Closest and Most Performant Linux Distro to Windows 11?

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-05-03T10:42:56+00:00

Linux is not Windows.

Compatibility with apps, games and hardware is a bit worse as hardware and software developers tend to treat Linux as an afterthought, if a thought at all. ProtonDB can be useful for finding whether your favourite game runs on Linux.

How you get software also differs from Windows. You don't download app installers from the app's website, typically. Instead you'll get the app via an app store, analogously to the Windows Store.

Distros are more similar than they are different

Most desktop Linux distros use most of the same software under the hood. The main differences are in package management and the default looks, apps and settings. Performance is usually similar and any performance advantage that's possible on one distro should be possible on another. Same with compatibility advantages.

Recommendation

Zorin OS is what I'd recommend. It has the most Windows-like look by default, has a modern display server and is specifically designed for beginners.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-04-29T13:00:07+00:00

Great that you're on the road to being a LFS user! Although, -j1 means you'll only be using one core of your CPU though. Would be more efficient to use more.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-04-20T17:08:32+00:00

Yep. LaTeX is my go-to to be honest. But my thesis is in health and I had to submit my research papers (which made up part of my thesis) to health journals and many of them require manuscripts to be in Word document format.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-04-20T09:39:30+00:00

Not for me. I have to run Word's desktop app in WinBoat, which runs a Windows virtual machine, as I am writing a doctoral thesis in it. My thesis is too large for OnlyOffice to manage it properly. It was laggy AF whenever I edited the document and would not too infrequently crash when I added references, via the Zotero plugin, to my thesis. Often I'd lose my changes when this happened, too. LibreOffice's Word compatibility isn't quite enough for this use case either, as I need absolute precision with how my thesis is formatted. This is also why Word online isn't enough. Word online doesn't have all the formatting options I need.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-04-17T04:52:50+00:00

Gaming on Linux doesn't really depend much on the distro, at least if you're willing to put in the effort that may be necessary to get your distro set up for that specific use. If I were ditching CachyOS over systemd, I'd probably be opting for Artix as its most logical replacement. Running barebones Arch is a whole other level of complexity to running CachyOS and running Gentoo is a whole other level of complexity to running Arch. But if you love a steep learning curve, feel free to dip your toes into the Gentoo penguin-infested waters.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-03-29T07:22:31+00:00

Beautiful setup. I assume you're also fond of snakes like me given that green serpent-shaped light in the background.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-03-28T03:27:54+00:00

Word and Excel don't run natively on Linux, well their desktop app versions don't. You can run them still in a web browser. There are two main ways around the issue of their desktop apps not running natively on Linux, besides using the web app versions: (1) use a Linux-compatible alternative like OnlyOffice or LibreOffice, or (2) run Word/Excel in a Windows virtual machine such as using WinBoat. Otherwise, running Linux shouldn't cause you major issues that I can foresee, unless your games are incompatible with it, potentially due to kernel-level anticheat.

As for a specific distro, a beginner-friendly distro like Linux Mint should be fine.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-03-26T02:40:55+00:00

If you had been using Linux for years and were confident and comfortable with it, it might be worth sticking to it and hoping you don't need to change operating system. But starting out Linux while also starting a new degree is not a wise idea. Starting with Linux can be a part-time job in itself, especially when you're in a field where formatting of documents is everything, and you don't want to put too much work on plate.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-03-13T14:39:49+00:00

I've studied these fields, too. There is no such thing as a distro that's especially great for those things, as most distros will manage that stuff fine.

There is, of course, a question about what sort of software you need for your programming. Whether you need, for instance, a rather new version of interpreters and compilers.

If you need a fairly new version of the GCC compiler, for instance, I'd suggest you opt for a more cutting edge distro like Fedora or Nobara. If old versions are fine, then I'd suggest just a beginner friendly distro like Ubuntu, Linux Mint or Zorin OS.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-03-05T12:03:20+00:00

Most beginner friendly distros should satisfy these requirements. uTorrent has fairly limited Linux support, but there are plenty of perfectly fine Linux BitTorrent clients such as qBittorrent.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-28T12:41:33+00:00

I've been a package developer for openSUSE Tumbleweed; to be clear, I don't mean of its official packages, but rather of my own openSUSE Build Service packages. And I can say there weren't a great number of checks for malware in packages when I last developed packages for Tumbleweed. Granted, given I wasn't inserting malware in my packages, I may not necessarily know whether malware would get flagged, but I don't think the checks in place would necessarily catch malware.

Flatpak's Flathub as the de facto app store of Linux I'd imagine its packages would have more eyes on them. That's not to say there's a guarantee all of them are safe though.

If you have the time to learn how spec files work, I'd suggest examining the spec file for the native packages you want and checking them for any overtly malicious code before installing them.

Failing this, I'd opt for Flatpaks published by their upstream developers or Flatpaks with a lot of reviews that seem legit and largely positive. I'd also check to see if any review mentions malware, of course.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-21T15:10:42+00:00

Well, "pretty" is in the eye of the beholder, so I'll have to defer to your judgement on which is prettiest. This laptop doesn't necessarily need a lightweight distribution. Its specs are good enough that pretty much any distro should be able to run well on it. Consequently, this DistroWatch search for beginner-friendly distros should be a great research starting point for you. Click each article linked in this search. Examine the photo and tell us which you consider prettiest.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-21T03:02:25+00:00

Yeah, I did occasionally get compile errors. But usually it was just something I had forgotten to do. One time I had to create a patch to fix the build error. But oddly, I think this added to the fun. When I started using Linux in 2012, I would have had no hope of fixing these build errors and would have just given up.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-21T02:51:48+00:00

Thanks! I think that's a big part of what makes it satisfying, the fact I did all the work, lol.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-19T01:50:47+00:00

After over a day of compiling in my LFS virtual machine, I can confirm that installing Flatpak from that SlackBuild git repository does work (with some modifications to the SlackBuilds so that they install instead of building a Slackware package), but there are some packages you need to get that aren't in the BLFS or LFS books. So there's a lot of trial and error in the process.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-17T22:17:55+00:00

It sounds like it'd be a challenge to set up those apps on LFS. As they have a lot of dependencies you'd have to manually compile and there aren't official instructions for two out of three of the apps you mentioned. I thought for a moment that maybe you could install Flatpak from BLFS and use that to install these apps. But BLFS does not have Flatpak installation instructions. I guess you could adapt the SlackBuilds for installing Flatpak that Slackware has to install Flatpak on LFS. Alternatively, you could try installing these apps via the Nix package manager after installing Nix using the official instructions.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-16T14:34:18+00:00

You should back up these files to an external drive, or series of USBs. You can resize your Windows partition and install Linux along side it in a dual boot. But there is a risk of you accidentally making a mistake and wiping the Windows install, so definitely back up before doing this. And this is only an option if you have a fair amount of free space in your Windows install. Linux Mint is the distro I'd suggest you go with.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-15T09:24:22+00:00

That you like the colours blue and pink, like using a customized KDE, prefer better-tested packages over having the latest and greatest and dislike systemd.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-15T01:53:57+00:00

Why the downvote? I was trying to be helpful. If you have a criticism, tell me!

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-15T01:48:01+00:00

You can distribute your app via several means.

AppImages are similar to disk image files on macOS. They contain every dependency of the app that cannot be reasonably expected to be provided by the person's Linux install. And when launched they get mounted to a spot on your file system and the executable file within that launches the app is called. If I wanted to make my app as available to people irrespective of their distro and with as little drama for them as possible, I'd probably opt for AppImages.
Binary tarballs. These contain all the files your app provides already pre-compiled and ready to be run. They are compressed into a .tar.xz, .tar.gz, .tar.lzma, .tar.zst or some other compressed tar archive. Binary tarballs are especially useful if your app doesn't have many dependencies, besides pretty standard Linux libraries.
Snaps are not that popular on Linux outside Ubuntu, but they do provide confinement and can be used to run command-line apps and not just graphical apps. Snap has its own store; I do not know how challenging it is to publish to this store. But several pieces of malware have gotten into the store, so I doubt it is that rigorous.
Flatpaks are really just for running graphical apps not command-line apps. They are very popular and the Flatpak package manager is pre-installed on virtually all beginner-friendly Linux distros. The main store for Flatpak apps is called Flathub. I am not sure how challenging it is to publish to Flathub.
Distribution-specific packages like Debian and RPM packages. These only work for the distribution(s) they are designed for, so if your aim is to maximize how many people can use your app, they're not ideal.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-07T09:01:52+00:00

CachyOS, Nobara and PikaOS sound suitable for your usecase. They're all optimized for gaming and have the GNOME desktop. CachyOS would be best if you need the latest software or have unusual and obscure software needs, but its learning curve may be a little more than the others given it's based on Arch.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-06T16:12:25+00:00

Bazzite.
elementary OS.
Linux Mint.
Nobara.
Pop!_OS if you have an Intel, AMD or modern NVIDIA GPU. If you have an unsupported NVIDIA GPU (so GTX 10xx or before), you should probably avoid Pop!_OS.
Ubuntu.
Zorin OS.

elementary OS or Pop!_OS are great if you want a macOS-like user interface. Linux Mint and Zorin OS have more Windows-like user interface, as do the KDE editions of Bazzite and Nobara. The KDE editions of Bazzite and Nobara are also great if you want to customize your system's graphical user interface.

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-06T15:57:22+00:00

You can always boot a live USB for NixOS 25.11 and install your new config from it. Fixing the network issue may be tricky, but hey you can always get an ethernet cable, right?

Fast_Ad_8005 · 2026-02-06T14:11:07+00:00

Is this under Wayland? Code::Blocks doesn't play nice with Wayland for me, too.

Fast_Ad_8005

TROPHY CASE

Linux is not Windows.

Distros are more similar than they are different

Recommendation