As long as you can use the version, yes. But a point release upgrade is never without risk. Often it is safer and cleaner to do a fresh install e.g from Mint 18 to 19. Mint 18 is based on Ubuntu 16 which uses kernel 4.4. In the Linux world where development goes fast, that is an old kernel (but still ok if you don't need a recent version). The problem with point releases, even if you have an LTS, is that you're stuck with specific libraries. You cannot install newer software without breaking the system/dependencies, which can be a handicap if you want an update that holds a fix to a nasty bug. This is especially true for the desktop. Both KDE/Qt and Gnome/GTK come out frequently with fixes. XFCE to a lesser degree. Backports are a temporary solution but not without risk of breaking the system.Dinosaur wrote:Using Mint 18.3 I have never had to do a Re-Install.
After installing Debian 9, which ships with kernel 4.9 I saw new developments and fixes passing by me and I could not install them. With Manjaro I have the luxury of the latest updates and it allows the selection of a preferred kernel too from version 3.16 to 4.19 (currently). Coming from the Debian world, Manjaro as a stable rolling release is a big relief. Debian based distros are certainly not bad, and do well if you don't need/want the latest developments.