Will using KDE programs use too much system resources?

[Joe Klemmer]

On Fri, 2006-04-28 at 18:01 +0300, Dotan Cohen wrote:

> I have switched to Xfce from KDE because I find KDE to slow on my
> machine (1.5gHz P4, 256MB RAM). Xfce is a little faster, or at least I
> feel this way though I haven't timed with a stopwatch. At least there
> is no lag between typing and seeing text on the screen on Xfce.

	Here's a quick, superficial answer.  Others with more in depth
knowledge than I can flesh it out. 

> There are some KDE programs that I have come to rely upon, such as
> Kopete and Kate. Will loading these programs use resources as if I was
> on KDE? In other words, if I continue to use these programs, will I be
> negating any benefit of Xfce over KDE?

	Yes and no.  Loading them will also load the kde gunk which will stay
loaded after the programs are closed but since the rest of the kde
desktop isn't loaded it won't take up as much resources as it otherwise
could.

> Also, if I have KDE open in F7 and Xfce open in F8, will I loose out
> on the speed benefits of Xfce by the fact that KDE is open in F7?

	Running two desktop environments will take up a lot more resources and
running just one, no matter if it's xfce and twm.  Running xfce and kde
will take use more than xfce and xfce but less than kde and kde or
gnome.

> I have only a very limited knowledge of how windows managers work, so
> if there is a technical reason for a given answer, I'd like to know it
> so that I can learn. From what I could google, if there is a drawback
> to using KDE apps in Xfce, it is because of libraries being loaded.
> But is this persistent after I close the app? Thanks.

	The kde runtime gunk will stay loaded after you close the apps.  But if
it's got nothing to do it won't be as bad as.

	Everything is a trade off.  If you absolutely need Kopete and Kate and
nothing else will do then the concern about resources is of secondary
importance.

n'est pas?