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Jaredktnjared@corteximplant.com
Oct 15, 2026, 9:22 PM
When it comes to BSD, I've only ever really used OpenBSD on servers, and the occasional time I'd fire up NetBSD on the Dreamcast.
If I were to dive into trying desktop BSD, which way would you go or have you gone? I haven't kept up, and honestly, from a desktop perspective, have zero idea of where to start, and it's high time I started expanding my knowledge to user-facing parts.
(Target machine, if viable, is a Dell XPS 13 9370 Developer Edition; the ones that shipped with Ubuntu by default.)
Thoughts, suggestions, guides, opinions welcome.
#BSD #OpenBSD #NetBSD
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Replies

Anders Gulden Olstadandersgo@infosec.exchange
Oct 15, 2026, 9:30 PM
@ktnjared I loved my OpenBSD desktop. The install is a breeze and everything just works. Due to reasons I had to look into FreeBSD again and this is now my daily desktop. ZFS, the improved overall performance on the same hardware and bhyve / jails support made my decision to stay on FreeBSD.
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Peter N. M. Hansteenpitrh@mastodon.social
Oct 15, 2026, 9:30 PM
@ktnjared I voted OpenBSD in your poll, if you don't mind getting some advocacy I offer https://nxdomain.no/~peter/recent-and-not-so-recent_changes_in_openbsd_that_make_life_better.html and https://nxdomain.no/~peter/what_every_it_person_needs_to_know_about_openbsd.html
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Jaredktnjared@corteximplant.com
Oct 16, 2026, 2:14 PM
@pitrh I appreciate the links and will be reading through them today!
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joseghastjoseghast@mastodon.gal
Oct 15, 2026, 9:37 PM
@ktnjared I've found OpenBSD the easiest to get to a desktop. There's a great guide from @joel that I've used multiple times:
https://www.tumfatig.net/2024/openbsd-workstation-for-the-people/
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𝙹𝚘𝚎𝚕 𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝 ♑️🤪joel@tumfatig.net
Oct 15, 2026, 9:53 PM
thanks @joseghast :)
note @ktnjared that if Dell XPS implies an NVidia GPU, support may be an issue. Read https://man.openbsd.org/man4/nv.4 to check for support. And if not supported, FreeBSD is a best bet as it provides drivers from Linux/NVidia.
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Jaredktnjared@corteximplant.com
Oct 16, 2026, 2:26 PM
@joel @joseghast Appreciate the blog post and thank you Joel for details! <3
In this case, the machine itself only has a Intel UHD Graphics 620 iGPU. AFAICT, the intel driver should be good. I do have Thunderbolt enclosures with an RX 5700 XT and a GTX 1080, but I don't think it's something I'd seriously need, at least to begin with.
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𝙹𝚘𝚎𝚕 𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝 ♑️🤪joel@tumfatig.net
Oct 16, 2026, 2:33 PM
@ktnjared you may also have issue with the Thunderbolt connexion on OpenBSD. On my T480s, I have to disable it in the BIOS. On some other computer, I have no issue. But all in all, there will be no NVidia support.
Any way, trying OpenBSD as-is on the intel GPU should work pretty well. There are a couple of such system referenced https://dmesgd.nycbug.org/index.cgi?do=index&fts=openbsd+intel+620
Happy journey :)
@joseghast
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mirabilos🐈‍⬛mirabilos@toot.mirbsd.org
Oct 15, 2026, 9:47 PM
@ktnjared I would go OpenBSD if they had a clear “never slop” policy; alas, NetBSD is currently the only serious contender for your target machine
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No Fate: Butlerian Jihad Nowglitzersachen@hachyderm.io
Oct 16, 2026, 12:21 AM
@mirabilos @ktnjared
Only that the target machine is a laptop. Just tell me that these days this is not a problem with no *BSD ... I would really be happy to hear this.
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mirabilos🐈‍⬛mirabilos@toot.mirbsd.org
Oct 16, 2026, 12:23 AM
@ktnjared @glitzersachen as for any and all hardware and every OS, take a lice Cd and test it
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No Fate: Butlerian Jihad Nowglitzersachen@hachyderm.io
Oct 16, 2026, 12:24 AM
@mirabilos @ktnjared
Yes, this needs to be said.
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mirabilos🐈‍⬛mirabilos@toot.mirbsd.org
Oct 16, 2026, 12:25 AM
@ktnjared @glitzersachen I’ve run BSDs successfully on over a dozen types of laptops. I’ve also had unsuccessful attempts. I also own hardware that a BSD supports better and more stable than Linux in any version.
"It depends."
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SirWumpus 🍁🎃 ⚔️sirwumpus@tilde.zone
Oct 15, 2026, 10:57 PM
@ktnjared
Also try GhostBSD desktop distro built on FreeBSD.
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Rasterraster@retro-gaiden.com
Oct 15, 2026, 10:59 PM
@ktnjared If for desktop you mean something like Linux Mint "install and go", GhostBSD that is based on FreeBSD is for that.
FreeBSD also has an excellent linux compatibility layer that lets you use linux-only binaries, I'm able to run my linux port games on it with no real difference from Linux.
Wine also works really well, and the software offering in the port system is huge.
If you ask which is better for just install a desktop environment, all of them are good. ;)
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