In my last post on Arch Installation Guide , We installed the base system and we can now login into our new system as root using the password that we set.

Now, we will proceed further to install the Plasma 5 desktop.

Add New User

Choose $USERNAME per your liking. I chose ssingh, so in future commands whenever you see ssingh please replace it with your $USERNAME.

Plasma 5 Desktop

Network should be setup at the start. Check the status of network using:

If you do not get this output, please follow the troubleshooting links at arch wiki on setting up network.

I will be assuming you have an NVIDIA card for graphics installation.

To setup a graphical desktop, first we need to install some basic X related packages, and some essential packages (including fonts):

To avoid the possibility of forgetting to update your initramfs after an nvidia upgrade, you have to use a pacman hook like this:

Nvidia has a daemon that is to be run at boot. To start the persistence daemon at boot, enable the nvidia-persistenced.service.

KWIN FLICKERING ISSUE

To avoid screen tearing in KDE (KWin), add following:

If this does not help please try adding the following instead -

Do not have both of the above enabled at the same time. Please look at Arch Wiki for additional details.

Now continue installing remaining important packages for the GUI.

Now, we will install the packages related to Plasma 5:

Now we have to setup a display manager. I chose recommended SDDM for plasma 5.

Also make sure that network manager starts at boot:

Audio Setup

This is pretty simple. Install following packages and you should be done:

Useful Tips

This part is optional and you can choose as per your taste. Sync time using the systemd service:

On Plasma 5, It is recommended to enable no-bitmaps to improve the font rendering:

If you use vim as your primary editor, you may find this vimrc quite useful.

That's It. You are done. Start playing your new beautiful desktop. Please leave your comments with suggestions or any word of appreciation if this has been of any help to you.

Follow this page for any additional suggestions or improvements in this guide.