KDE4 slow

[Iñaki Baz Castillo]

Hi, I've been using KDE4 for long time in the same host in which before I used 
KDE3 (just a difference: before I used KDE3 32bits and now I use KDE4 64 
bits).

Exactly the same configuration, exactly the same apps open most of the time.
I use Kubuntu (Intrepid in KDE3 and Jaunty in KDE4).


While KDE4 is a great improvement in usability, ellegance and features, it's 
definitively slowe (IMHO)r. For example:

- The new Kmenu is terribly slower than the classic one (using both in KDE4).
It takes ~0.5 seconds to appear after clicking it.

- Switching off the computer is exasperating. After clicking "Shutdown":
  - It takes 3-5 seconds until the confirmation window appears (so the
    background becomes dark).
  - After confirming it, the background is displayed again as usual (no
    indication at all that the system is being halted during 6-10 seconds).
  - After it, some windows start dissapearing.
  - The whole screen gets grey during 1-2 seconds.
  - The KDE session finally ends.

- Opening any app (i.e. Konqueror) takes 2-3 times longer than in KDE3 (same 
configuration about preloading and so).

- Openining any application window (compose a new mail in Kmail, open a chat 
window in Kopete...) takes ~1 second, and the window appears gray during 1 
second until it gets rendered.

- Clicking any system-try icon takes 0.5-1 second to display the context menu 
or the mini-app (Kmix global volume slider).

- Pressing ALT+F2 takes longer than in KDE3.


Perhaps my host (AMD64 Turion x2 1600 MHz) has no enough RAM (1 GB), but I 
don't see too much issues in the used RAM:

~$ free -m
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:           988        888        100          0         66        173
-/+ buffers/cache:        648        340
Swap:         1698          0       1698



KEE4 stability is really reasonable (being still a beta version), it's enough 
to work with it daily. But the speed it provides makes it hard to work. It 
doesn't react immediately to the user actions.


Please take my comment as constructive as possible.
However, is it an admited issue? is it a common feeling from KDE4 users?
And on top of all: can it be improved? is there aim in making it just faster?


Thanks a lot and best regards.





-- 
Iñaki Baz Castillo <ibc at aliax.net>