When comparing KDE Neon vs PsychOS, the Slant community recommends PsychOS for most people. In the question“What are the best Linux distributions for desktops?” PsychOS is ranked 24th while KDE Neon is ranked 36th. The most important reason people chose PsychOS is:
PsychOS is designed for older/lighter, 32-bit, i686 hardware with plans to go even further back with i486 (PsychOS486), i386 and older (PsychDOS), and so on and so forth as opposed to always trying to run on the latest hardware, not that it could in most cases anyway since 32-bit i686 operating systems will run on most x86_64 ones.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Works out of the box
Since it's built on the strong Ubuntu base, KDE Neon works seamlessly with a huge variety of hardware.
Pro Configurability
KDE Neon uses KDE as its desktop environment, which is highly configurable, but also has great defaults.
Pro The best looking Linux OS
It really is a great and stunning looking OS.
Pro Works well on low-end computers
Pro Runs well on older, 32-bit hardware (i686)
PsychOS is designed for older/lighter, 32-bit, i686 hardware with plans to go even further back with i486 (PsychOS486), i386 and older (PsychDOS), and so on and so forth as opposed to always trying to run on the latest hardware, not that it could in most cases anyway since 32-bit i686 operating systems will run on most x86_64 ones.
Pro RetroGrab is really cool
It lets you install old software for use with emulators like DOSBox but run them as if they were normal programs from the normal applications menu.
Pro No fuss. Just works.
A lot of the programs are already set up for you. Just boot it and go. This is definitely one of the better SHTF distro's.
Pro QuickEdit
There's a yad-based tool you do not see on any other GNU/Linux distro in which you can simply right-click pretty much any file and then use the "QuickEdit" option to quickly edit small things about a file such as size if it's an image or video, convert the file, or even render the file if it's a Blender project. It's nice not having to open an image with GIMP every time I want to resize or convert something.
Pro The IceWM option looks and functions nice
Most GNU/Linux distributions that include IceWM as a desktop environment option don't do too much to it, if a t all. PsychOS seems to have a customized or themed version that actually doesn't feel you with dread and still uses many of the keyboard shortcuts from XFCE.
Pro Lots of command-line tools
Lots of command-line tools and I really like the CLIMax thing. It's a good tool to have if you want to spend time in the command-line but aren't that experienced. Also, it plays a quick, one-time ascii animation when you go into the tty for the first time.
Pro TONS of Thunar Custom Actions
PsychOS comes with a lot of Thunar Custom Actions, many of which as disabled, but they are there none the less; most probably just in case. Right-click on a DOOM WAD shows there's a menu item to play it directly using LZDoom.
Cons
Con Steep learning curve for beginners
It's a really sparse, bare-bones system, no automatic driver install for example. It can be quite hard for someone not used to Linux.
Con Bloated
Over 3000 packages by default including several package managers.
Con 7 package managers included
There should only be one.