I am looking for a Linux OS

Comments

• ttyybb@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Look at zorinOS or Mint. Those are good starting points

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  • Arandomguyontheinternet@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Thank you

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    • turboSnail@piefed.europe.pub ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Always remember, distrohopping is allowed. Your first distribution doesn’t have to stray with you forever. It can, but doesn’t have to. If you hear about a cool new distro, feel free to try it out.

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• otacon239@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Worth mentioning that if you’re on AMD, you’re pretty much open for choice. If you have nVidia, make sure the OS you go with calls out nVidia support as a feature. Even then, your specific config may require that you try out a couple before finishing the right fit.

  I personally tried Bazzite and had a rough experience with performance and haven’t had outsides on EndeavorOS, but have read reports from other nVidia users that had the opposite experience. All to say, your mileage may vary, and don’t give up right away if the first one doesn’t feel right.

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  • marcos@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    If you have nVidia, make sure the OS you go with calls out nVidia support as a feature.

    That makes the setup easier, but the capacity of making it work or not doesn’t actually change.

    I’d say not only pick an OS that explicitly supports it, but make sure to test first as a live-image without installing and overwriting the OS that is already there working.

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    • otacon239@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I wish there was an easy way to test this, but I got two weeks into my setup before I noticed parties because it was only affecting some of my games. This is still a good idea, just not a guarantee.

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  • Sludge@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Sample size of one here - I am on EndeavourOS and have an Nvidia card. I had issues with KDE and with Cinnamon (weird UI hiccups). Switched over to Hyprland and haven’t had those issues since (I did have a TON of issues when Hyprland updated from .52 to .53) and also don’t recommend Hyprland setup for a new user, but just wanted to share my experience here.

    The install experience with EOS was totally painless and I’ll likely continue to use it on future PC builds (if ram prices ever come down). Looking forward to switching everything to AMD one day.

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• abbiistabbii@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I don’t think you can install Linux on a cat. Please do not the cat

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  • muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    PLEASE DO NOT THE CAT

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  • ibot@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Doesn’t matter. You can install it on any other hardware because Linux includes ‘cat’ already. You will not need the old one anymore.

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• delcaran@feddit.it ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I switch ti Bazzite on my gaming rig a month ago and felt great. I managed to install and mod Skyrim effortlessly and yesterday I installed Tarkov and SPT with no problem whatsoever. Highly recommend.

  But check if your favorite games are compatible, mainly the multiplayer ones: Tarkov can only be single player PvE, GTA is story mode only and forget about Destiny 2. Not a problem for me, plenty of alternatives, but you should check for yourself.

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  • Blubber28@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Seconding bazzite here. If you want to “get to know Linux” you might want to consider something else, but if you just want a well-running system with minimal use of the command line, Bazzite is an amazing option. I’ve been using it since August last year, and have only had to use the command line once in that time. Which isn’t a problem for me, but it may be a bit daunting for others (and that is totally fine!).

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  • doxxx@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I’ll throw my vote in for Bazzite. It’s best if you want to use your PC instead of tinkering with Linux. Plus it’s quite gaming focused so Steam etc will work out of the box, although each game’s compatibility will vary. Check protondb.com for compatibility reports on Steam games.

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  • njordomir@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Bazzite scared me when it chose not to boot one day. I had to do some sort of command and got it working again (saved the details to my system build notes). I can’t have stuff breaking on me so I was concerned. I haven’t had an issue since, so I’m pretty stoked on Bazzite now. I will say, I couldn’t get Steam Play working (the thing that let’s you play games remotely on a tablet or phone or whatever, Steam itself works fine). I fixed the issue with Sunlight/Moonlight which does the sane thing but did it with less lag, picture degradation. Personally, I suggest you hold out on choosing and load a few different distros on USB sticks to try. I recently built a PC for a family member and did some distrohopping to find the right OS for them.

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• Jobe@feddit.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Can’tbelieve no one’s said this yet, but first you should check protondb.com for all the games you play a lot. It will show you how well they work in Linux. The biggest issue are competitive/esports titles because of their anticheat systems. Most other games run fine out of the box, but some run better with some tweaking.

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  • Inkstainthebat@pawb.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    This! Some games won’t work with all the tinkering in the world so ProtonDB is a Linux gamer’s best friend

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• Bamboodpanda@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I was in the same situation a few months ago. I wanted to try Linux but had no real experience with it. To experiment safely, I built a computer from old parts and installed Linux Mint. I then swapped it with my Windows machine and committed to using Mint exclusively for a month. That hands-on approach helped far more than reading guides. I now use Mint on my primary system.

  Here is what I learned along the way. Mint has excellent documentation because it is one of the most popular Linux distributions. When I ran into problems, I could generally find reliable answers through the official forums, community wikis, or by asking ChatGPT for step-by-step instructions. So far, there has not been a single issue I could not eventually fix with some experimentation.

  If you are coming from Windows and want to game, there are several points worth knowing upfront:

  1. Steam on Linux is straightforward Steam has a native Linux client. Most Windows games work through Proton, which Steam handles automatically. For many titles, you simply install the game and press play. Performance can be very close to Windows.

  2. Expect some trial and error Although many games work out of the box, some require you to switch Proton versions or install small compatibility tools. It is usually not difficult, but it is different enough from Windows that patience helps.

  3. Modding takes more effort My most recent challenge involved getting game mods working. Tools like Proton, Wine, and mod installers sometimes interact in unexpected ways. It took me a few hours of reading and experimenting, but I eventually got everything running. Once you understand where games store their files and how Proton prefixes work, modding becomes much more manageable.

  4. Linux teaches you how your system works If you are willing to tinker, Linux rewards you. You learn how your files are organized, how applications install dependencies, and how to fix problems yourself. That knowledge makes troubleshooting less intimidating over time.

  5. You can always dual-boot If you are nervous about switching completely, you can dual-boot Windows and Mint. That way you can learn Linux without losing access to anything critical.

  If you are starting from zero, the biggest advantage is the size and friendliness of the Linux Mint community. You do not have to figure everything out alone. With a bit of persistence, you can build a fully functional gaming setup that performs well and is easier to maintain than you might expect.

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  • sanguinepar@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Not who you were replying to, but thanks for this. I’m hoping to give Linux a go this year, on an old laptop that isn’t needed anymore, and this makes me feel more confident about it!

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  • pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Great guide!

    I would add that searching for a “SteamDeck” guide for a mod set tends to find a more complete guide for running that mod on Linux.

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• Suck_on_my_Presence@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I recommend Mint for a beginner friendly stepping stone. Works right out of the box and is really easy to jump to from windows.

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• SpicyTaint@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  It looks like you found a cat instead. Please pet the cat.

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• ChristerMLB@piefed.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  My experience is that Linux Mint is the closest we have to a “it just works"-distro that is also decently up to date. Try that first.

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• markovs_gun@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I recommend Mint if it’s your first time. It’s really easy to set up and use and there are thousands of guides online for fixing any issues you encounter with it. I do not recommend Bazzite like others are recommending because you literally can’t change anything with it. That is fine if everything works out of the box and you’re basically just using it for gaming, but if literally anything is wrong with your install or you have a device where the drivers that come with Bazzite don’t work, you literally can’t fix it. Not as in “it’s really difficult” I mean it literally won’t let you do it. Updating drivers on Linux is notoriously frustrating, but it’s very often required especially if you have older USB peripherals you want to use.

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• paris@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Bazzite, Linux Mint, CachyOS

  Try each of them out, see what you mesh best with, join their respective discord/matrix for further help and details 👍

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• zlatiah@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I play a lot of games over steam

  If my main concern is playing game with Steam, most mainstream Linux OSes should be fine. If I have to pick one… Linux Mint is very beginner-friendly, and I’ve heard great things about Bazzite too. SteamOS works flawlessly with Steam out of the box, but I don’t know how easy it is to set up by yourself

  If you happen to also like non-Steam games: a lot of them can be added as a custom application/game via your Steam Library, which does most of the heavy-lifting: you only have to specify which compatibility layer to use & sometimes do keymapping. Setting up wine on its own is not for the faint-hearted

  I personally use Arch because AUR (a user-uploaded repository, a lot of popular Linux OSes have their own versions) makes it easy to play a lot of FOSS games… but I can’t recommend Arch Linux for beginners

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• cows_are_underrated@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I usually recommend Linux Mint. Its based on Ubuntu, so when searching for help online everything that works for Ubuntu should work for mint. Another Advantage mint has is, that it has quite a lot of UIs for a lot of applications/settings. This means, that you dont have to work with the terminal that much when doing something. However, I Am highly recommending that in the long term you should try to find your way around in the terminal. A lit if help that you will find online is based around the terminal, and knowing what commands do is quite valuable.

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  • BeautifulMind@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I just got Mint working on one of my machines yesterday, the process was remarkably painless

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• neidu3@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  After distro hopping for decades, I’ve ended up just running Mint for almost all desktop use cases. This includes gaming via steam.

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• GreenBeanMachine@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  The beauty of asking a linux advice from linux nerds is that you will get as many different advice as there are comments and then will have to do your own research anyway.

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• kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I’m just glad that someone FINALLY asked this question!

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• ArseAssassin@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I’d love to help you, but unfortunately I can’t think of a single distro that would run on a cat.

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  • cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Not even CATchyOS?

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  • sanguinepar@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    They only run Miaowcrosoft products.

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  • Pat@feddit.nu ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Well, I do know that for terminal emulators, KiTTY works pretty well :-)

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• BandanaBug@piefed.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I’m running CachyOS and love it. Great performance and easy to use IMO

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• Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I would say SteamOS if you can run it. Otherwise, CachyOS.

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  • Arandomguyontheinternet@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Thank you

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    • KoboldCoterie@pawb.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Worth noting if you take this advice: SteamOS (and Bazzite, recommended elsewhere) are immutable distros, which, to over-simplify it to an extreme degree, limits your ability to install things that modify the system directly. This can be a good thing, but it can also make it difficult to install certain things that you might want. There are workarounds, but you might find this frustrating at first.

      If you primarily game, this is probably not an issue for you except that some non-Steam games may require some extra work to run (particularly ones that, for example, require you to install .NET Framework or specific Java versions.)

      Not trying to discourage you from these - they’re great OSes and the ‘downside’ of immutable distros can actually be beneficial when new to linux, as they prevent you from breaking things through inexperience, but it’s something you should be aware of up front. (FWIW I use Bazzite as my daily driver for everything, and it works fine.)

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• bilouba@jlai.lu ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Kubuntu is the best. It’s Ubuntu with KDE tools and programs. You have Plasma as a desktop environment, which is very close to Window but that you can customize to your need. Ubuntu is very popular so you get pretty much everything available and with tutorial, ressources and everything. KDE really push it to the most user friendly, GUI for everything kind of state. Steam is easy to install, take charge of Proton or anything needed for your games to run. I was very frustrated by Gnome (the default desktop environment for Ubuntu), failing miserably to make it more like Window. I guess Gnome is more for Mac users. The only thing I recommend is deactivating Snap and installing Flatpack. It’s easy to find tuto on how to do that. Both Snap and Flatpack are doing the same idea, to bundle a program and it’s dependencies in a format that allows easier distribution to many distro. But Snap is not as good as Flatpack. You are free to leave it or to use both. Either way, you can also install program made for Ubuntu or Debian. And with KDE come Discover that is like an App Store and updater. Linux Mint is also good but I really think Plasma is the best desktop environment. Good thing to know you can always install more desktop environment that the one already installed, so don’t hesitate to try other. If you are already engaged in a very pro open source stance, you might look at Fedora. Anyway you choose, there are community of people passionate with Linux that can help you every step of the way. LLM can also help you get the basic. Good luck and welcome 🤗

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  • muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Honestly I’ve found Kubuntu breaks in weird places for weird reasons. It’s always been that way. Neon was supposed to address this but it just broke in other places instead.

    If KDE is your priority, I see only 2 top tier options. Fedora if you want it to just work out of the box, arch if you are okay arguing a little to make your point and have it work how you want.

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    • cows_are_underrated@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I would highly recommend against installing arch AS your first distro. You could go with EndeavourOS (or some other Arch based Distros), but plain arch will be very unforgiving if you dont know what you are doing.

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    • bilouba@jlai.lu ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      No “breaking” in my experience. I had a weird thing with sound in the beginning that I tried to fix and failed but fixed itself after an update (at this point I believe it is a rite of passage for Linux 😂) and a weird bug with Nvidia on resume from sleep that was a bitch to figure out but really easy to fix. Since then no issues at all. 25.10 is smooth sailing, the update was easy and problem free. I hope I’m not cursing myself.

      Now that I feel a little bit more experience with Linux in contemplating moving to Fedora KDE.

      I fear one thing, it’s that my GPU’s driver is technically not maintained by Nvidia (GTX 1070). I heard Arch user suffered from that and it will eventually come for Ubuntu. Don’t know what to do for now, but I’m sure there will be solution.

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• matmarspace@programming.dev ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  For sure choose some Debian-based distro. As a beginner maybe stay away from Arch or Fedora derivatives - most tutorials are for Debian-based distros and it will be easier that way. Pick something like Ubuntu, Mint, Zorin or sth like that. Don’t be owerwhelmed. The distro doesn’t really matter as long it’s not Arch. Learn that the look of the desktop is independent of the distro you choose. The look is called “desktop environment”. Look it up. You can install any desktop environment on any distro so you don’t have to pick distro based on looks. Good luck and have fun.

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• nandeEbisu@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Pick something with a good window manager, typing into a terminal without fingers and thumbs is going to be tricky.

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• no_circumlocution@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  I recommend Debian for new users and Arch fir experienced users, but use what feels right to you.

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• Saprophyte@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I’m going to go out on a limb here… If you have no Linux experience, download virtualbox and a handful of distros to try out in your current machine.

  CachyOS is great for gaming, I’d suggest the KDE desktop PopOS is also a great choice, their native cosmic desktop is nice. Mint with cinnamon is also a good choice for gaming and daily use Bazzite is also a popular gaming distro that also uses KDE Xubuntu is also a great choice, Ubuntu base with XFCE desktop, great for gaming and a big supportive community

  Try these and maybe a handful others to play with until you find a desktop that you find intuitive and easy to find what you need. Once you play with a few of these pick one and try to stick with it as you learn Linux in a full native install.

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  • BeautifulMind@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Another really simple way to do essentially the same is to set the bios in your machine to support boot from a USB stick (and in some machines, that involves disabling the ‘secure boot’ setting that prevents any OS but the OEM OS from loading on the machine). Once you’ve got that, you can run any distro if you’ve got it on a USB stick by booting your machine from it.

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    • Saprophyte@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Another great idea, just keep in mind how much of a performance hit running an os off of a USB is

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• Dogiedog64@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Fedora KDE Plasma is what I use. It’s solid.

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• KiwiTB@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Want easy starting point… Linux Mint.

  Later down the line move to more complicated ones.

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• AdamBomb@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Mint is beginner friendly. The Cinnamon desktop is very Windows-like. But if you want HDR support I don’t recommend Mint because its desktops are mostly on X11. It updates the kernel less frequently, so it’s more stable, less cutting edge.

  Pop!_OS is also beginner friendly, gaming oriented, makes installing NVIDIA drivers easy, and since its desktops are on Wayland, you can get HDR support. Its kernel updates more frequently, so newer hardware gets support sooner.

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  • Jaumoso@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Mint is not a great idea. Its pretty nice for starters, but not for gamers. I had a lot of problems with fps and the mint compositor.

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    • AdamBomb@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      That was kind of my point saying HDR support is hard on Mint. However, I game plenty on Mint and never had any problems aside from that.

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    • schmups@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Had 0 issues on mint with gaming. I play plenty of modern AAA, AA games.

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• ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  From what I hear, gaming = bazzite.

  Also you can check compatibility of your games with ProtonDB.

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  • Daedskin@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    My wife and I play a lot of games; my wife is also not super technical — she can get her way around some problems, but not deeper ones, and never uses the terminal, — and we’ve enjoyed bazzite quite a bit with almost no issues.

    I also do development, and that’s been fine as well.

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• bitwolf@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Fedora KDE is what I use and recommend.

  Its easy, to setup, no frills, reliable and very easy to use with a just gui if you’re not into the terminal.

  If, and only if, this is not your primary computer. Eg, it’s only for gaming, I’d recommend Bazzite.

  Bazzite is great and I use it on our couch pc for a true console experience. I call it “our better Xbox”.

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• Lawnman23@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Fedora KDE.

  Looks similar-esque to Windows and Steam and most/all your games will run great on it.

  Packages and kernel are kept current and it’s stable.

  It has an App Store called Discover for finding most anything you will need out of the gate.

  fedoraproject.org/kde/

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