I cant put my finger on it but linux does not feel as snappy as windows. I use Linux 100% now but when I am fixing something on a windows machine I notice a certain smoothness that I don’t notice on linux.
Interesting because I’ve had the opposite problem historically. Windows always seemed to be doing random shit in the background, doing what? I can’t tell you but it always seemed to be using the disk or CPU to do some background process, and it always happened, every day at random times oops disk churn. You’ll notice it the most with a regular hard drive because it’s slow and makes noise when its being accessed (vs. an ssd which is silent)
I’d wager that it’s your scheduler. Prior to the latest kernel release (v6.6), Linux used the CFS scheduler which is outdated and not really optimal for desktop usage. As a result, many third-party alternate schedulers were developed to fix this issue, with the most recent popular ones being the System76 scheduler (used in Pop!_OS), and BORE (used in CachyOS). But this issue has been solved officially now, with the EEVDF scheduler (earliest eligible virtual deadline first scheduling), which has finally replaced CFS.
So if you’re not on 6.6, upgrade to it, or use the System76 scheduler. Also switch to Wayland if you haven’t already and you’ll notice your Linux desktop just as smooth, if not smoother, than Windows.
I have an M1 MacBook Air and a Thinkpad Z13 G1 (running Bazzite KDE with kernel 6.6.3 + System76 scheduler), and comparing the touchpad gestures and window animations side-by-side - especially the gestures and animation to switch workspaces - it’s just as smooth as macOS (at least to my eyes), and that’s quite the feat given that macOS has been the king of smooth animations and responsiveness for a long time.
It’s the UI setup. All DE/WM combinations are, and have been, factually inferior to Windows Explorer in terms of optimization, clarity and animation.
Which may or may not be because of their excessively modular structure and fractured development. Each layer has its own opinionated dev team unlike in Microsoft or Apple, where it’s all synchronised and everyone across the board have (at least at the time of development) a clear vision of the product they want to make.
I think windows may win in the little animations but clarity fuck no. Windows is a mess. Opening the start menu on windows feels like a popup ad. Apple though does have good animations and ui clarity so I can’t knock them.
I cant put my finger on it but linux does not feel as snappy as windows. I use Linux 100% now but when I am fixing something on a windows machine I notice a certain smoothness that I don’t notice on linux.
I find the opposite running KDE Neon. In fact File Explorer ‘lag’ is a widely expressed issue regarding Windows 11.
Windows file explorer is such a piece of shit. It crashes and lags so often. Linux definitely is smoother in that department.
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Interesting because I’ve had the opposite problem historically. Windows always seemed to be doing random shit in the background, doing what? I can’t tell you but it always seemed to be using the disk or CPU to do some background process, and it always happened, every day at random times oops disk churn. You’ll notice it the most with a regular hard drive because it’s slow and makes noise when its being accessed (vs. an ssd which is silent)
I found a lot of the same. For me I resolved this by changing a few things.
Linux mint Cinnamon draws 5w on idle only laptop. Ubuntu stock draws 8w. Manjaro plasma uses around 7w.
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I’d wager that it’s your scheduler. Prior to the latest kernel release (v6.6), Linux used the CFS scheduler which is outdated and not really optimal for desktop usage. As a result, many third-party alternate schedulers were developed to fix this issue, with the most recent popular ones being the System76 scheduler (used in Pop!_OS), and BORE (used in CachyOS). But this issue has been solved officially now, with the EEVDF scheduler (earliest eligible virtual deadline first scheduling), which has finally replaced CFS.
So if you’re not on 6.6, upgrade to it, or use the System76 scheduler. Also switch to Wayland if you haven’t already and you’ll notice your Linux desktop just as smooth, if not smoother, than Windows.
I have an M1 MacBook Air and a Thinkpad Z13 G1 (running Bazzite KDE with kernel 6.6.3 + System76 scheduler), and comparing the touchpad gestures and window animations side-by-side - especially the gestures and animation to switch workspaces - it’s just as smooth as macOS (at least to my eyes), and that’s quite the feat given that macOS has been the king of smooth animations and responsiveness for a long time.
It’s the UI setup. All DE/WM combinations are, and have been, factually inferior to Windows Explorer in terms of optimization, clarity and animation.
Which may or may not be because of their excessively modular structure and fractured development. Each layer has its own opinionated dev team unlike in Microsoft or Apple, where it’s all synchronised and everyone across the board have (at least at the time of development) a clear vision of the product they want to make.
I think windows may win in the little animations but clarity fuck no. Windows is a mess. Opening the start menu on windows feels like a popup ad. Apple though does have good animations and ui clarity so I can’t knock them.