuxOS provides the best of the both worlds, KDE as well as non-KDE applications.
Multimedia codecs are in-built, I could play my favorite videos and listen to music right after installation.
Adobe flashplugin 11 also works out of the box and youtube or dailymotion videos streamed without any issue.
Though Skype is not essential for everyone but users like me, who use Skype on a regular basis to keep in touch with friends and family, Skype 2.2 is a big let down. Thankfully the PCLinuxOS repository now has updated Skype 4.0 (no 4.1 though). I downloaded the Skype 4.0 from repo and replaced the old installation.
Otherwise, the application list is truly comprehensive and I think covers almost every users basic and advanced needs. Incremental improvement-wise, now PCLinuxOS showcases the latest full set of Nvidia drivers - unfortunately the laptop I used didn't have Nvidia graphics to test it out.
Installation
PCLinuxOS has a relatively simple installation process. Just start PCLinuxOS installation wizard, select drive to install OS, create user and that's it! It all takes 30 minutes to install. Simple and suitable for even Linux novices.
Repository
I must say PCLinuxOS repository got better than what I saw in the middle of 2012. Package management is through the tried and tested Synaptic package manager. I installed Skype 4.0 from the repo through Synaptic and it automatically uninstalled the 2.2 existing version. Also, once you select an application, all dependencies are automatically taken care of.
However, for Linux novices, possibly having a Ubuntu or Debian Software center kind of concepts helps where applications are categorized into clearly defined classes. Advanced users, however, hardly care about synaptic or any software center and rely more on terminal. So, in addition to synaptic package manager, I would like see a software center in future PCLinuxOS releases.
Performance
I am not sure if the improvement in performance is due to KDE 4.9.5, but I see a significant improvement in the performance of the distro. KDE 4.9.5 takes now 250 MB of RAM and 1-10% of CPU to load the desktop with task manager running. And PCLinuxOS is smoother than ever!
How PCLinuxOS 2013.02 stands in KDE Ranking?
In December 2012, I published a KDE Ranking considering a whole lot of factors in addition to aesthetics and performance. PCLinuxOS was joint 6th with Sabayon 10 KDE with a score of 9.17 whereas Mageia 2 KDE topped the list with a score of 9.83.
If I were to do the same ranking with the improved PCLinuxOS 2013.02, with a 10/10 in performance, PCLinuxOS straight away becomes the second best in ranking. From 6th to 2nd is indeed a big jump! And now in my rating, PCLinuxOS 2013.02 is indeed a better distro than even Linux Mint 14 KDE! All results are based on the same Asus K54C laptop that I use for Linux distro testing and 32-bit version of the respective distros.
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| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
This assessment is done entirely by me. My assessment is based on installation on Asus K54C laptop with 2.2 Ghz Core i3 processor and 2 GB RAM and experience of using PCLinuxOS 2013.02 for the last 3 days. I downloaded the 32-bit ISO (1.4 GB in size) for this testing. PCLinuxOS has KDE 4.9.5 (upgraded from the last release) and Linux kernel 3.2.18 (same as the last release). File managers are upgraded to Dolphin 2.1 and Konqueror 4.9.5.
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| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
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| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
Appearance
Appearance is more or less the same as previous PCLinuxOS releases in 2012 and I didn't note any significant change there. It looks professional with the all black theme and all the elegance of KDE. Dolphin 2.1 is much improved over it's predecessor and is definitely one of best file managers around.
KDE 4.x is highly customizable. I didn't go for any theme installation but just decorated it with clock, transparent panel and changed wallpaper.
 |
| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
Display, wifi, touchpad and sound worked without any issue and as expected.
Applications
Continuing with the trend in 2012.08 release with an enviable ensemble of applications, the present release too retains the same applications plus adds a few more in Graphics (Ebook viewer, Expo, Image Magick, KFlickr, LRF viewer, Photo layout manager, Show Foto) and Multimedia (Juk music player, Dragon video player) sections. A detailed summary of important applications is presented below:
- Office: LibreOffice 3.6 suite, Okular Document viewer, Korganizer, Kcalc, KEuroCalc
- Internet: Choqok microblogging client, Dropbox, FileZilla, Firefox 17, kFlickr, KGet, KGmailNotifier, Konqueror, Kopete IM, KRDC Remote Desktop Client, Krfb desktop Sharing, Ktorrent, Skype 2.2, TeamViewer 7, Thunderbird 17, Umtsmon 3G mobile, XChat IRC
- Graphics: AquireImages, BIRT, digiKAM, DNGConverter, GIMP 2.8, Gwenview, Panorama batch processor & stitcher, Inkscape, KolourPaint, Ksnapshot, Xsane image scanning, Ebook viewer, EexpoBlending, ImageMagick, kFlickr, LRF viewer, Photo layout manager, showFoto
- Multimedia: Clementine, Juk music player, KsCD, PCLOS Audio converter & FLV/MP4 player, Dragon player, Imagination, Video DVD backup, Kamerka webcam, TVtime television player, VLC 2
- Accessories: Ark Archiving tool, Klipper, KGpg encryption tool, Kjots notes, Knotes, Kcalc, Kwrite, PCLOS Live USB creator, Nepomuk backup, Konsole, Kwallet management, Unetbootin, Q7Z 7zip GUI, K3b disk burning, HP Device Manager
- Others: Virtualbox, Unetbootin
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| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
In nutshell, PCLinuxOS provides the best of the both worlds, KDE as well as non-KDE applications.
Multimedia codecs are in-built, I could play my favorite videos and listen to music right after installation.
 |
| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
Adobe flashplugin 11 also works out of the box and youtube or dailymotion videos streamed without any issue.
 |
| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
Though Skype is not essential for everyone but users like me, who use Skype on a regular basis to keep in touch with friends and family, Skype 2.2 is a big let down. Thankfully the PCLinuxOS repository now has updated Skype 4.0 (no 4.1 though). I downloaded the Skype 4.0 from repo and replaced the old installation.
 |
| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
Otherwise, the application list is truly comprehensive and I think covers almost every users basic and advanced needs. Incremental improvement-wise, now PCLinuxOS showcases the latest full set of Nvidia drivers - unfortunately the laptop I used didn't have Nvidia graphics to test it out.
Installation
PCLinuxOS has a relatively simple installation process. Just start PCLinuxOS installation wizard, select drive to install OS, create user and that's it! It all takes 30 minutes to install. Simple and suitable for even Linux novices.
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| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
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| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
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| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
 |
| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
I must say PCLinuxOS repository got better than what I saw in the middle of 2012. Package management is through the tried and tested Synaptic package manager. I installed Skype 4.0 from the repo through Synaptic and it automatically uninstalled the 2.2 existing version. Also, once you select an application, all dependencies are automatically taken care of.
However, for Linux novices, possibly having a Ubuntu or Debian Software center kind of concepts helps where applications are categorized into clearly defined classes. Advanced users, however, hardly care about synaptic or any software center and rely more on terminal. So, in addition to synaptic package manager, I would like see a software center in future PCLinuxOS releases.
Performance
I am not sure if the improvement in performance is due to KDE 4.9.5, but I see a significant improvement in the performance of the distro. KDE 4.9.5 takes now 250 MB of RAM and 1-10% of CPU to load the desktop with task manager running. And PCLinuxOS is smoother than ever!
 |
| From PCLinuxOS 2013.02 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in |
In December 2012, I published a KDE Ranking considering a whole lot of factors in addition to aesthetics and performance. PCLinuxOS was joint 6th with Sabayon 10 KDE with a score of 9.17 whereas Mageia 2 KDE topped the list with a score of 9.83.
If I were to do the same ranking with the improved PCLinuxOS 2013.02, with a 10/10 in performance, PCLinuxOS straight away becomes the second best in ranking. From 6th to 2nd is indeed a big jump! And now in my rating, PCLinuxOS 2013.02 is indeed a better distro than even Linux Mint 14 KDE! All results are based on the same Asus K54C laptop that I use for Linux distro testing and 32-bit version of the respective distros.
| KDE | Installation time | Installation Complexity | Touchpad/Wifi Detection | Applications | Performance | Aesthetics | Overall |
| Mageia 2 KDE | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 9.00 | 9.83 |
| PCLinuxOS 2013.02 KDE | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 8.00 | 9.67 |
| Mint 14 KDE | 9.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 9.00 | 9.00 | 9.50 |
| Kororaa 17 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | 9.33 |
| Mint 13 KDE | 9.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 8.00 | 9.00 | 9.33 |
| ROSA 2012 Marathon KDE | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 8.88 | 7.00 | 10.00 | 9.31 |
| Sabayon 10 KDE | 9.00 | 9.00 | 10.00 | 9.00 | 9.00 | 9.00 | 9.17 |
| Fedora 17 KDE | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 9.38 | 7.00 | 8.00 | 9.06 |
| Chakra Archimedes 2012.07 | 10.00 | 9.00 | 10.00 | 8.38 | 8.00 | 9.00 | 9.06 |
| Kubuntu 12.10 | 9.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 9.50 | 8.00 | 7.00 | 8.92 |
| OpenSUSE 12.2 KDE | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 7.63 | 6.00 | 9.00 | 8.77 |
| Kubuntu 12.04.1 LTS | 9.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 8.25 | 8.00 | 7.00 | 8.71 |
| Bridge KDE | 9.00 | 9.00 | 10.00 | 8.88 | 7.00 | 8.00 | 8.65 |
| Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE | 10.00 | 9.00 | 10.00 | 7.88 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 8.48 |
| Slackel 14 KDE | 10.00 | 9.00 | 5.00 | 9.38 | 8.00 | 9.00 | 8.40 |
| Slackel KDE 4.9.2 | 10.00 | 9.00 | 5.00 | 9.38 | 6.00 | 9.00 | 8.06 |
Overall
If you are looking for a stable and lightweight KDE distro, look no further than PCLinuxOS! With every release it is improving by leaps and bounds. Plus, out of the box, it provides almost everything an user requires to the extent that there is hardly any need to access the repository. With easy installation and all the goodness of KDE 4.9.5, PCLinuxOS should be a perfect choice for anyone willing to explore KDE. Combine the rolling release to the amazing performance and possibly you get the best KDE distro of the year!
PCLinuxOS offers a lot of advantages for users looking for a productive distro who doesn't want to be bothered with re-installing a new distro and favorite applications every 2 years. I guess the earlier issues of package management is more-or-less resolved now and PCLinuxOS now offers the latest packages like other Linux distros.
I found PCLinuxOS to be more stable than Mageia and I absolutely recommended it to any KDE enthusiast and even a Linux novice to try it out. I am sure you'll like PCLinuxOS. PCLinuxOS has a 32-bit pae version which works on both 32-bit and 64-bit machines. You can download the latest release from here.
Arindam sen
ReplyDeleteYyyeahhh!...
I'm no more a distro-hoper, searching and searching...
I'm so pleased with PCLinuxOS...
Rock solid.
BTW, 30 mins installation time if counting the whole process maybe: disk partitioning, mounting, writing, configuring bootloader, root/user accounts...
Hmmm... All these takes me no more than about 15 minutes.
The install process itself - the writing on the drive - in this full version takes about 7 minutes!
The MiniMe version takes just 3 to 4!
To this moment never saw a so quick install.
Maybe Mageia.
Now the the PCLOS tem is preparing the 64 bits release. The RC1 is available for download. I'll put it on my laptop maybe tomorrow.
Yup, I am also waiting for the 64-bit release. But, tell me one thing - is 64-bit better or a 32-bit pae better? I saw 32-bit pae runs actually faster and smoother on my 64 bit machine rather than a 64 bit distro.
DeleteYes, I always swear by PCLinuxOS, it's the best a KDE distribution can be!
ReplyDeleteLightweight, fast and efficient - definitely PCLinuxOS is at the top. Only thing, in 2012, I wasn't happy with the way repos were maintained. Now in 2013, they seemed to have improved, which is good!
DeleteArindam
ReplyDeleteI don't know is it faster or not because I haven't installed it yet. My laptop is still "virgin"... :D with W/ installed. Maybe I'll perform the installation next days.
The desktop is a 32 bits Dual Core; am running the pae.bfs kernel in XFS file system. And it works smooth.
So I can't give you an answer.
But, reading the forum comments, it seems it's faster, maybe not much faster, but at least a bit...
Anyway, some time in the future It 32 bits machines will be obsolete, like 16 bits are no more found today. So, changeing to 64 bit is a logical step.
Ika
Makes sense Ika. But, right now it seems to me that 32 bit distros perform better than 64 bit. Even at times 64 bit distros are less stable and prone to bugs over their 32 bit versions. Hopefully in next 2-3 years, 64 bit versions of Linux distros will start performing better.
DeleteArindam
If anyone can do it it will be PCLinuxOS.
DeleteThis distro is so stable that it allows you to do work on your computer instead of constantly working on your computer. I don't want to use a CLI because it's not 1987, and PCLinuxOS is push-button instant-gratification. It looks just good enough to bedrock my custom-job desktop that's prettier than a pail full of kittens. Ever since Big Daddy version, I haven't been without this beast.
ReplyDeleteI personally feel you are too liberal in your reviews.
ReplyDelete1. As far as pclinux goes it still uses grub as opposed to grub2. Now even debian is supporting grub2.
2. And the installer is the same boring one that was never modified. It does not even support lvm's during install unless you install more packages.
3. Glibc is of version 2.13 so applications like gnote etc won't work and they are still stuck with gnome 2.32 and not gnome 3 [i am not saying using gnome 3 shell] but other things should be compatible.
4. It does not provide remmina and other packages.
Not sure why it is 2nd in your rating. It should be around 5th or 6th.
I agree that grub has been an issue with PCLOS and especially in dual boot with another Linux (like Ubuntu or Mint), you can feel the pain. My rating is for PCLOS KDE primarily based on presence of some basic applications, hardware recognition, installation process and above all, performance. PCLOS is way ahead of most of the other distros is performance. And as an experienced Linux user, is some app not being in the repo really a hindrance?
DeleteAlso, you need to consider stability offered by PCLOS. I haven't seen many KDE distros as stable as PCLOS. All these are enough to justify the 2nd rank, I guess.
When you want to do a remote desktop etc you are forced to use krdc and gtk based remmina does not work. And again you need to rely on knotes instead of the good gnote.
DeleteI agree with your point that it is very stable.
By the way your reviews are good, but then just too liberal :). You need to be a bit harsher in your ratings....
Sure. I'll try to be in future :). Thanks for reading my review.
DeletePlease do a review of Rosa 2012.1 fresh and see how good it is. It is comparable with mageia 2 and its fast
ReplyDeleteSure. Just downloaded the OS and will review it next week. Thanks.
DeletePCLinuxOS will **never ever** become mainstream, no matter how good it becomes... only because it shows up on Distrowatch (and therefore all distro review sites) only twice a year, unlike other distros which milk the free PR by issuing countless Alphas, Betas, Release Candidates, etc.
ReplyDeleteStrange to see KDE distros without Netrunner ?!
ReplyDeleteIt is most polished KDE linux distro
(same sponsor for mintKDE, Kubuntu, Netrunner)
You don't have to disagree with me just try it and if you like KDE it will be very hard to come back to mageia, Pclinuxos, mint or any of those distros...
Sure, I'll give a shot to netrunner. Thanks, Arindam
DeleteInstalled Netrunner 12.12, all was well until I updated and restarted the computer, then whenever I tried to log-in, the computer just stayed in the login screen, no matter what I tried to fix it, it didn't worked, not very good first impression, so I got piss off, deleted Netrunner installed PCLinuxOS 2013.03 and everything is running fine, so for me pclinuxos is far better than crappy netrunner!
DeleteI tried Netrunner as well. It looks really fancy but a bit on the heavier side. And I agree, as you pointed out, Netrunner may not work well on all systems. However, PCLOS being lighter and more functional, will work everywhere.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePlease try unetbootin, it works for PCLOS.
DeleteEven Imagewriter in Linux Mint also works for PCLOS.
DeletePCLinusOS & Linux Mint 14 is my personal recommended. But PCLinuxOS is my 'first love' distro, i would recommend them for beginner who adapted from Windows, its full out of the box application, especially Full Monty edition, it's massive !, just like Apt Collector alike.
ReplyDeleteMint Nadia is alternative for old machine resource, i try it in P4 3.0ghz s478, DDR1 1gb ram, VIA chip-set and Radeon 9600XT, was detect most hardware successfully and did not even necessary to activate Additional proprietary driver, PCLinuxOS did the same in hardware detection but little suffer in performance while running graphical Apt, by example Extreme Tux racer, Supertux, and play some mini-games via Wine.
By the way, Nice review man...
and one more thing, did you ever test Mandriva & Debian KDE in your Asus K54C laptop
PCLOS is good for those who want a stable distro and it's rolling release is really helpful to avoid installing a new distro every year. Linux Mint is good but not upgradable. For LM, it is best to stick to the LTS versions.
DeleteI checked Debian Wheezy KDE on my laptop, it worked really well. Waiting for the final release of Debian Wheezy (possibly this month?). ROSA marathon and fresh worked well on the laptop, if it helps.
Thanks,
Arindam
Why did you not review PCLinuxOS Full Monty?
ReplyDeleteI faced issues in creating a live USB of PCLOS full monty. Hence, couldn't review it.
Delete