iDeal OS

Reader supplied reviews for iDeal OS Average rating 6.4 from 12 review(s) What are your thoughts on iDeal OS? Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system. Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review. Version: -- 2026.06.052025.08.07 Rating:    -- 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 out of 10 Your review (minimum 250 words): Past reviews - sort by: DateVotes Version: 2026.04.03 Rating: 4 Date: 2026-04-04 Country: Romania Votes: 9 A basic re-spin of a vastly superior parent distro in the form of MX Linux, a polished Debian derivative that doesn't use systemd. You can see this is really MX with a few security focused tweaks and a few devolution's. Who, for example, wants to waste time on mandatory manual partitioning? The security add on's are mildly interesting but for the most part inconsequential and not anything you could not build into MX Linux if you felt so inclined. I can see no reason why I'd opt for this over MX Linux. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 2026.01.31 Rating: 10 Date: 2026-03-09 Country: Switzerland Votes: 9 An Outstanding Discovery: iDeal OS – The Ultimate Linux Distribution for Privacy and Performance! As a long-time Linux user, I was on the hunt for a distribution that prioritizes privacy out-of-the-box without sacrificing usability. iDeal OS absolutely blew me away! Based on MX Linux and Debian, this distro delivers everything you could want and more. I installed it on my old iMac, and it breathed new life into the machine – smooth, stable, and resource-efficient, like it was brand new! First off, privacy: iDeal OS is the best choice for privacy right out of the box. With the built-in iDeal DNS Switcher, you can switch between secure DNS providers with one click, including a leak test – no tracking, no ads, no logs. Browsing, shopping, and banking finally feel truly secure without any tinkering required. Simply brilliant! The desktop is KDE Plasma 6, and Wayland runs flawlessly – buttery smooth and modern. Gaming? No issues at all! I installed Steam, and thanks to Proton, even demanding titles run seamlessly. No crashes, great performance, even on older hardware. Finally, a distro that takes gaming seriously without hours of optimization. Another huge plus: No bloated systemd! Instead, iDeal OS uses the proven sysVinit, keeping the system lightweight and straightforward. No unnecessary complexities – just efficient and reliable. Installation was a breeze, and the pre-installed tools (like LibreOffice, GIMP, and MX Tools) make it ready to go right away. There are two editions (Emerald and Diamond), and with a small donation, you unlock pro features – fair and worth supporting. Overall: 10/10! iDeal OS is a revolution for anyone seeking security, performance, and simplicity. Give it a try – especially on older Macs. Thanks to the developers for this gem! Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 2026.01.31 Rating: 9 Date: 2026-03-09 Country: United States Votes: 24 The iDealOS distro is a very nice improvement on the MX Linux version of Debian. I ran MX-23 & updated to MX-25 & there were problems upon loading the image onto my HP Z620 which has a 6 core Xeon processor and 64G of DDR3 RAM. I really like the MX Tools & the way MX-23 was so I was hopeful I could continue to leverage the iDeal OS to remain on the same track. The installation went smooth & the operation of iDeal OS is really responsive, maybe a bit more so than MX-23. Since my Z620 is from 2012 with a K2200 graphics card & only a PCIe 2.0 bus I was concerned the resources would prove to be a bit of a challenge. This has not really been an issue at all. iDeal OS boots up reasonably well & feels stable as can be. The installation of MX based upon Debian 13 went really bad but iDeal OS based upon the same Debian 13 is much cleaner & the issues with the Nvidia driver vanished. I am still running the Emerald edition but plan to unlock the Diamond edition & go for it. i know the Nvidia driver kernel support/inclusion for older cards is going away towards the end of 2026 but I will just have to deal with that challenge when it comes or find another way to keep the z620 alive. I haven't really given the OS much exercise yet but I am optimistic that it will be more than adequate for the workflow I intend to do with it. My experience with the distribution has been very positive & it feels fairly snappy, given the age of the workstation. It will never be a gaming rig as it's purpose is a general workstation for support of other systems I have. Since I am familiar with Debian & the reliability & stability over the years I really don't expect too many issues. I move from one distro to another on various machines looking for the sweet spot. For a number of years Mint was on the z620 & fine but I moved to MX-Linux after a period of Debian & now to iDeal OS. This is really the best in my opinion. I love that they incorporated the MX-Tools & the DNS switcher & additional security emphasis. It is clear to me the development of iDeal OS was don with care & thought. If you are looking for a solid clean linux image that is easy to use & like the KDE desktop environment it is well worth the time to check out iDeal OS. I have been distro hopping since the early 90s & found many interesting distributions but most have been short time loads. MX lasted a couple of years & only had to go due to the installation issues with the graphics. It is clear to me the team at iDeal OS has improved the video card detection in some way as it had no issue installing everything. Once I have more time with iDeal OS with the Diamond edition I will probably update my review. My initial reaction is just very happy it has worked so well to recover my workstation plus my user experience so far has been extremely positive. I sent a message to the iDeal OS support email inbox & had a response within 2 hours. That my friends is also a huge plus to know the team is responsive and appreciates the user base. Was this review helpful? Yes No See all 12 reader reviews of iDeal OS...