Debian Gnome vs Debian Fluxbox

I wanted to look at Debian Linux and compare the desktop environments. Fluxbox is a lightweight desktop that runs very fast, uses few resources and provides many of the features of bulkier desktop environments. Lets take a closer look at how Fluxbox performs with the Debian Linux distribution.

Debian Linux With The Gnome Desktop

The Gnome desktop runs 83 tasks when it starts up.  That means that 823 processes are running just so you can get to the desktop.  Gnome starts up with 389,880K of memory that is used just so you can see the desktop.

Debian Linux With The Fluxbox Desktop

Fluxbox starts with 67 tasks and uses 350,000K of memory to get to the desktop.

What that means is when you use Fluxbox on Debian you can save about 19% of computer resources immediately. But that is not where the major savings are.  On a Gnome desktop when you start using Nautilus File Manager you will be consuming a lot of resources because of the fonts, images, and features.  Fluxbox allows you to execute and use the same applications but reduces system usage because the desktop uses so much less resources.  Now do not get me wrong here, I think Gnome is a great desktop but it uses a lot of resources.  One of the major reasons I moved ot Linux years ago was that it gave me the freedom to decide how I wanted to use the resources that I did have.

Here is an illustration of OpenOffice which works fine on Fluxbox.

Debian Users: Don't stop now. We've got plenty of useful Debian Linux Tutorials for you to read.