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.

  • came_apart_at_Kmart [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    11 days ago

    other people here are more wise and smarter than me. maybe 2 years ago, i started with mint on a dying laptop just because why not. out of the box, i could email/surf/stream and it was pleasant/fast. so right then i decided to really start shifting my computer use over to linux environments based on how easy that was.

    i ordered a framework laptop (i love it) and following the same logic of “big distros = big support community” i went with the Ubuntu long term stable (LTS). setting it up for all my productivity stuff was pretty easy. i haven’t really tried gaming on it yet. kinda had this idea i would compartmentalize my computer use over the coming years, instead of trying to do everything on a single frankenstein windoze box that, if it blows up, completely fucks me. especially with how dogshit windows 11 is…

    so:

    • a laptop for being nominally productive (writing, coding, GIS & map making, researching/reading, creativity/art, etc)
    • a very stable miniform/NUC for always on local network services
    • a frankenshit machine for gaming that i can just be a reckless dumbass with, because the stakes are low.

    so far i am fine with using Ubuntu for the first two. i am still in the process of teasing the various roles and applications apart, standing up services, and expect this process to take the rest of the year to complete, at which point i will wipe windoze off the frankenshit and go with whatever linux distro seems most easily to work with the games im playing.

    i might even do some dual boot bullshit on the franken machine if theres some game that i can’t emulate around. i think that is an edge case, because the more i use linux to do things, the more i realize how much windows fucking SUCKS. it is so unstable and bloated. i will avoid dual booting until the bitter end, and if i do, i’m gonna put that piece of shit OS on it’s own physical drive and try to completely isolate it or something.