I tried CuerdOS and this niche Debian distro is dramatically fast

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• CuerdOS is a unique, Debian-based Linux distribution.
• This distro offers blazing-fast performance.
• You'll find an interesting collection of preinstalled software.

Every once in a great while, I run into a Linux distribution that I've never heard of. Such is the case with CuerdOS.

This Linux distribution of Spanish origin is focused on stability, efficiency, and performance. Based on Debian, CuerdOS is, I'm assuming, a play on the Spanish word cuerdo, which means sane or rational. After using this distribution for a few days, I'd have to say that's spot on. I downloaded the GNOME flavor of the OS and found the default settings quite sane. 

Instead of the straight-up GNOME desktop, you get a few customizations by way of some GNOME extensions and just the right combination of software. 

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Now, when you look at the software collection, you could conclude that CuerdOS has something for everyone. There are tools for seasoned users, those with just enough Linux knowledge, and even beginners. 

Would I call CuerdOS the right Linux distribution for new Linux users? Maybe. Would I stake the claim that it's geared toward power users? Maybe. You see, CuerdOS includes performance tweaks that optimize CPU, GPU, and RAM consumption via a patched kernel. So, yeah, it's pretty fast.

With all of those maybes tossed around, who is CuerdOS for? That's an interesting question, one that I'll get to in a bit.

What I find interesting about CuerdOS

I decided to try the GNOME version of CuerdOS because I've ignored GNOME for some time now and thought it was time to go back. You can also select Xfce, Sway, LabWC, and KDE Plasma.

After installing CuerdOS, I logged in and started poking around. 

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The first thing I noticed was that, thanks to Dash to Dock, the desktop not only looked good, but it was also very user-friendly. 

Next came the collection of preinstalled software, which included the likes of Vivaldi, Timeshift, Yelena Store (GUI app store for both DEB and Flatpak apps), RunCat (an outstanding system monitor), Geany (programming IDE), BleachBit (cleaner), OnlyOffice (office suite), Wasabi Media player, and the Nvidia driver installer.

After pondering this collection, I came to the conclusion that CuerdOS defaults to alternative apps for almost every purpose — and I love that. After a long while of reviewing/using Linux distributions that all ship with the same lineup of software, it's a breath of fresh air to run into one that goes a less-trodden path.

Seriously, I really appreciate this feature of CuerdOS, and given that all the preinstalled software works very well, you won't miss anything. But on the off chance you do find CuerdOS lacking, just fire up the Yelena Store, search for what you need, and install it.

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When you do open Yelena and install a few pieces of software, you'll immediately notice the speed of CuerdOS. This thing is fast. One reason is that CuerdOS uses a new Zram configuration that employs the ZSTD algorithm, designed to dramatically improve performance by optimizing memory usage and handling system resources. Trust me when I tell you that it does just that.

I installed CuerdOS as a virtual machine on my System76 Thelio with an AMD Ryzen 9 CPU and 64 GB of RAM. I gave the VM only 4 GB of RAM and 2 CPUs, and CuerdOS performed as well (if not better) than the host OS. 

This distribution performs like one of the many lightweight distros on the market, only it's not lightweight. That, my friends, is impressive. I opened each of the larger applications on the desktop, and the system resources barely budged. 

All was not perfect

I did run into a problem, which took me by surprise. OnlyOffice is installed as the default office suite. When I went to open the app, it refused. I then attempted to open it from the terminal window, only to receive a warning that it couldn't load the shared libcef.so library.

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Here's what's odd: libxssl1, the package that includes libcef.so, was already installed. I decided to install OnlyOffice via Flatpak to see if that would resolve the problem with the command:

flatpak install onlyoffice

For some strange reason, that installation failed as well, so I opened the Yelena Store, searched for OnlyOffice, and installed it from there. After that, OnlyOffice ran like a charm.

I then needed to remove the original installation using the Yelena Store (just to keep things clean). 

Other than that one little hiccup, CuerdOS proved to be one heck of a Linux distribution. It's well-designed, lightning-fast, includes a unique collection of software, and it's based on Debian. 

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What more would you want?

Who is CuerdOS for?

Simply put, if you want an operating system that places a focus on performance, but also has the solidity of the Debian base, and don't mind using apps that aren't the traditional fare, CuerdOS is a great option. As the name implies, every choice for this distribution is sane, so you install it and hit the ground running (so long as you resolve the issue with OnlyOffice).

If I've piqued your interest, head over to the CuerdOS site, scroll to the download section, select the desktop environment you want, grab an ISO, burn it to a bootable USB drive, install it, and enjoy.