Review: MX Linux MX-21 KDE - Now, here's a verily splendid distro

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Introduction
Luck is a combination of two factors: probability and time. Case in point, my foray with MX Linux MX-21 KDE. As you well know, I'm a great fan of this small yet feisty distro. So far, I've mostly tested (and liked) the Xfce flavors. My one quick brush with its KDE build was largely unsuccessful. In fact, with the release of MX-21 Wildflower, I wasn't even thinking of testing the KDE version.

But then, as luck would have it, the official download page didn't have the Xfce release available for my Lenovo IdeaPad box. To be able to run on modern systems with UEFI, AMD Ryzen processors and NVMe, you need the AHS release - I discovered this with MX-19.3. However, at the time of writing, or rather testing, there was only the regular Xfce edition sans modern stuff, the Xfce AHS in almost-but-not-quite Release Candidate (4), and the KDE version, with all the right bits in place! So I thought, let's go for it.

...

Conclusion
MX-21 KDE Wildflower is a superb distro. And it's purely by luck that I got to try it, but try I did, and I'm very happy that the Xfce version wasn't available when I needed it. This edition has it all: style, grace, speed, a great selection of software.

Is it perfect? Well, no. There are tiny quirks here and there. The installer & partitioning could be more intuitive. The Wireless and brightness problems are annoying. A few small tweaks here and there would make the whole thing even more fun. But when you take it all into consideration, plus the fact that very few Linux distributions actually deliver a stable, solid experience nowadays, plus the fact MX Linux has been steadily improving for the past five odd years, and it's strongly featured in my end-of-year reports (when I used to do them), MX-21 KDE is about as good as it gets.

Not perfect, but very, very close. So much in fact that I am considering building a serious production system and fully going MX-21. Besides, I need something to hedge against the impending future failure that's Windows 11 (come 2025 and the end of support for Windows 10), and this seems as good alternative as any. It's rare for me to be happy exploring Linux distros of late. But here we go. As luck would have it. 9.5/10. We're done.

MX Linux MX-21 KDE - Now, here's a verily splendid distro

Long, detailed, enthusiastic review of MX Linux MX-21 Wildflower KDE edition, tested in a triple-boot Windows and Linux setup on a laptop with AMD Ryzen processor, Vega graphics and NVMe storage, covering live session, installation and post-install usage, including look and feel, fonts...

www.dedoimedo.com

 

[The_King]

I did run MX 19.3. Will give MX 21 KDE a go for sure.

Long term plan is to leave Windows Desktop enviroment or at least not to rely on it solely.

 

[jackuars2]

This is a welcome change. I'm currently on a different KDE distro running Arch - Endeavour OS and it's already splendid that I've stuck with it for more than 8 months, the longest without testing any other distro.