Its easier to start from a lightweight text editor and add only what you need as opposed to start with an IDE and trim the fat, and pray it won't break.
Counter point: IDEs can provide a better experience for interacting with the myriad different tools we rely on as developers, through a consistent, unified, interface.
Jetbrains do go some way towards addressing the point you raise, with their language specific editors. I use a broad enough cross-section of those languages that I stick with IDEA ultimate, but my experiences with PyCharm, RubyMine and WebStorm have been nothing but positive.
Qualifier: All IDEs, and especially IDE interfaces, are not created equal!
Actually, the first time you start IntelliJ, it will walk you through all the plugins per category. If you don't select anything, you will mostly have the same effect.
Of course, the result won't be as light as Sublime text, because it is already a Java IDE :).
Also, I don't really see the point. I start or restart my IDE (IntelliJ) one time a week. So, it's not really the startup time that matters. Once started, IntelliJ is fast on all my machines (including my work iMac, which still has spinning platters).
> I start or restart my IDE (IntelliJ) one time a week. So, it's not really the startup time that matters.
So I assume you don't use your IDE for modifying local configuration files, or taking random notes, then. Startup time (and having multiple lightweight instances) is important in these cases.
People replace Notepad/vi with Sublime Text, in order to get all the benefits and power they're used to in Sublime Text when editing even the most mundane or ephemeral document. You can't really do that with IntelliJ.
This is my reason for using ST2 as well. I even bought PyCharm last year (the doomsday sale), but it was just too much. It has so many options that even basic ones had steep learning curve (as in "where the hell is this function?").
Note that I'm talking about personal use. If I were a full time developer, I might force myself into an IDE.
