So I've been dabbling in and and out of Ubuntu and Mint for the last couple years. I usually go back to Windows either because i needed to use Netflix(not the case anymore) or gaming purposes or even development purposes. The first time i used Ubuntu(around 5 years ago) i lost all my data so i've had a cautious approach to it. However recently i found out that Ubuntu Gnome wasn't the vanilla experience for Gnome3. Ever had issues with Gnome and brushed it off? Then try a different distro that uses Gnome. I went with Fedora and it's probably the best thing i've done, everything feels smoother and snappier as well. I've nearly set up everything to the point that i'll probably only use windows for gaming purposes. I wouldn't say i didn't have issues with Fedora but they weren't as annoying as Ubuntu. I had a really bad time with using dual monitors in Ubuntu Gnome where it wouldnt save the screen position and i had to download a script from github that did it for me on startup but then i installed the nvidia driver and everything got messed up again. In Fedora it just worked right out of the box. So i say If you love Gnome and use Ubuntu but you'r having a hard time then try a different distro and see what happens
Fedora uses a newer version of GNOME than Ubuntu as far as I know. 15.04 is coming out this month though which will come with a newer version.
Even still, fedora actually does have better gnome support.
All the official ubuntu flavors with the exception of xbuntu and mate all are kind of gimped.
Ubuntu gnome really feels like someone ripped out unity and then copy and pasted gnome 3 into the OS.
I am not really complaining because I know the ubuntu's main focus is on unity, so I really do not expect them to spend a hell of a lot of time on gnome.
Fedora on the other hand relies heavily on the gnome desktop, so they invest a lot more time ironing out gnome than ubuntu does.
I would love to switch to Fedora but they don't package fglrx and manually it reinstalling every time I upgrade kernels is not very pleasant. I am however using Ubuntu Gnome 15.04 nightlies with the i3 Gaps WM and I'm having a very pleasant experience, the best thing about Gnome is not having to use Gnome ;)
Yeh i feel the exact same way, ubuntu gnome on fedora seems to be a lot more polished. Unity was a lot better and i rarely had any problems with it but i just didn't like it