I want to return to Linux. Recomendations?

Mogster, 9 months ago

I don't know how others feel about it here, but I've recently returned to Linux as well and picked Pop!_OS for my gaming PC. The main draw was that you can download a spin with the Nvidia drivers preinstalled, so you can get up and running without any faff. It's also just really nice to use in general.

The caveat to all that is that the Nvidia drivers in the distro's repo are currently a little out of date, although a more up to date release is apparently due "soon" and should be completely tested for compatibility.

Clithzby, 9 months ago

I just swapped over to Pop!_OS and its been amazing. Diablo 4 runs better on pop than windows.

anamethatisnt, 9 months ago

If you enjoy tweaking with your OS I’d dare say you can try any of the popular ones, be it Debian-based or Fedora-based or Arch.
Using Lutris you get access to your GOG.com games without too much trouble. lutris.net

Here’s an example of Fedora 37 GNOME (now 38) with a bunch of extensions from extensions.gnome.org
ArcMenu (Startmenu) Dash to Panel (Taskbar) and JustPerfection (Fine control over GNOME GUI) are the main ones. I could easily tweak a Debian GNOME desktop to look the same.

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/ddea089a-9639-42cc-927d-b5e719b06275.png

I also felt that Cockpit web GUI made browsing logs and restarting services and many other things a lot easier for me when I switched over from Windows, it is meant for servers but I use it on my desktop too. cockpit-project.org

Pixlbabble, 9 months ago

I’m a complete noob and installed popos yesterday. Great time so far.

potajito, 9 months ago

I'm on Manjaro since like a week ago, and it's been great, barely any tinkering needed, and there are plenty of resources to easily do everything. Kde runs great and it's such a pleasure to use. Also, very easy to install nvidia drivers, just a couple of clicks.

slendergumby, 9 months ago

@potajito Manjaro is my go to. I prefer the i3 version. But, it's such a solid system. I've always liked arch and arch based systems. But the set up is usually a pain and they break. Not Manjaro though. Things a rock.

@Gordon_Freeman

CIWS-30, 9 months ago

Kubuntu, Linux Mint with Cinnamon, Xubuntu, or maybe ZorinOS.

Especially if you don't want to relearn everything and want things to "Just Work" similar to Windows. If you tried Mint before, it's still really quite good. Maybe even better than you remembered it. I went distrohopping a few months ago only to find out that Mint was still #1 for me, especially with Cinnamon.

Bristlerock, 9 months ago

I've been using Linux - off and mostly on - since a year after Linus released his kernel, and so have tried a bunch of flavours. I agree with aperson: you'll receive lots of recommendations, but only you know what you like.

My daily driver is Ubuntu on an i5-7200U (Lenovo ThinkPad), and before that it was Kubuntu. My main PC is an i7-7900K, so similarly long in the tooth as yours, and both CPUs run the Ubuntu flavours just fine.

My personal preference is currently Kubuntu (faster, lighter, and fewer "this is how it is, and you'll be glad for it" decisions). But there are so many others to try. Find a bunch that support Proton and gaming, grab their "live CD" versions, and see which ones work for you.

technologicalcaveman, 9 months ago

Arch runs great, it's a slight learning curve but you'll figure it out. I'm having personal issues with it lately so I'm trying out nixos today. But arch is usually my go to for older pcs and just in general, especially for how much software is available for it.

Gordon_Freeman, 9 months ago

I think Arch could be a good idea, I've forgotten almost everything about linux and build it from the scratch will be a nice excersice (I knew how to create partitions, tinker with the permissions and all that, but is now lost knowledge I'd like to recover)

technologicalcaveman, 9 months ago

Arch added not to long ago an in built cli installer tool. Makes it where you can get installed in about 10 minutes. Very useful, and how I recommend doing it now. You can just install manually though if you want, whichever works. Also, I find that people who criticize it as something that breaks constantly or needs constant fixing usually install software without care or do things without much concern, causing breakage. My arch isn't working due to some issues with wine; might be my fault, might not. I'm using nixos now, and it's difficult but functioning how I need.

Xeelee, 9 months ago

Arch is fine if you like tinkering. If you want stuff just to work try Mint.

UkaszGra, 9 months ago

try nobara

Gutotito, 9 months ago

Distros like Ubuntu or Mint are great go-tos, but if you're interested in a rolling release, I'd suggest OpenSUSE. That said, there's really no "wrong" distro these days; Steam runs on pretty much anything, and with it comes Proton. NVidia is a bit of a pain in the arse, but I'm running that everywhere here with few problems. The platform has really evolved over the last ten years or so.

lowdownfool, 9 months ago

Just try Ubuntu - might not be the most nerdy option but after distro hopping I tend to come back to it. Steam is where it's at with gaming. I haven't tried GOG on Linux yet, it requires Wine to run and I ran into an issue (forgotten what it was).

aperson, 9 months ago

Just pick a distro and give it a whirl. Don’t like it? Pick another. The only way to learn is to use.