Note Updated on June 3rd 2014 and now includes LXQt and Unity.

For the last 9 months or so I’ve spent my spare time working with the MATE Desktop Team. Every so often, via the various on-line MATE communities, the topic of how “light weight” MATE is when compared to other desktop environments crops up and quite often XFCE is suggested as a lighter alternative. After all MATE and XFCE both provide a traditional desktop environment based on GTK+ so this suggestion is sensible. But is XFCE actually “lighter” than MATE?

I’ve found MATE to be (subjectively) more responsive that XFCE and there have been two recent blog posts that indicate MATE has lower memory requirements than XFCE.

Given that I’m comfortably running MATE on the Raspberry Pi Model B (which has just 512MB RAM) I’ve been stating that MATE is well suited for use on resource constrained hardware and professional workstations alike. This is still true, but I’ve also said that MATE is lighter than XFCE and I might have to eat humble pie on that one.

The topic of measursing desktop environment resource use came up on the #archlinux-tu IRC channel recently and someone suggested using ps_mem.py to gather the memory usage data. ps_mem.py provides a far more robust mechanism for gathering memory usage data than I’ve seen in previous comparisons.

So the seed was planted, I created a bunch of VirtualBox guest machines and set to work comparing the memory requirements of all the Linux desktop environments I could.

Damn it, just tell me what the “lightest” desktop environment is!

OK, for those of you who just want the final answer, with none of the explaination, here it is:

| Desktop Environment | Memory Used | | ---------------------|------------:| | Enlightenment 0.18.8 | 83.8 MiB | | LXDE 0.5.5 | 87.0 MiB | | XFCE 4.10.2 | 110.0 MiB | | LXQt 0.7.0 | 113.0 MiB | | MATE 1.8.1 | 123.0 MiB | | Cinnamon 2.2.13 | 176.3 MiB | | GNOME3 3.12.2 | 245.3 MiB | | KDE 4.13.1 | 302.6 MiB | | Unity 7.2.0.14 | 312.5 MiB |

Bullshit! How did you come up with these numbers?

TL;DR

All the VirtualBox VMs are 32-bit with 768MB RAM and based on the same core Arch Linux installation. I achieved this using my ArchInstaller script which is designed for quickly installing reproducible Arch Linux setups.

Each VM differs only by the packages that are required for the given desktop environment. The desktop environments native display manager is also installed but if it doesn’t have one then lightdm was chosen. LXDE, XFCE, MATE, Cinnamon and GNOME all have gvfs-smb installed as this enables accessing Windows and Samba shares (a common requirement for home and office) in their respective file managers and the KDE install includes packages to provide equivalent functionality. You can see the specific desktop environment packages or package groups that were installed here:

Each VM was booted, logged in and any initial desktop environment configuration was completed choosing the default options if prompted. Then ps_mem was installed, the VM shut down and a snapshot made.

Each VM was then started, logged in via the display manager, the desktop environment was fully loaded and waited for disk activity to settle. Then ps -efH and ps_mem were executed via SSH and the results sent back to my workstation. When the process and memory collections were conducted there had been no desktop interaction and no applications had been launched.

Your numbers are wrong I can get xxx desktop to run in yyy less memory!

Well done, you probably can.

Each virtual machine has VirtualBox guest additions, OpenSSH, Network Manager, avahi-daemon , ntpd , rpc.statd , syslog-ng and various other bits and bobs installed and running. Some of these are not required or have lighter alternatives available.

So, while I freely accept that each desktop environment can be run in less memory, the results here are relative to a consistent base setup.

However, what is important to note is that I think the Cinnamon results are too low. Cinnamon is forked from GNOME3 and the Arch Linux package groups for Cinnamon only install the core Cinnamon packages but none of the GNOME3 applications or components that would be required to create a full desktop environment.

So comparing Cinnamon with the other desktops in this test is not a fair comparison. For example, GNOME3 and KDE default installs on Arch Linux include all the accessibility extensions and applications for sight or mobility impaired individuals where as Cinnamon does not. This is just one example of where I think the Cinnamon results are skewed.

The RAM is there to be used. Is lighter actually better?

No, and Yes.

I subscribe to the school of thought that RAM is there to be used. But;

I want to preserve as much free RAM for the applications I run, not for feature bloat in the desktop environment. I’m looking at you KDE.

I want a fully integrated desktop experience, but not one that is merely lighter because it lacks features. I’m looking at you LXDE.

I want a consistent user interface that any of my family could use, not one that favours style over substance. I’m looking at you Enlightenment.

Another take on lightness is that the more RAM used, the more code that needs executing. Therefore, higher CPU utilisation and degraded desktop performance on modest hardware. This could also translate into degraded battery performance.

This is why I choose MATE Desktop. It is a fully integrated desktop environment, that is responsive, feature full, has reasonable memory requirements and scales from single core armv6h CPU with 512MB RAM to multi core x86_64 CPU with 32GB RAM (for me at least).

Without the full stats it never happened. Prove it!

He is the full data capture from ps_mem.py for each desktop environment.

Enlightenment

Private + Shared = RAM used Program 172.0 KiB + 46.5 KiB = 218.5 KiB dbus-launch 316.0 KiB + 40.0 KiB = 356.0 KiB dhcpcd 336.0 KiB + 87.5 KiB = 423.5 KiB rpcbind 560.0 KiB + 37.0 KiB = 597.0 KiB crond 580.0 KiB + 54.0 KiB = 634.0 KiB systemd-logind 688.0 KiB + 67.5 KiB = 755.5 KiB systemd-udevd 480.0 KiB + 276.0 KiB = 756.0 KiB avahi-daemon (2) 700.0 KiB + 133.5 KiB = 833.5 KiB ntpd 768.0 KiB + 78.5 KiB = 846.5 KiB VBoxService 580.0 KiB + 267.0 KiB = 847.0 KiB tempget 544.0 KiB + 312.0 KiB = 856.0 KiB enlightenment_start 764.0 KiB + 94.0 KiB = 858.0 KiB rpc.statd 600.0 KiB + 280.5 KiB = 880.5 KiB at-spi-bus-launcher 624.0 KiB + 298.0 KiB = 922.0 KiB at-spi2-registryd 724.0 KiB + 309.5 KiB = 1.0 MiB accounts-daemon 784.0 KiB + 386.5 KiB = 1.1 MiB enlightenment_fm 952.0 KiB + 395.0 KiB = 1.3 MiB efreetd 1.0 MiB + 517.0 KiB = 1.5 MiB dbus-daemon (3) 5.3 MiB + -3781.0 KiB = 1.7 MiB udisksd 1.2 MiB + 483.0 KiB = 1.7 MiB (sd-pam) (2) 1.6 MiB + 234.0 KiB = 1.9 MiB syslog-ng 1.1 MiB + 1.0 MiB = 2.1 MiB systemd (3) 1.4 MiB + 814.5 KiB = 2.2 MiB lightdm (2) 1.3 MiB + 1.1 MiB = 2.4 MiB sshd (2) 2.6 MiB + 575.5 KiB = 3.2 MiB VBoxClient (4) 2.4 MiB + 781.0 KiB = 3.2 MiB NetworkManager 10.9 MiB + -7741.5 KiB = 3.3 MiB polkitd 6.2 MiB + 68.5 KiB = 6.3 MiB systemd-journald 11.3 MiB + -2300.0 KiB = 9.1 MiB nm-applet 16.3 MiB + 426.0 KiB = 16.7 MiB Xorg 19.9 MiB + 1.5 MiB = 21.4 MiB enlightenment --------------------------------- 89.6 MiB =================================

LXDE

Private + Shared = RAM used Program 184.0 KiB + 45.0 KiB = 229.0 KiB dbus-launch 320.0 KiB + 36.0 KiB = 356.0 KiB dhcpcd 340.0 KiB + 83.0 KiB = 423.0 KiB rpcbind 360.0 KiB + 78.0 KiB = 438.0 KiB lxdm-binary 384.0 KiB + 93.5 KiB = 477.5 KiB lxsession 580.0 KiB + 50.0 KiB = 630.0 KiB systemd-logind 700.0 KiB + 55.0 KiB = 755.0 KiB systemd-udevd 464.0 KiB + 297.0 KiB = 761.0 KiB avahi-daemon (2) 4.6 MiB + -3890.5 KiB = 821.5 KiB menu-cached 612.0 KiB + 213.0 KiB = 825.0 KiB at-spi-bus-launcher 500.0 KiB + 328.0 KiB = 828.0 KiB lxdm-session 768.0 KiB + 97.5 KiB = 865.5 KiB rpc.statd 632.0 KiB + 251.5 KiB = 883.5 KiB gvfsd 644.0 KiB + 244.5 KiB = 888.5 KiB at-spi2-registryd 776.0 KiB + 189.0 KiB = 965.0 KiB accounts-daemon 4.8 MiB + -3888.5 KiB = 1.0 MiB gvfsd-fuse 884.0 KiB + 305.0 KiB = 1.2 MiB gvfsd-trash 1.1 MiB + 322.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB udisksd 1.1 MiB + 381.0 KiB = 1.5 MiB upowerd 1.1 MiB + 410.0 KiB = 1.5 MiB gvfs-udisks2-volume-monitor 1.0 MiB + 485.5 KiB = 1.5 MiB dbus-daemon (3) 1.2 MiB + 507.0 KiB = 1.7 MiB (sd-pam) (2) 1.6 MiB + 259.0 KiB = 1.9 MiB syslog-ng 1.2 MiB + 991.5 KiB = 2.1 MiB systemd (3) 1.3 MiB + 1.1 MiB = 2.4 MiB sshd (2) 1.5 MiB + 983.0 KiB = 2.4 MiB lxpolkit 6.3 MiB + -3414.0 KiB = 3.0 MiB NetworkManager 3.3 MiB + 706.5 KiB = 4.0 MiB openbox 4.4 MiB + 59.5 KiB = 4.4 MiB systemd-journald 6.9 MiB + -1941.0 KiB = 5.0 MiB lxpanel 12.9 MiB + -7745.0 KiB = 5.3 MiB polkitd 3.6 MiB + 1.8 MiB = 5.4 MiB pcmanfm 11.5 MiB + -3637.5 KiB = 8.0 MiB ntpd 7.1 MiB + 1.8 MiB = 9.0 MiB nm-applet 13.9 MiB + 604.5 KiB = 14.5 MiB Xorg --------------------------------- 87.0 MiB =================================

XFCE

Private + Shared = RAM used Program 176.0 KiB + 32.0 KiB = 208.0 KiB dbus-launch 292.0 KiB + 26.5 KiB = 318.5 KiB gpg-agent 316.0 KiB + 32.0 KiB = 348.0 KiB dhcpcd 324.0 KiB + 81.0 KiB = 405.0 KiB rpcbind 488.0 KiB + 96.0 KiB = 584.0 KiB xfconfd 588.0 KiB + 47.0 KiB = 635.0 KiB systemd-logind 464.0 KiB + 260.0 KiB = 724.0 KiB avahi-daemon (2) 712.0 KiB + 49.0 KiB = 761.0 KiB systemd-udevd 608.0 KiB + 173.0 KiB = 781.0 KiB at-spi-bus-launcher 644.0 KiB + 169.5 KiB = 813.5 KiB at-spi2-registryd 768.0 KiB + 57.5 KiB = 825.5 KiB VBoxService 784.0 KiB + 55.5 KiB = 839.5 KiB sh 640.0 KiB + 218.5 KiB = 858.5 KiB gvfsd 764.0 KiB + 94.5 KiB = 858.5 KiB rpc.statd 760.0 KiB + 160.0 KiB = 920.0 KiB accounts-daemon 872.0 KiB + 174.0 KiB = 1.0 MiB gvfsd-fuse 4.8 MiB + -3831.0 KiB = 1.1 MiB gvfsd-trash 1.1 MiB + 311.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB upowerd 1.1 MiB + 282.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB tumblerd 1.1 MiB + 289.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB udisksd 1.1 MiB + 369.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB gvfs-udisks2-volume-monitor 1.1 MiB + 353.0 KiB = 1.5 MiB xfce4-notifyd 1.2 MiB + 515.0 KiB = 1.7 MiB (sd-pam) (2) 1.3 MiB + 483.5 KiB = 1.8 MiB dbus-daemon (3) 1.6 MiB + 248.5 KiB = 1.9 MiB syslog-ng 1.5 MiB + 465.0 KiB = 1.9 MiB Thunar 5.4 MiB + -3457.5 KiB = 2.0 MiB lightdm (2) 1.1 MiB + 992.5 KiB = 2.1 MiB systemd (3) 1.4 MiB + 695.5 KiB = 2.1 MiB panel-6-systray 1.6 MiB + 651.0 KiB = 2.3 MiB xfce4-session 1.3 MiB + 1.1 MiB = 2.3 MiB sshd (2) 1.9 MiB + 525.0 KiB = 2.4 MiB xfsettingsd 1.6 MiB + 903.0 KiB = 2.5 MiB panel-2-actions 6.3 MiB + -3505.0 KiB = 2.9 MiB NetworkManager 2.6 MiB + 442.5 KiB = 3.0 MiB VBoxClient (4) 2.6 MiB + 624.5 KiB = 3.2 MiB xfce4-power-manager (2) 2.1 MiB + 1.1 MiB = 3.2 MiB xfwm4 3.1 MiB + 1.3 MiB = 4.4 MiB xfce4-panel 5.0 MiB + 61.5 KiB = 5.0 MiB systemd-journald 12.9 MiB + -7827.0 KiB = 5.3 MiB polkitd 3.8 MiB + 1.6 MiB = 5.4 MiB xfdesktop 6.6 MiB + 1.3 MiB = 7.8 MiB nm-applet 11.5 MiB + -3643.5 KiB = 7.9 MiB ntpd 23.0 MiB + -3258.0 KiB = 19.8 MiB Xorg --------------------------------- 110.0 MiB =================================

LXQt

Private + Shared = RAM used Program 176.0 KiB + 35.0 KiB = 211.0 KiB dbus-launch 320.0 KiB + 35.0 KiB = 355.0 KiB dhcpcd 324.0 KiB + 83.0 KiB = 407.0 KiB rpcbind 612.0 KiB + 51.0 KiB = 663.0 KiB systemd-logind 460.0 KiB + 267.0 KiB = 727.0 KiB avahi-daemon (2) 676.0 KiB + 53.0 KiB = 729.0 KiB systemd-udevd 580.0 KiB + 179.0 KiB = 759.0 KiB menu-cached (2) 768.0 KiB + 63.5 KiB = 831.5 KiB VBoxService 604.0 KiB + 247.0 KiB = 851.0 KiB at-spi-bus-launcher 768.0 KiB + 96.5 KiB = 864.5 KiB rpc.statd 648.0 KiB + 231.5 KiB = 879.5 KiB at-spi2-registryd 4.7 MiB + -3856.0 KiB = 976.0 KiB accounts-daemon 908.0 KiB + 396.0 KiB = 1.3 MiB lxqt-globalkeysd 1.1 MiB + 425.0 KiB = 1.5 MiB upowerd 1.1 MiB + 484.5 KiB = 1.6 MiB dbus-daemon (3) 1.2 MiB + 551.0 KiB = 1.7 MiB (sd-pam) (2) 1.6 MiB + 248.0 KiB = 1.9 MiB syslog-ng 1.1 MiB + 998.5 KiB = 2.1 MiB systemd (3) 1.3 MiB + 1.0 MiB = 2.3 MiB sshd (2) 1.5 MiB + 933.5 KiB = 2.4 MiB lxqt-policykit-agent 1.6 MiB + 901.0 KiB = 2.4 MiB lxqt-session 1.7 MiB + 837.0 KiB = 2.5 MiB sddm 2.6 MiB + 456.5 KiB = 3.0 MiB VBoxClient (4) 6.3 MiB + -3350.0 KiB = 3.1 MiB NetworkManager 2.4 MiB + 1.5 MiB = 3.8 MiB lxqt-powermanagement 2.6 MiB + 1.5 MiB = 4.1 MiB lxqt-runner 3.4 MiB + 881.0 KiB = 4.3 MiB openbox 2.7 MiB + 1.8 MiB = 4.5 MiB lxqt-notificationd 4.7 MiB + 59.5 KiB = 4.7 MiB systemd-journald 12.5 MiB + -7812.0 KiB = 4.9 MiB polkitd 3.8 MiB + 2.2 MiB = 6.0 MiB lxqt-panel 11.5 MiB + -3644.5 KiB = 7.9 MiB ntpd 11.2 MiB + -2581.0 KiB = 8.7 MiB nm-applet 12.2 MiB + 366.0 KiB = 12.6 MiB pcmanfm-qt 18.2 MiB + -644.0 KiB = 17.6 MiB Xorg --------------------------------- 113.0 MiB =================================

MATE

Private + Shared = RAM used Program 248.0 KiB + 57.0 KiB = 305.0 KiB rtkit-daemon 316.0 KiB + 31.0 KiB = 347.0 KiB dhcpcd 344.0 KiB + 81.0 KiB = 425.0 KiB rpcbind 388.0 KiB + 80.5 KiB = 468.5 KiB dbus-launch (2) 4.4 MiB + -4003.0 KiB = 525.0 KiB dconf-service 588.0 KiB + 45.0 KiB = 633.0 KiB systemd-logind 552.0 KiB + 117.0 KiB = 669.0 KiB gconfd-2 456.0 KiB + 259.0 KiB = 715.0 KiB avahi-daemon (2) 548.0 KiB + 189.0 KiB = 737.0 KiB gconf-helper 692.0 KiB + 47.0 KiB = 739.0 KiB systemd-udevd 592.0 KiB + 150.5 KiB = 742.5 KiB at-spi-bus-launcher 660.0 KiB + 179.5 KiB = 839.5 KiB at-spi2-registryd 644.0 KiB + 199.5 KiB = 843.5 KiB gvfsd 768.0 KiB + 92.5 KiB = 860.5 KiB rpc.statd 4.7 MiB + -3955.0 KiB = 893.0 KiB accounts-daemon 4.8 MiB + -3943.5 KiB = 1.0 MiB gvfsd-fuse 4.8 MiB + -3854.0 KiB = 1.1 MiB gvfsd-trash 5.0 MiB + -3789.0 KiB = 1.3 MiB upowerd 5.1 MiB + -3817.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB udisksd 1.1 MiB + 337.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB gvfs-udisks2-volume-monitor 1.6 MiB + 249.5 KiB = 1.9 MiB syslog-ng 1.6 MiB + 429.0 KiB = 2.0 MiB polkit-mate-authentication-agent-1 5.4 MiB + -3485.5 KiB = 2.0 MiB lightdm (2) 1.7 MiB + 510.5 KiB = 2.2 MiB dbus-daemon (4) 1.3 MiB + 1.0 MiB = 2.3 MiB sshd (2) 1.4 MiB + 1.0 MiB = 2.4 MiB systemd (4) 1.8 MiB + 679.5 KiB = 2.4 MiB (sd-pam) (3) 1.9 MiB + 570.5 KiB = 2.5 MiB mate-screensaver 2.0 MiB + 536.0 KiB = 2.5 MiB mate-session 1.9 MiB + 679.5 KiB = 2.6 MiB notification-area-applet 2.1 MiB + 703.0 KiB = 2.8 MiB mate-power-manager 2.2 MiB + 596.0 KiB = 2.8 MiB NetworkManager 2.7 MiB + 686.5 KiB = 3.4 MiB marco 2.6 MiB + 937.5 KiB = 3.5 MiB wnck-applet 3.6 MiB + 309.5 KiB = 3.9 MiB pulseaudio 2.7 MiB + 1.2 MiB = 3.9 MiB mate-volume-control-applet 3.0 MiB + 1.0 MiB = 4.0 MiB clock-applet 7.6 MiB + -2931.0 KiB = 4.7 MiB mate-settings-daemon 7.7 MiB + -2790.0 KiB = 4.9 MiB mate-panel 5.0 MiB + 60.5 KiB = 5.1 MiB systemd-journald 13.0 MiB + -7854.0 KiB = 5.3 MiB polkitd 10.2 MiB + -2592.0 KiB = 7.7 MiB caja 11.5 MiB + -3653.5 KiB = 7.9 MiB ntpd 7.5 MiB + 1.1 MiB = 8.6 MiB nm-applet 14.9 MiB + 1.2 MiB = 16.1 MiB Xorg --------------------------------- 123.0 MiB =================================

Cinnamon

Private + Shared = RAM used Program 248.0 KiB + 56.0 KiB = 304.0 KiB rtkit-daemon 316.0 KiB + 31.0 KiB = 347.0 KiB dhcpcd 340.0 KiB + 82.0 KiB = 422.0 KiB rpcbind 4.4 MiB + -3995.0 KiB = 469.0 KiB dconf-service 384.0 KiB + 88.5 KiB = 472.5 KiB dbus-launch (2) 576.0 KiB + 44.0 KiB = 620.0 KiB systemd-logind 556.0 KiB + 115.0 KiB = 671.0 KiB gconfd-2 452.0 KiB + 258.0 KiB = 710.0 KiB avahi-daemon (2) 544.0 KiB + 185.0 KiB = 729.0 KiB gconf-helper 596.0 KiB + 174.5 KiB = 770.5 KiB at-spi-bus-launcher 656.0 KiB + 170.5 KiB = 826.5 KiB at-spi2-registryd 800.0 KiB + 47.0 KiB = 847.0 KiB systemd-udevd 640.0 KiB + 208.5 KiB = 848.5 KiB gvfsd 768.0 KiB + 88.5 KiB = 856.5 KiB rpc.statd 4.7 MiB + -3946.0 KiB = 910.0 KiB accounts-daemon 4.8 MiB + -3938.5 KiB = 1.0 MiB gvfsd-fuse 4.8 MiB + -3847.0 KiB = 1.1 MiB gvfsd-trash 5.0 MiB + -3818.0 KiB = 1.3 MiB upowerd 5.1 MiB + -3819.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB udisksd 1.1 MiB + 340.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB gvfs-udisks2-volume-monitor 1.1 MiB + 303.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB cupsd 1.3 MiB + 394.0 KiB = 1.7 MiB csd-printer 1.6 MiB + 198.5 KiB = 1.8 MiB syslog-ng 1.4 MiB + 599.5 KiB = 2.0 MiB lightdm (2) 1.6 MiB + 513.5 KiB = 2.1 MiB dbus-daemon (4) 1.3 MiB + 979.0 KiB = 2.2 MiB sshd (2) 1.4 MiB + 1.0 MiB = 2.4 MiB systemd (4) 1.9 MiB + 784.5 KiB = 2.6 MiB (sd-pam) (3) 6.2 MiB + -3555.0 KiB = 2.7 MiB NetworkManager 6.6 MiB + -3794.5 KiB = 2.9 MiB colord 2.7 MiB + 713.5 KiB = 3.4 MiB polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1 2.8 MiB + 805.0 KiB = 3.6 MiB cinnamon-screensaver 3.6 MiB + 341.5 KiB = 3.9 MiB pulseaudio 3.2 MiB + 826.5 KiB = 4.0 MiB cinnamon-session 4.9 MiB + 56.5 KiB = 5.0 MiB systemd-journald 13.2 MiB + -7890.0 KiB = 5.4 MiB polkitd 3.9 MiB + 2.1 MiB = 6.0 MiB nm-applet 5.5 MiB + 2.0 MiB = 7.5 MiB cinnamon-settings-daemon 11.4 MiB + -3668.5 KiB = 7.9 MiB ntpd 8.2 MiB + 1.1 MiB = 9.3 MiB cinnamon-launch 7.7 MiB + 2.0 MiB = 9.8 MiB nemo 21.2 MiB + -527.5 KiB = 20.7 MiB Xorg 85.9 MiB + -34668.5 KiB = 52.1 MiB cinnamon --------------------------------- 176.3 MiB =================================

GNOME3

Private + Shared = RAM used Program 180.0 KiB + 34.0 KiB = 214.0 KiB dbus-launch 276.0 KiB + 14.0 KiB = 290.0 KiB ssh-agent 248.0 KiB + 51.0 KiB = 299.0 KiB rtkit-daemon 312.0 KiB + 28.0 KiB = 340.0 KiB dhcpcd 324.0 KiB + 21.5 KiB = 345.5 KiB systemd-hostnamed 328.0 KiB + 20.0 KiB = 348.0 KiB systemd-localed 324.0 KiB + 80.0 KiB = 404.0 KiB rpcbind 580.0 KiB + 52.5 KiB = 632.5 KiB bluetoothd 604.0 KiB + 40.0 KiB = 644.0 KiB systemd-logind 556.0 KiB + 109.0 KiB = 665.0 KiB gconfd-2 452.0 KiB + 252.0 KiB = 704.0 KiB avahi-daemon (2) 680.0 KiB + 44.0 KiB = 724.0 KiB systemd-udevd 548.0 KiB + 182.0 KiB = 730.0 KiB gconf-helper 4.6 MiB + -3950.5 KiB = 765.5 KiB at-spi2-registryd 596.0 KiB + 185.0 KiB = 781.0 KiB at-spi-bus-launcher 768.0 KiB + 50.5 KiB = 818.5 KiB VBoxService 696.0 KiB + 146.5 KiB = 842.5 KiB gvfsd 768.0 KiB + 86.5 KiB = 854.5 KiB rpc.statd 4.8 MiB + -3960.0 KiB = 960.0 KiB accounts-daemon 852.0 KiB + 137.5 KiB = 989.5 KiB gvfsd-fuse 792.0 KiB + 267.0 KiB = 1.0 MiB zeitgeist-daemon 5.1 MiB + -3910.5 KiB = 1.3 MiB gdm 5.0 MiB + -3853.0 KiB = 1.3 MiB upowerd 1.0 MiB + 291.0 KiB = 1.3 MiB gvfs-udisks2-volume-monitor 5.1 MiB + -3877.0 KiB = 1.3 MiB udisksd 1.1 MiB + 286.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB cupsd 1.4 MiB + 133.0 KiB = 1.5 MiB gnome-keyring-daemon 1.1 MiB + 448.0 KiB = 1.5 MiB gdm-session-worker 1.3 MiB + 359.0 KiB = 1.7 MiB gsd-printer 1.2 MiB + 509.0 KiB = 1.7 MiB (sd-pam) (2) 1.6 MiB + 192.5 KiB = 1.8 MiB syslog-ng 1.3 MiB + 648.0 KiB = 1.9 MiB mission-control-5 5.6 MiB + -3676.5 KiB = 2.0 MiB gnome-session 1.1 MiB + 984.5 KiB = 2.1 MiB systemd (3) 1.5 MiB + 573.5 KiB = 2.1 MiB zeitgeist-datahub 1.3 MiB + 953.0 KiB = 2.2 MiB sshd (2) 6.1 MiB + -3700.5 KiB = 2.5 MiB colord 6.1 MiB + -3656.0 KiB = 2.5 MiB NetworkManager 2.2 MiB + 466.0 KiB = 2.6 MiB dbus-daemon (3) 2.0 MiB + 728.5 KiB = 2.7 MiB gnome-shell-calendar-server 2.6 MiB + 491.5 KiB = 3.1 MiB VBoxClient (4) 2.5 MiB + 1.0 MiB = 3.5 MiB evolution-source-registry 6.5 MiB + -2914.5 KiB = 3.6 MiB tracker-extract 3.5 MiB + 338.5 KiB = 3.9 MiB pulseaudio 6.7 MiB + -2828.5 KiB = 3.9 MiB tracker-miner-fs 3.4 MiB + 2.1 MiB = 5.5 MiB goa-daemon 13.3 MiB + -7973.0 KiB = 5.5 MiB polkitd 4.9 MiB + 728.0 KiB = 5.7 MiB tracker-store 6.1 MiB + 51.5 KiB = 6.2 MiB systemd-journald 4.2 MiB + 2.1 MiB = 6.3 MiB nm-applet 11.4 MiB + -3668.5 KiB = 7.9 MiB ntpd 10.1 MiB + -1729.0 KiB = 8.4 MiB gnome-settings-daemon 8.1 MiB + 1.7 MiB = 9.8 MiB Xorg 10.7 MiB + -816.5 KiB = 9.9 MiB evolution-alarm-notify 24.6 MiB + 1.1 MiB = 25.7 MiB evolution-calendar-factory 143.2 MiB + -56658.5 KiB = 87.9 MiB gnome-shell --------------------------------- 245.3 MiB =================================

KDE

Private + Shared = RAM used Program 72.0 KiB + 8.0 KiB = 80.0 KiB start_kdeinit 80.0 KiB + 13.5 KiB = 93.5 KiB kwrapper4 128.0 KiB + 23.0 KiB = 151.0 KiB agetty 176.0 KiB + 28.0 KiB = 204.0 KiB dbus-launch 292.0 KiB + 28.5 KiB = 320.5 KiB gpg-agent 320.0 KiB + 28.0 KiB = 348.0 KiB dhcpcd 272.0 KiB + 84.0 KiB = 356.0 KiB cat (4) 340.0 KiB + 79.0 KiB = 419.0 KiB rpcbind 604.0 KiB + 39.0 KiB = 643.0 KiB systemd-logind 464.0 KiB + 247.0 KiB = 711.0 KiB avahi-daemon (2) 768.0 KiB + 87.5 KiB = 855.5 KiB rpc.statd 852.0 KiB + 51.5 KiB = 903.5 KiB startkde 352.0 KiB + 669.0 KiB = 1.0 MiB systemd-udevd (2) 656.0 KiB + 524.5 KiB = 1.2 MiB kdm (2) 1.1 MiB + 420.0 KiB = 1.5 MiB upowerd 852.0 KiB + 780.0 KiB = 1.6 MiB klauncher 1.3 MiB + 346.0 KiB = 1.7 MiB udisksd 1.5 MiB + 256.5 KiB = 1.8 MiB akonadi_control 1.3 MiB + 529.0 KiB = 1.8 MiB (sd-pam) (2) 1.6 MiB + 201.5 KiB = 1.8 MiB syslog-ng 1.5 MiB + 409.5 KiB = 1.9 MiB dbus-daemon (2) 1.2 MiB + 971.5 KiB = 2.1 MiB systemd (3) 656.0 KiB + 1.5 MiB = 2.2 MiB kdeinit4 1.3 MiB + 997.0 KiB = 2.3 MiB sshd (2) 1.3 MiB + 1.6 MiB = 2.9 MiB kio_trash (2) 2.1 MiB + 1.1 MiB = 3.2 MiB klipper 6.9 MiB + -3587.0 KiB = 3.4 MiB NetworkManager 2.4 MiB + 1.0 MiB = 3.5 MiB ksmserver 3.2 MiB + 594.5 KiB = 3.8 MiB kuiserver 3.2 MiB + 952.5 KiB = 4.1 MiB kglobalaccel 3.4 MiB + 829.5 KiB = 4.2 MiB akonadi_migration_agent 3.4 MiB + 837.5 KiB = 4.3 MiB polkit-kde-authentication-agent-1 3.8 MiB + 716.5 KiB = 4.5 MiB knotify4 4.4 MiB + 49.5 KiB = 4.5 MiB systemd-journald 3.8 MiB + 891.0 KiB = 4.7 MiB baloo_file 3.8 MiB + 975.0 KiB = 4.7 MiB akonadi_maildispatcher_agent 3.8 MiB + 983.0 KiB = 4.7 MiB akonadi_baloo_indexer 4.1 MiB + 1.3 MiB = 5.4 MiB akonadi_newmailnotifier_agent 4.3 MiB + 1.1 MiB = 5.4 MiB korgac 13.2 MiB + -7804.0 KiB = 5.6 MiB polkitd 5.5 MiB + 1.7 MiB = 7.1 MiB akonadi_notes_agent 11.1 MiB + -3575.0 KiB = 7.6 MiB kactivitymanagerd 5.6 MiB + 2.1 MiB = 7.7 MiB akonadi_sendlater_agent 11.4 MiB + -3697.5 KiB = 7.8 MiB ntpd 7.2 MiB + 777.5 KiB = 8.0 MiB akonadiserver 6.0 MiB + 2.9 MiB = 8.9 MiB akonadi_archivemail_agent 6.3 MiB + 2.6 MiB = 8.9 MiB kmix 6.1 MiB + 2.9 MiB = 9.0 MiB akonadi_mailfilter_agent 6.9 MiB + 2.4 MiB = 9.3 MiB kded4 9.1 MiB + 2.7 MiB = 11.7 MiB akonadi_agent_launcher (3) 13.8 MiB + -1069.5 KiB = 12.8 MiB kwin 13.2 MiB + 3.2 MiB = 16.5 MiB krunner 68.8 MiB + -49024.0 KiB = 21.0 MiB mysqld 30.3 MiB + -2270.0 KiB = 28.1 MiB Xorg 36.9 MiB + 6.8 MiB = 43.7 MiB plasma-desktop --------------------------------- 302.6 MiB =================================

Unity

Private + Shared = RAM used Program 92.0 KiB + 14.0 KiB = 106.0 KiB cat 128.0 KiB + 21.0 KiB = 149.0 KiB agetty 180.0 KiB + 28.0 KiB = 208.0 KiB dbus-launch 252.0 KiB + 47.0 KiB = 299.0 KiB rtkit-daemon 312.0 KiB + 27.0 KiB = 339.0 KiB dhcpcd 324.0 KiB + 18.0 KiB = 342.0 KiB systemd-localed 336.0 KiB + 21.0 KiB = 357.0 KiB systemd-timedated 344.0 KiB + 79.0 KiB = 423.0 KiB rpcbind 412.0 KiB + 69.0 KiB = 481.0 KiB dconf-service 592.0 KiB + 39.0 KiB = 631.0 KiB systemd-logind 588.0 KiB + 92.5 KiB = 680.5 KiB indicator-messages-service 448.0 KiB + 245.0 KiB = 693.0 KiB avahi-daemon (2) 604.0 KiB + 89.5 KiB = 693.5 KiB indicator-bluetooth-service 548.0 KiB + 168.0 KiB = 716.0 KiB gconf-helper 4.6 MiB + -3955.0 KiB = 725.0 KiB at-spi-bus-launcher 684.0 KiB + 42.0 KiB = 726.0 KiB systemd-udevd 640.0 KiB + 100.0 KiB = 740.0 KiB gconfd-2 636.0 KiB + 115.5 KiB = 751.5 KiB at-spi2-registryd 652.0 KiB + 144.5 KiB = 796.5 KiB indicator-power-service 648.0 KiB + 158.5 KiB = 806.5 KiB gvfsd 772.0 KiB + 45.5 KiB = 817.5 KiB VBoxService 768.0 KiB + 85.5 KiB = 853.5 KiB rpc.statd 796.0 KiB + 122.0 KiB = 918.0 KiB accounts-daemon 568.0 KiB + 391.5 KiB = 959.5 KiB (sd-pam) 4.8 MiB + -3982.5 KiB = 969.5 KiB gvfsd-fuse 824.0 KiB + 253.0 KiB = 1.1 MiB dbus (2) 828.0 KiB + 271.0 KiB = 1.1 MiB zeitgeist-daemon 4.9 MiB + -3904.0 KiB = 1.1 MiB gvfsd-trash 1.0 MiB + 131.5 KiB = 1.2 MiB indicator-session-service 5.0 MiB + -3883.0 KiB = 1.2 MiB upowerd 1.1 MiB + 237.0 KiB = 1.3 MiB cupsd 1.1 MiB + 279.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB gvfs-udisks2-volume-monitor 5.1 MiB + -3857.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB udisksd 1.1 MiB + 324.5 KiB = 1.4 MiB zeitgeist-fts 5.1 MiB + -3833.0 KiB = 1.4 MiB indicator-application-service 1.2 MiB + 382.0 KiB = 1.6 MiB indicator-sound-service 1.6 MiB + 174.5 KiB = 1.8 MiB syslog-ng 5.6 MiB + -3769.0 KiB = 1.9 MiB gnome-session 932.0 KiB + 1.0 MiB = 1.9 MiB systemd (2) 1.4 MiB + 537.0 KiB = 2.0 MiB lightdm (2) 1.4 MiB + 753.0 KiB = 2.1 MiB mission-control-5 1.3 MiB + 936.0 KiB = 2.2 MiB sshd (2) 1.8 MiB + 531.0 KiB = 2.3 MiB zeitgeist-datahub 6.2 MiB + -3779.0 KiB = 2.5 MiB colord 2.2 MiB + 458.5 KiB = 2.6 MiB dbus-daemon (3) 6.2 MiB + -3682.0 KiB = 2.6 MiB NetworkManager 2.3 MiB + 515.0 KiB = 2.8 MiB gnome-fallback-mount-helper 2.3 MiB + 485.0 KiB = 2.8 MiB polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1 2.4 MiB + 514.0 KiB = 2.9 MiB notify-osd 2.5 MiB + 417.5 KiB = 3.0 MiB VBoxClient (4) 2.6 MiB + 547.5 KiB = 3.1 MiB indicator-keyboard-service 2.7 MiB + 657.0 KiB = 3.3 MiB indicator-printers-service 2.7 MiB + 854.0 KiB = 3.5 MiB telepathy-indicator 2.5 MiB + 1.1 MiB = 3.6 MiB evolution-source-registry 3.1 MiB + 577.0 KiB = 3.7 MiB bamfdaemon 3.6 MiB + 306.5 KiB = 3.9 MiB pulseaudio 3.0 MiB + 933.0 KiB = 3.9 MiB indicator-datetime-service 3.9 MiB + 1.3 MiB = 5.3 MiB unity-panel-service 13.2 MiB + -7982.0 KiB = 5.4 MiB polkitd 4.4 MiB + 1.8 MiB = 6.1 MiB nm-applet 6.1 MiB + 747.0 KiB = 6.9 MiB goa-daemon 7.3 MiB + 50.5 KiB = 7.3 MiB systemd-journald 11.4 MiB + -3690.5 KiB = 7.8 MiB ntpd 5.3 MiB + 4.5 MiB = 9.8 MiB gnome-settings-daemon 11.6 MiB + 1.0 MiB = 12.6 MiB nautilus 24.7 MiB + 1.2 MiB = 25.8 MiB evolution-calendar-factory 40.2 MiB + -351.0 KiB = 39.9 MiB Xorg 103.2 MiB + -4818.0 KiB = 98.5 MiB compiz --------------------------------- 312.5 MiB =================================

Final thoughts

On Arch Linux at least, XFCE has lower resource requirements than MATE. When I said different in the past I was wrong, unless you use openSUSE in which case I was probably right, maybe.

Anyone want to share some humble pie?