I've been using both Zorin OS 16.3 Core and 17.3 Core, and I noticed that 16.3 feels much faster and more responsive overall compared to 17.3. The older version seems better optimized for my hardware, with smoother performance and quicker startup times.
However, since official support for 16.3 has ended, I understand it’s not recommended to continue using it for security and stability reasons. I’m hoping future updates to 17.3 can improve its performance to match or exceed 16.3’s speed.
Hi Storm, thanks for your input. I’m aware my system isn’t the latest, but my main concern is that Zorin 16.3 just feels smoother out of the box compared to 17.3 on the same hardware.
I’m just looking for constructive advice on optimizing 17.3 without compromising features I rely on. If you or anyone else has tips beyond disabling snapd and reducing Flatpak usage, I’d appreciate it.
You should check in Zorin 17 if Your System runs in Wayland or X11/Xorg. You can do that in Settings>About. When there stands Wayland, I would suggest to switch to Xorg. To do that, go to the Login Screen (not the Lock Screen). Simply reboot for that. On the Login Screen click on Your Profile so that the Password Field appears. It has to be appeared. When it is appeared, You should see a Gear Icon in the bottom right Corner. Click on it and choose ''Zorin Desktop on Xorg'' and then log in.
Another Point could be the Kernel. On Zorin 16 Kernel 5.15 is used if I remember right. On Zorin 17 it is Kernel 6.8. Maybe Your System works better with the older Kernel.
I chose to wait for OS 18 to be released. My machine is not used in a government or military high security environment, so I can afford to wait, and just rely on my hardware stopgap firewall.
I won't install OS 17 when OS 18 is so close to release. I'm also hoping to have a successful upgrade to OS 18 as well. For some people it works for them, for some others, they have to do a complete wipe & new install.
But I do not experience it personally, since I am a Lite user.
Why it might happen: Zorin OS 17 is the first Zorin Edition Release to default to Wayland (on Gnome 43).
We are in the early stages of Wayland development. Existing functionality that does not exist on Wayland remains uncertain. This includes performance functionality.
Zorin OS 16 uses Gnome 3.38 which is stable and well established. But Zorin OS 17 uses GTK4/Libadwaita, introducing heavier GPU compositing.
@Storm hit the nail on the head. Canonicals Ubuntu 22.04 made Snap more aggressive, ensuring it is always running in the background. This again, is an area I do not experience since I remove snapd the moment I install Zorin OS.
