Linux

GNOME because the window/workspace management is very good on a single monitor, and the touchpad gestures are nice.

I always come back to KDE for it's easy of customization. Don't like the effect that happens when you minimize or maximize screens? Simply go into the settings and download a new one.

KDE can be made to run really light, or really heavy.

I find cinnamon to strike a nice balance of speed and function if you have an ok processor, it's straight to the point and doesn't try to make you use summoning circle on your trackpad to do anything, like gnome does, but still has enough features and native configs to not make you feel like you're missing anything.

XFCE is my favourite on both desktop and laptop. It's light weight, has all the features I need and feels really snappy, especially when all animations are turned off (which I always do).

I use EXWM with desktop-environment.el. It's pretty bad for almost everything unless you reallyyyy like emacs keybinds.

However, if you just want everything in emacs, it pretty perfectly scratches that itch.

Plasma.

I'm the weirdo over in the corner using TDE (Trinity Desktop Environment, forked from KDE3) on both my desktop and laptop.

Plasma. I have it configured to match my workflow.

I recently switched from i3 to hyprland and quite like it. Wayland still has some issues, but the better scaling makes it worth it.

I've been using NixOS with Pantheon and I'm pretty happy with it.

I usually prefer DE's based on my needs.

KDE plasma - for customization and features.
GNOME - for UI and simplicity.
cinnamon - for windows like and simple.

I love Sway and been using it for a year or so. Never looked back

Same on my desktop: XFCE4.

I recommen GNOME, but I usually use Hyprland.

Hyprland is my go to, but it requires a lot of effort compared to proper DEs. I really like KDE as long as you don't ask too much of it. The UI is nice & it doesn't use too much battery if you cut down on effects.

I like Mate. On both laptop and desktop.

If I want to use a graphical user interface, I generally use KDE Plasma.

I went with i3 (i3wm) instead of a full DE on my debian laptop. I wanted to minimize trackpad use without requiring peripherals (like a mouse).

On one hand it's highly performant and easily configurable; on the other hand, it does lead to problems that I wouldn't have known about with a DE—for example, I had screen tearing for months until I learned I needed a compositor, which doesn't come included.

In other words: it is a very barebones OOBE, and requires a lot of setup and RTFM (it's probably in the user guide that i need a compositor), but the reward of higher performance/lower power draw, easily configuring the hell out of it, smoothly navigating everywhere with the keyboard alone, and reclaiming screenspace from taskbars and titlebars has made it my preferred setup (even on desktop).

Tangential to the question, but my "no mouse" ethic has taken considerable effort to learn the cli way of dealing with configuration that is trivialized by GUIs (e.g. volume and wifi, i'm still struggling with bluetooth and rtorrent), but it's made the experience of working on a laptop 500% more enjoyable and less of an uphill struggle against the trackpad, and it doesn't require a flat surface for a mouse.

I use Gnome on my Thinkpad. That machine has an i7 and 16gb of ram. Ok my tiny Chromebook I got Mate. Very lightweight and almost as many features as Gnome.

@aMalayali I'm quite happy with Cinnamon in the moment but I know what you mean. If my daily work experience with Cinnamon would suffer, I would also go back to XFCE.