So, Im currently on Windows 10, on my desktop but Im seriously considering switching to Linux instead of upgrading to Windows 11. I already have Kubuntu (the customization looked cool ^^) installed on my laptop, which I want to experiment with as soon as I have more time.
The distros Im looking into for my desktop are Nobara and Pop! OS. I own a modern NVIDIA GPU and mostly care about gaming. Other than that, I will just be using the desktop to browse the internet and watch some videos.
I have a friend who does IT and he swears by the mainline distros like Fedora. Im not as technically savvy and just want something that does the couple of things I need it to do which are gaming and watching funny cat videos on YouTube. I assume one advantage of big distros is that you have large comms that can help you if you run into a problem…
I would be especially interested to hear from folks that used Nobara or Pop OS but also those who do modern gaming on Linux.
Thanks. Any input is appreciated.
I liked Pop OS when it was a modern release, but since they’re putting all of their resources into creating their own desktop environment Cosmic, they haven’t actually updated their OS significantly since April of 2022.
I use Manjaro for gaming which is pretty user friendly and Arch based like Steam OS. Gaming on Linux means that you’re going to be using the windows gaming emulator Proton, developed by Steam. While Proton works well on pretty much any distribution you’d think to use, I think it works a bit better on Arch distributions because they’re of the same family as the OS that Proton was designed for (Steam OS).
It’s also pretty easy to install proprietary Nvidia drivers on Manjaro.
Either way, you should also install:
https://davidotek.github.io/protonup-qt/
As it is a very easy user interface that allows you to install alternate versions of Proton that may work better.
You’re also going to want to bookmark:
https://www.protondb.com/
As that is the backbone of troubleshooting gaming on Linux.
Welcome to the Linux community!
Personally still keep protonup-qt around because the way it shows which prefixes are in use by which games and which are unused and can be safely removed, but found that using ProtonPlus for everything else is a smoother experience with addition information in a more eye-pleasing ui.
Manjaro is also working on a version for handhelds and is working with at least one hardware manufacturer to ship it by default, so that’s a decent rec as well.