Hardware:
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+
- 4 GB RAM
- nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512
- 250 GB SATA HDD x 1
- 640 GB SATA HDD x 1
Since installing Mint 15, however, I've noticed a LOT of little issues that are driving me nuts, and I'm not sure what the causes are:
- Screen tearing when scrolling webpages or any type of window. I've installed the "recommended" nVidia proprietary drivers, but it hasn't made a difference.
- Web browsing is SLOW - really, anything related to the internet is slower than when I was on Ubuntu 10.10. I've got a hardwired 1Gbps link to my router with a 50Mbps internet connection. Pages that were previously instantaneous are now incredibly slow to load.
- Panel applets don't install correctly. Could be a version compatibility issue I suppose.
- Screen/text clarity is not great. I've already corrected for the native resolution on both my displays; that's not the issue. Fonts just don't look... right.
- Over all the whole experience just feels MUCH slower than Ubuntu 10.10
Additionally, as I understand it (and please correct me if I'm wrong), Cinnamon is an overlay to GNOME 3, and MATE is an overlay to GNOME 2, correct? Is there a compelling reason to chose one over the other? I have to admit I like how Cinnamon handles multiple workspaces (that's just neat!), but I'm not so heavy of a user that I think it's going to be that much of an issue for me.