I’m currently writing this on the MATE desktop. I started with linux on the gnome 2 desktop, so it only makes sense. A long time ago I used Xmonad (a tiling window manager) but tiling has less appeal for me now. If I need/want a lightweight solution, I use CWM (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cwm_(window_manager), which was originally developed on OpenBSD, but is usually available across different Linux distros and BSD’s.
I’ve tried pretty much every DE/WM under the sun at this point, and would be interested to know what you use and why
Usually MATE nowadays, however I used to prefer XFCE. LXDE is my default for more constrained systems (1GB or fewer of ram), though in some cases I’ll just use openbox or icewm. When attempting to show off to or convince others of the merits of Linux ( or GNU/Linux or GNU+Linux for those into the semantics of it all), KDE is usually my desktop of choice.
KDE was too bugged out for me.
Yeah should I use MATE instead of XFCE on my gaming/work laptop?
For most people, I’d probably argue yes. Personally I’ve had less issues with screen tearing, and the environment looks a tad nicer (in my opinion). I don’t really use the extra functionality though, so if I’m trying to eek out just a little more performance XFCE is still my go to.