Have you tried using the Fluxbox implementation version MX Linux makes available? They have put tons of work into their Fluxbox implementation. Perhaps it will provide you with some useful ideas/ help. Their Forums are also quite responsive & helpful. FWIW . I am not a paid announcer ;) …

I have no idea why this link did not appear… here is a retry on the material.

https://eirenicon.org/2023/12/13/xorg-wayland-transition-thoughts/

I, also, use systemd… When running Wayland and x11 window managers there are quite a few dependencies on systemd that are easiest ti handle by just using it. ;)

Looks like my cut & paste skills need work… here are the links I intended to give everyone:

Exodia (dwm, bspwm) Arch Distro: https://exodia-os.github.io/exodia-website/?ref=news.itsfoss.com

CachyOS (gnome, kde) Arch Distro: https://cachyos.org/

XeroLinux (Stable base Arch): https://xerolinux.xyz/

Another factor impacting memory significantly is the kernel used. My liquorix kernel “updated” this morning and I am using 200MB less memory than yesterday; it must be my lucky day. 😜

Given your observation, I’m guessing you have not used i3wm very much. i3 is extremely flexible and powerful. But as with most Window Managers, i3wm is geared towards those who prefer to build a highly customized environment. If you haven’t already, this is a good read. https://i3wm.org/

Thank you for noticing my omission. I added the following: NB.: Dropbox is shown because it runs at login and is a large contaminant in terms of memory utilization on each window manager (setup). If you do NOT use Dropbox you should expect your idle memory use to be lower than my total by some 600MB.

FWIW neither KDE nor gnome are Window Managers (WM), they are Desktop Environments (DE). WMs are significantly different from DEs in terms of what they provide and how they are constructed. WMs are more of a builder’s kit and less of something you just install and use. If you like doing things in a specific, unique manner you might enjoy WMs. Be advised they are, almost always, much more detailed in terms of their installation.