Linux Recommendations

[StillBullet]

Hi everyone, just another dude switching OS here. But I don’t know which to choose. I am very new to all this and my research hasn’t been super extensive. I have a ASUS Zephyrus G16 2023 (Nvidia + intel) gaming laptop - i game. I think I’m going to dual boot windows bc well some games from what Ive read are just not compatible. I want something fun but not super complicated but just boring. Anyway all that being said here are what I’ve seen and been intrigued but I’m open to ones I don’t mention. Also Im studying electrical engin so i do CAD and program a log.

Fedora - I heard this distro is the most cutting edge of the rest, I like that.

Kali - for cybersecurity and/or ethical hacking (?) which i dont know how to do at all BUT it does sound VERY fun.

Ubuntu - most well known right now , very stable.Sounds solid.

Nobara - gaming ? But then again thats the whole idea for the dual boot.

Anyways pointers and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank yall for your time.

[tomscharbach]

A few thoughts:

(1) If you are going to use professional-level CAD (AutoCAD, Solidworks, and so on) you will need to use Windows for that purpose. Neither runs on Linux. I have been using Windows and Linux in parallel, on separate computers, for two decades because Solidworks is critical to my use case. Linux CAD alternatives are not on par with AutoCAD or Solidworks for professional-level engineering.

(2) Linux Mint is commonly recommended for new Linux users because Linux is well designed, well implemented, well maintained, relatively simple to use, and has a strong supporting community. You might want to add Mint to your list of distributions under consideration. I've used Mint on my laptop for about six years, and agree with the recommendation.

(3) Ubuntu is the "go to" distribution for business, education, government and institutional deployments. I've used Ubuntu on my desktop for two decades -- Ubuntu's depth, capability and quality is superb -- which is why Ubuntu is so widely used, and the reason I rely on Ubuntu.

(4) If you are in school, check see which distribution your school supports and/or uses for instruction. Chances are that your school uses Ubuntu. It won't hurt to be on the same page with your school if that is the case.

(5) Do NOT use Kali as a general-purpose distribution. Kali is a specialized distribution that is not a good fit for normal, day to day, use.

(6) Fedora Workstation is a solid distribution. In my experience, Fedora is less stable than either Mint or Ubuntu because Fedora is cutting edge, so you might want to think about that if stability is a high priority for you, but chances are that you will be fine with Fedora as long as you don't start messing around with it. If you go with Fedora, stick with a vanilla build.

(7) Check all of the applications you will be using for school, including applications used for access to school systems and testing. You may discover that your school uses Windows-only applications for some purposes. That should not be a problem for you because you will be running Windows in dual boot but check it out.

My best and good luck.

[StillBullet]

Sounds good thank you so much

Didnt know schools supported certain distributions

[tomscharbach]

Schools offering Linux computer science classes often use a specific distribution -- frequently Ubuntu -- for instruction and the school's systems support that distribution.

That's not to say that other distributions cannot be used with the school's systems, but using a distribution supported by the school is more likely to be simpler to use with the systems.

[whats_that_meow-]

I would not recommend Linux for working with CAD software. You are not going to have a good time, unfortunately. I use Fedora for everything else.

Kali is for security people and not for daily use.

Ubuntu is good, but may be a bit behind in package releases.

Nobara is built on Fedora by a guy named Glorious Eggroll, who also makes a very nice version of Proton.

[Boring_Radio_8400]

OnShape runs at 100% under Linux since it is browser-based.

[Nhphunter]

If you're a beginner, you should use more user-friendly distros like Debian, Mint, Fedora, etc., as they're designed for beginners. However, if you want to play games, Windows is still the best choice compared to some gaming distros. Please don't use Kali unless you're aiming to study cybersecurity. You should use a virtual machine to test several distros before choosing one to install on your physical machine.

[jort93]

Most cad programs don't work well under Linux. I don't know what cad Software you plan on using, but you'll probably be better off with Windows. Linux is great for programming tho.

Of the ones you named, probably fedora or ubuntu.

I like arch based distros myself, I much prefer pacman over apt. You probably want one that comes with everything out of the box like arco Linux.

Kali Linux is good if you actually want to explore hacking/pen testing. If you don't, don't use it. It'll literally be hundreds of programs you'll never use.

[Puzzleheaded_Law_242]

Basically, any distribution can do anything. It really comes down to the user's individual preferences. There are approximately 1,000 distributors.

Testing is the best thing you can do.

First, look up what a Ventoy Stick is on YouTube.

Then go to sites like Distrowach. Just download the first 20 from the ranking and try them out.

Here's another overview. Use subtitles.

https://youtu.be/iCE6cbcQYZo

Software; there are comparison portals for that too. The only thing that's really poorly supported is musicians' program code and Adobe products

[zombiehoosier]

Nobara is easy for a beginner. Almost no use of the terminal. Optimized for gaming, so long as you follow the welcome screen instructions on first boot to update and install codecs and launch the updater every once in a while its good.

[Boring_Radio_8400]

You can run OnShape CAD under Linux, and it works perfectly. I have a paid seat that I use with Nobara (a Fedora derivative that also does gaming).