A Quick Look at Linux Mint Xfce - A Lightweight Distro for Your Less Powerful PC

If you decide on Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. and are now faced with the choice of distro Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system (distribution), you may be drawn toward Mint. Zorin is another choice, and it's my favorite.

Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. distros Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system package up the Linux kernel (the critical piece of software that runs behind the scenes and does some core stuff) with other things to give you a fully functioning operating system The core software that manages a computer and lets applications run. This would be Windows or MacOS on computers, Android or iOS for phones, for example. . The kernel a low-level, core piece of software on a computer that controls fundamental tasks talks directly to your hardware, manages memory, and handles processes, but you don't interact with it directly.

A distro Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system packages that up with things like a desktop environment, critical apps, package manager for installing apps, and an update tool.

Xfce is a desktop environment, which means it's a separate part of your operating system The core software that manages a computer and lets applications run. This would be Windows or MacOS on computers, Android or iOS for phones, for example. that handles what you see and interact with. This includes your taskbar, your start menu, how windows look and move, your file manager the program you use to browse, open, and organize files and folders on your computer, like Windows Explorer or Gnome Files on Linux , your settings panels, and all the visual things you click on.

Not sure about Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. yet? Why Linux?

Which Mint to pick?

If you decide you want to check out Mint, you're faced with some choices when you click the "download" button. There's Cinnamon, Xfce, and MATE. You may feel like there's a wrong one to choose. I'll help you out so you pick what works for you.

Cinnamon has a lot of features, and I would recommend it if you want something that works and you like widgets. It has a lot of customization features. Also, if your computer is newer and not super old, this will run fine. If your system has only 2 gigs of RAM, though, you have better options.

MATE is a middle ground between Cinnamon and Xfce. MATE has more customization than Xfc, but you don't get the desklets or applets (widgets on your desktop or task bar for quick glance info like weather). There once was something called "screenlets" for MATE, but you may not find a lot of information on how to get those working in 2026.

Xfce is your go-to Mint distro Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system for older computers without beefy hardware. Heck, it might be something you just like. I have it on my oldest laptop and it works with all the drivers a software that allows the hardware (like WiFi) communicate with a system and ports on there. I could use that laptop for my day-to-day work even as a parent.

Mint Xfce for beginners

When you first install Xfce, it looks like the following image. There is a button on the lower left that gets you to your applications. Clock is on the lower right. Task bar is along the bottom.

I've discussed why I think Zorin is great, what Linux Mint Cinnamon has to offer, and this post is about Xfce.

xfce.org describes itself as, "a lightweight desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems. It aims to be fast and low on system resources, while still being visually appealing and user friendly." I think they accomplished their goal.

I chose this for my oldest laptop that I still have. The laptop has a terabyte of disk space and 6 gigs of ram. I'm able to do all the day to day important things on that laptop still. Libre Office works on it, VLC and my printer work on it.

I was using it mainly so my son and I could play Minecraft together. It can sputter a bit from time to time, but it actually worked pretty well. My lightweight Steam games can also play on it. The thing I love most about that laptop is it has a 17" screen, an optical drive (for DVDs and blurays) and a full size keyboard with a numpad. So playing games and watching movies on it works out nicely.

Mint can keep computers out of the landfill

Mint Xfce still has a familiar look and feel to it, like Cinnamon, but lacks the desktop features that Cinnamon does, like desklets and applets. That's ok though for me, since I don't really care about those types of features. The big pro for Xfce is that it runs efficiently on older hardware.

Most importantly, I wanted to be able to use this laptop and keep it out of the landfill. It's still a perfectly good machine! I got it at a time when they were still making hardware with lots of ports, large screens, and a lot of disk space. Remember when computers came with a lot of plug ins for different devices? This is one of those. It has an SD reader, an optical disc input, HDMI, old display port, ethernet port, and USB ports. Nowadays you're lucky to get one USB plug in. It was before the cloud was really a thing. The next generation of computers tended to have little disk space and they were starting to take away all the different plug in spaces. So this feels like a rare gem worth keeping.

And all those ports work with Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. Mint!

That's something that can vary from computer to computer. It's possible to have parts on a computer that won't work with a given Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. distro Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system .

Looks like a regular computer

Like Zorin and Mint Cinnamon, Mint Xfce is very normal looking. I had talked about GNOME in the Mint Cinnamon, but Xfce isn't based on GNOME, it's its own desktop environment built from scratch.

Desktop examples

Familiar desktop experience

Mint Xfce will still feel familiar to you coming from Windows.

See the start menu in the lower left?

Wi-Fi note

If you install and don't enter your wifi password, you'll need to find it later. Typing "wifi," funny enough, doesn't get you anything in search. Type "network" and you'll find a Network Configuration tool to enter your wifi password.

Updates and installs

To update the computer and get software, you'll have a few places to look: Update Manager and Software Manger.

Panel preferences - customize your task bar

Right click on the task bar, called a panel in Xfce > Panel > Panel Preferences...

This allows you to customize a lot of things about the panel, like icon size, whether to automatically hide it, make it stretch across the screen or hover around the middle. You can use this to order your apps also, add separators, and things like that.

Add programs to the task bar

There isn't a "pin to task bar" option in Xfce, but you can right click > Panel > Add New Items...

You might need to right click on the item and then select Move to put it where you want it.

Try Mint

If you are interested in trying Mint without installing, you can use a usb drive.

Conclusion

If you're trying to decide what distro Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system to choose, Mint is a good choice. If your computer is small, like 2 gigs, or if you install something else and feel like it's slow, you might want to try Xfce.

The nice thing about Mint is that you'll find plenty of information online, and if you have an issue or question, someone has probably already asked it. Even with Xfce.

To me, on the other side of things, switching to Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. is a no-brainer. I'm proof that open source Software whose code is publicly available and modifiable. Transparency, collaboration, and often free as in free lunch are important parts of the open source model. can work for everyday real life. My old laptop can stay out of the landfill and I have an extra DVD player that works well for traveling and when I want quiet me time in the house.

Bonus note on another distro Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system

If you've got something really old, or something that really really needs a small operating system The core software that manages a computer and lets applications run. This would be Windows or MacOS on computers, Android or iOS for phones, for example. , there's a separate distro Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system called Puppy Linux. It's really fast and efficient, as in, you could basically carry around a USB stick as your computer if you really wanted.