KDE-Forum.org

Kubuntu is a good KDE Distribution. It is still quite new, so it can have some rough edges (e.g. adept package manager seems to be not very stable), but overall it works fine.

Kubuntu does some patching to kde, but not in an extend that it is a completely different kde version. Most visible hack is the settings manager that shows less options than the original kde control center.
But that is not a problem: kcontrol is shipped with kubuntu and can be started from the commandline

openSUSE is also a good KDE Distribution. Like Kubuntu it is always one of the first with new kde packages. openSUSE also makes changes to KDE, like the new startmenu, kerry, suse documentation center, knetworkmanager and other stuff.
But again: not to an extend that it is too different from the original KDE.

I woud say KUbuntu, but...

I would like to argue on one point: choosing a distribution with a particular window manager in mind (or program, or configured driver) is not what I would recommend, because that way you'll always be missing something, and frustrated. Choosing a healthy and good distribution seems more important to me than picking one which provides the latest binary of your latest point of interest.

In example: I tried Ubuntu because I wanted a newer KDE than the Debian Sarge's one (I cannot download tons of megabytes from my home). Yeah, good, nice, unsuable on my system (no swap). Now I'm back to my old KDE 3.3.2 (trying to compile 3.3.5), on my very preferred distribution, Debian Sarge, because it uses half of the memory Unbuntu Dapper wastes with useless memory-consuming tools.

Choose a good sound system for the car you like, don't buy a new car each time you wanna change the radio (my opinion) !

I must say I still did not succeed in compiling 3.5.5, but once I'll do, I'll know a lot more.

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Originally posted by Aleksandersen
Is there no good distribution that just stick with KDE's defaults?

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debian, gentoo and slackware don't change kde itself, so you might try these.

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And I think the OpenSuSE menu is aweful, by the way.

Well, they build in an option to get the old menu back, so that's not a problem

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Originally posted by Aleksandersen
...then there is Microsoft's deal with Novell... How does this impact OpenSuSE?
Novell is OpenSUSE's main developer, and sponsor. Like it or not, they can indeed impact the course of the operating system.

In what way could the deal between microsoft and novell have an impact on opensuse?

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I used SUSE Linux Desktop Enterprise 10 for a while, but I found all it packages to be outdated (and I mean all of them!) Is this the case with OpenSuSE too?

SLED 10 is outdated on purpose.
It only uses well tested and hardened versions of applications, not the latest untested ones.

openSUSE is bleeding edge, it can even ship with RC-versions of software (like RC of Xorg 7.2 in openSUSE 10.2) .
That bleeding edge comes with a price: openSUSE is less stable then SLED.

fedora ships with a borked kde version, so no candidate for best kde distro

Well, the future will tell if Fedora did a better job than in the past