How stable is Manjaro? And is Manjaro KDE better than KDE Neon?

[PsychoMantissa]

I am a 3D hobbyist and more or less everyday user and for my needs, which do you think would be better  - Manjaro or Neon? I'm talking about performance, graphics drivers, and the like. 
Second thing is that I've heard Manjaro breaks at one point, as if it is a certainty. Considering the fact that I'm a noob, how recommendable would Manjaro be and is it true that it will break? And, do you have the option of not updating?

 

P.S. I know a little about Timeshift, but I'm not too keen on that if using Manjaro necessitates Timeshift.

[Nayr438]

Any Distro can break, but so can a Windows Install or a Mac Install.

I personally run arch on my Desktop and Laptop. Both are used for Gaming and for work.

My Wife runs Manjaro on her Desktop and Laptop. Primarily for Gaming.

We have both had packages break software compatibility, however this has only been a result of using some packages from the AUR. This is easily recoverable.

We have never had our systems rendered unusable.

 

Manjaro is built on Arch. Manjaro pulls it's packages from Arch Stable and places them into testing. They usually sit there for a couple weeks before before it's pushed out to Desktop Users.

Manjaro follows a rolling release model, install once and update for life.

When new a newer stable version of a package is available, its pushed to the repos for users to update.
Manjaro can use the AUR for unofficially supported packages, The AUR will typically have most of everything you need plus some. The AUR however usually requires you to compile things. Tools like Yay can automate this for you, or pamac (the sofwtare manger for manjaro) also has optional support to automate it for you. Keep in mind however the AUR targets Arch, and some dependencies could occasionally lagg behind in Manjaro.

Because Manjaro is built on Arch, you will find the Arch Wiki very useful and informative.

You could not update your system for 6+ months and be more up to date than Ubuntu, minus security updates. However waiting so long between updates could cause minor issues that are easily solvable.

 

KDE Neon is a Ubuntu based Distro that offers a up to date KDE Experience. All other packages come from Ubuntu.

Ubuntu follows a version release model, where you have to re-install or take your chances with upgrading when a new version becomes available.

Ubuntu itself ships outdated packages. As a result your software and Drivers will always be way behind. Some things get backported, but you still lose out on any new features or performance improvements.

Unofficially supported packages require the use of multiple PPA's which can break such as much as using Arch's AUR

Ubuntu typically has more background services reducing performance, but not by a large margin.

[Sauron]

9 hours ago, PsychoMantissa said:

Second thing is that I've heard Manjaro breaks at one point, as if it is a certainty.

It's definitely not a certainty, nor is it even likely. Just update regularly and it will be fine.

9 hours ago, PsychoMantissa said:

And, do you have the option of not updating?

Of course, just be aware that if you don't update it for more than a month or two then it's likely updating will break it. Usually it's not hard to fix but for a beginner it may be a bit out of reach. If you don't plan on updating often I would recommend neon instead, mainly because fast bleeding edge updates are one of the main reasons to choose manjaro.

[Koeshi]

9 hours ago, Sauron said:

It's definitely not a certainty, nor is it even likely. Just update regularly and it will be fine.

I would also recommend sticking to an LTS kernel if people are concerned about breakage.  Only issue I have had recently that I can think of was due to bugs in the latest kernel, that were not present in the LTS.

[Chunchunmaru_]

Certainly I would say that an Ubuntu based distro would be more stable by the way apt works instead an Arch based distro

From a performance standpoint, unless it's a fairly recent hardware, and I mean REALLY new and recent hardware, the performance difference wouldn't be noticeable, so just stick with Ubuntu/Neon LTS

[Fredd Green]

Id go for Kubuntu as a middle ground