Any distro I should use?

  • qaz@lemmy.world
    18·
    10 months ago

    I recommend first switching Windows-only software to crossplatform software so you won’t have to get used to another operating system and different software at the same time.

  • Amends1782@lemmy.ca
    152·
    10 months ago

    For the love of god and all that is holy just use mint cinnamon it’s the easies most stable with little learning curve ever. High performance great for work gaming browsing whatever lol. If you can use windows 7/10 you can use mint cinnamon

    • average lemmy user@lemm.eeOP
      2·
      10 months ago

      I’ll add that to my VM list!

      LMDE Mint cinnamon plain old mint Pop OS Ubuntu

      Planning to finally boot up my VM after procrastinating, anything else?

      • sizzling@lemmy.world
        2·
        10 months ago

        I’ve been using Mint for quite a while now on a spare machine and it’s the first linux strain that has me not giving up in frustration. I can definitely recommend.

    • average lemmy user@lemm.eeOP
      1·
      10 months ago

      fun fact: my first experience of Linux was actually in Ubuntu (in a emulator ofc), and yes Im thinking of using mint

      • Possibly linux@lemmy.zipEnglish
        2·
        10 months ago

        Almost all of those support forms are from way back when Ubuntu was user friendly and community driven. However they are no longer serving the community and shouldn’t be considered user friendly like it was previously.

        Anyway almost all of the Ubuntu specific stuff will work on Linux mint as its Ubuntu based.

  • conrad82@lemmy.world
    8·
    10 months ago

    I would recommend using one of the distros backed by a big company or have very long track records. They are less likely to break on updates, and have a higher chance of supporting any uncommon hardware you may have.

    • Fedora
    • Ubuntu
    • Mint
    • Pop OS

    If you have new hardware (e.g. GPU newer than 6 months) you will probably have issues. Follow the recommendations from the hardware supplier, or use something arch based. I used Manjaro a while when I got new hardware.

    Besides those tips, you should decide which desktop environment you like best. I prefer gnome, as I enjoy to spend time in apps and not on in settings. Others prefer customization. Have a look at https://youtu.be/09cYQJBgKEs?si=KX8FZeMRcMlPTzG2

  • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
    71·
    10 months ago

    In the somewhat distant future you’re looking to switch to Linux. Okay, the question of distros can wait.

    What you want to do in the not-too-distant-future if possible is start finding FOSS alternatives to the software you use. Stuff like LibreOffice and Krita have Windows versions, so in the meantime start learning and using those apps. Because that’s the real pain point.

    As for distro…distros don’t really matter. Most of the user experience comes from the desktop environment, and that’s a matter of preference so personal that the real answer is “try several and use the one you like.”

  • the16bitgamer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    10 months ago

    From my experience, download many distros from Linux Mint to Zorin, maybe Fedora and OpenSuse if you want something non Ubuntu bases, or Manjaro and Endeavor OS if you are up for a challenge.

    Then install them in a Virtual Machine like Virtual Box. This way you can test which OS you like, and see if the software you want works.

    In my experience the Desktop Environment makes the biggest impact on your user experience.

    Followed by the package manager (app store)

    Then available software (steam lutris libre office)

    Finally the terminal for when things go south (or you installed arch)

    • Agent_Engelbert@linux.communityEnglish
      2·
      10 months ago

      Absolutely!

      I started with mint. Hated it.

      Ubuntu, Pop_Os. Hated it.

      Fedora. Hated it.

      Archlinux, okay, but not so much.

      Manjaroo, hated it.

      And now I settled with Garuda and Nobara. Like them.

      I used Nobara for niche gaming (rarely use it now).

      And Garuda Linux for dev work, and downloading and installing stuff, including proprietary packages. And I don’t have to configure all the things to make it capable of allowing me to download stuff from all the nice mirrors, such as the community arch mirror.

      Nobara, on the other hand, is great at handling compatibility issues kinda out of the box. Such [Edit1: as GPU] drivers.

      The reason I disliked the aforementioned distros was solely because of how much involved I had to be to configure them to integrate with my rare WiFi chip drivers, which triggered me when I banged my head at the keyboard for hours only to find out that my WiFi driver was not supported.

      But Garuda and Nobara or a blessing, and a chef’s kiss.

      That’s coming from a person who tried more than 20+ distros and/or their derivatives.

      [Edit2:] All in all, I would recommend what the comment above suggested, as that will help you find your own path. The samurai path, the kenjutsu path, or the kendo path, the peaceful path, or the hackers path. ;)

      [Edit3: sorry Debian users, but I DID try your distros, I just didn’t want to bother with them much as they had compatibility issues too !]

    • Bransons404@lemmy.world
      1·
      10 months ago

      I’ve been wanting to do this for years, and tried several years ago but my AMD graphics card didn’t have available drivers. I now have an rtx 2070 super, do you know if it’s compatible?

      I saw in a comment above that mint cinnamon is great for gaming, does that use wine or something similar? The gaming aspect is really holding me back.

      Also slight concern with my dev environment but I’m sure that’s been solved 100 different ways.

      • the16bitgamer@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        10 months ago

        Drivers. I’ve yet to run across any major issues except for Intel Compute not working with Davinci Resolve but that’s well documented.

        Now for gaming on Linux. There are 2 ways to game on Linux.

        1. Native ports. Most valve games and some third parties (mostly indie) are natively compatible. I’ve had no issues playing these ports and they run like any other application.

        2. Windows Compatibility Layer. Now asking for 20+ year old games to be ported to Linux is a bit of an ask. Let alone asking devs to add Linux support to their games when Linux had such a small install base.

        So what some very smart devs did, was make 2 pieces of software that makes playing native Windows games on Linux possible.

        WINE, or WIne Is Not an Emulator, is a compatibility layer to run native Windows Software in Linux. With a primary focus on Windows System Calls. Gaming in wine isn’t graphically the best.

        Then there is DXVK, or Direct X to Vulkan compatibility layer, which translates DX9-DX11 code to the open source Vulkan that runs in Linux. Intel’s Arc graphics uses this for their legacy compatibility.

        Now you don’t need to worry about installing any of this since Valve packages these apps, and some choice software like .Net Runtime in a package called Proton. This is a checkbox in Steam and when Steam Play is enabled, the Windows versions of games will be installed and will work.

        Compatibility is very good at this point but there are edge cases that still need to be ironed out. Like anti cheat, DRM, and more.

        Lutris is another prices of software that can be used like Steam Play but for non steam games. Its also good, but can be fiddly.

        Install process is no more involved than actual Windows, but when a Ubisoft game crashes it won’t take your entire machine down with it.

  • SavvyWolf@pawb.socialEnglish
    4·
    10 months ago

    Mint is my recommendation, having using it myself for many years now.

    If you have a Nvidia GPU, a case could be made for POP! due to the built in drivers, but installing Nvidia drivers is rather painless in Mint.

  • modcolocko@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    3·
    10 months ago

    Know that you’ll probably hate what you try first. Personally I say you shouldn’t use Pop_OS!, but its better than being scared of making a wrong choice. “distrohopping” is a great way to learn.

    tldr: just do it

  • SterbenDeathGun@lemmy.ml
    3·
    10 months ago

    Why don’t you try becoming comfortable with Linux while using it in a Virtual Machine? I tried different distros too, and then I decided which one was the best for me.

    We can’t really suggest you one, if we don’t know what you are going to use it for.

    You may want to do some research, because different distros have different purposes (gaming, privacy, programming, easy to use etc etc).

    Let us know, what your use cases will be?

    • Techognito@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      10 months ago

      https://distrochooser.de/ is a great tool that help to understand what the different distros can do.

      Also, you should probably know that selecting a distro is more about selecting the underlying OS and less about the UI (DE). Most distros support the top 5 Desktop Environments (DE for short). And selecting a DE can be just as important.