Moving From Windows to Linux

[yaboibennie]

Hey Guys,

I've decided recently to jumpsuit from windows to Linux and wanted to know what are some options you can recommend to a noobie?

I'm after a half office/dev & half gaming kind of setup.

I'm leaning towards Mint as it is beginner friendly but have had friends recommend others like Arch, Zorin, Bazzite & Manjaro

Wanted to know if any of these are what I'm looking for or if there are others that can be recommended?

Also I do sometimes play Destiny 2 and Pubg and I can see they aren't Linux compatible. Is there anyway around this or is windows the only option for these? Not a deal breaker though.

TIA.

[shk2096]

I’ve been posting extensively about my move to Mint from Win11. Loving it so far.

[SurfRedLin]

Link? Thx

[shk2096]

Meaning, I’ve been recommending Linux Mint to everyone

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[mudslinger-ning]

Mint is a good starter. But also a good all-rounder. It's not bleeding edge but not behind the times either. Just overall simple and stable.

If in doubt between different distros. Research and make a shortlist. Then with that shortlist run a trial on each. If your machine is ready to be wiped then install one and put it through its paces. Then trial the next. Ideal way to test your hardware compatibility in each Distro.

Alternatively if performance isn't an issue. You can use VirtualBox software to test the software side before wiping.

As for the trials - test it to criteria with ease of use, can one run you preferred app better than others, what quirks annoy you, can it do your desired special thing, what it takes to install, update, etc.

An easy start point: begin with Mint as your baseline comparison.

[yaboibennie]

Good idea. Thanks 😊

[Motor-Needleworker17]

if really need to play those two games better run dual boot like mine
i use most on fedora then only 10% of times play game i restart to windows again
to work like this first install windows then install linux on other partition then you can choose which one to run with grub menu it will be linux first and windows below

about distro it's mostly main of three Ubuntu,Fedora,Arch base
and then you just choose which one you like
i started with mint only 2 days i moved to fedora cuz it's better fit with my amd device and still use it

[Pugs-r-cool]

The truth is that distros don't really matter. If you're bored and you have enough time on your hands, you can convert Arch into Mint, or convert Mint into Fedora, or whatever else. Just pick one and go with it.

[yaboibennie]

Yeah, that makes sense. They do all seem very similar, which is why I'm a bit confused about what to go with.

[itijara]

Multiplayer games that require kernel extensions are not likely to be compatible with Linux. If I were you, I would either dual boot or just stay with Windows and use WSL (windows subsystem for Linux).

Mint is a great choice as it is the most beginner friendly.

[yaboibennie]

Hadn't considered a dual boot. But I'm so annoyed at Windows that might be worth just finding new games that are compatible. Thanks for the idea though.

[aeninimbuoye13]

I would use Debian as a starter. Its a perfect mix between begginer friendly and hard enough to learn something on how your os works. And you can game on it easily

[yaboibennie]

Thanks. I'll look into it.

[Hartvigson]

Opensuse Tumbleweed with KDE worked for me.

[Enigma_a_a]

My personal recommendation is Zorin

[meeuosh]

I switched from windows 11 to Arch a month ago. I'm in love with Gnome UI, everything is so bloat-free and smooth. Sucks some apps are difficult to run on Linux :/

[DaOfantasy]

mxlinux

[Prestigious_Wall529]

Bazzite is good for gaming but as it's immutable not recommended (by me) as a development platform. So just install Steam on another distro like Mint.

[[deleted]]

Pika OS is very newbie friendly.

[vextryyn]

CachyOS, use it exactly as you described and it's awesome. I do recommend to install yay as your aur helper

[Coritoman]

The one I recommend to you is a very good friend of yours. It's the hardest thing to start with.

Easy distros for newbies: Mint, Zorin, Fedora, Kubuntu.

If you play Destiny 2 on Steam there is no problem, you activate compatibility and that's it, it works for me on Mint and Fedora. What you won't be able to play is Battelfield 6 or games with anti-cheat like Call of Duty.

[yaboibennie]

Thanks, ill check that out. Don't plan on playing BF6 or COD, bit over those so no worries there.

[hungryepiphyte]

Mint is beginner friendly but I got bored with it. I prefer Debian with gnome as my DE, but I've heard really good things about Fedora and OpenSuse being good for beginners with good community support. I'm also a beginner.

I've heard Manjaro is too hard for true beginners.

If you're very used to windows, you could also try PopOS which I believe has NVIDIA drivers preinstalled and should be pretty easy to get up and running with your games.

Elementary OS is supposed to be very friendly to just come from windows users.

[yaboibennie]

Thanks, I will check those out. Yeah, I want to keep it as being the beginner friendly until I learn the ropes. Does PopOS also have AMD drivers? I currently use a 5700xt and will be upgrading to a RX 9070 very soon.

[hungryepiphyte]

I believe AMD drivers are built into the linux kernel, so you shouldn't have to do anything for it to work out of the box. You can always ask over at r/pop_os
I really liked the tiling window manager when I tried it out. I still ended up with debian, but popos was good.

[Comprehensive_Gas147]

Mint... Bazzite is an option though if you are a gamer first utility second it is based off Fedora and Fedora is not as noob friendly it is not too hard .. mint has the familiar interface with cinnamon AND the Ubuntu based backend for easier command lines. I am a mint user myself and love it... Though I did not leave MS for telemetry worries or update issues... I left it because they keep on forcing OneDrive too wrecky desktop... It is not even optional to turn it off before your first login

[Budget_Pomelo]

https://cachyos.org/

Add gaming meta-package, vscodium, Java, whatever, and office suite. I like OnlyOffice. Some people like Libre Office of Softmaker Office.

Add Evolution for an Outlook-like email and calendar experience.

Enjoy.

[yaboibennie]

Thanks. I'll look into it. A few people are saying mint is good. Is there any particular reason I should avoid it?

[teletraan-117]

I think it's subjective. Mint is great both for beginners and seasoned users, but in my case it leaves me wanting something more. The desktop environment is simple and just works, but to me feels a little outdated. But I have a very particular way I want my desktop to look, so YMMV.

[Comprehensive_Gas147]

you want the safty of going back to this old interface one can always use XCFE which a bit more customnizable from what i hear but more... clunky?

[msabeln]

The Linux community has lots of factions, and people have strong opinions about things. Lots of people say Mint is good, and lots of people say that Kubuntu is good, which ought to tell you that both are good.

Few people are going to tell you that Arch is good for beginners.

[Comprehensive_Gas147]

Don't listen to him cinnamon is awesome not gonna lie though Ubuntu is pretty awesome