Thinking about making the big switch – recommend me a distro!
Thinking about making the big switch – recommend me a distro!
Hey all, I've been thinking about making the jump from Windows to Linux as my daily-driver and I've been struggling on what distro to use.
On my laptop I've been using Fedora's KDE Spin for a bit but I can't say I really like KDE all that much. I took that Distrochooser test and 9/10 of the suggestions were all Ubuntu-based or Arch-based for some reason lol.
I would prefer a distro that "just works" but I'm not scared of having to troubleshoot or fix things. I guess I'm just looking to see what everyone else uses and what you all recommend. Thanks!
Linux Mint and Pop!_OS are the most recommended beginner friendly distros that "just work" in my experience. That being said, before you install, you can try out the look and feel here: https://distrosea.com/
Pop OS is the best, from System 76.
Nothing wrong with Fedora Gnome. I've been using it for several months (well ok technically Nobara but I decided to try vanilla Fedora recently and it's about the same). Prior to that I had been using Mint / Cinnamon for a decade and it's a good choice too.
But truth be told the Gnome simplicity / minimalism has been growing on me. I wished it were more customizable but whatever.
Fedora is a very very mainstream distro, too, so help is easy to find if anything goes haywire.
PS: nobara is great for gaming but the big gotcha for me was that updating from the shell prompt requires a somewhat involved set of commands. If you use a simple dnf update you'll break something like I did. Which is why I decided to give Fedora another go. If you choose Nobara, just use the (slow) GUI updater.
The other commenter who mentioned installing and using Gnome tweaks, etc. nailed it. Do that. :)
I highly recommend Fedora (just the regular Gnome version). I used to be all Ubuntu, but they’ve shoved snaps down everyone’s throats to the point that I simply cannot recommend it to anyone, especially newcomers.
Fedora has been working really well for me. You’ll probably want to play around with Gnome Tweaks to get the maximize and minimize buttons back, and install the Gnome extension “AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support” from the Gnome Extensions website. Those I would consider the essential post install steps.
After that you’ll have a rock-solid and enjoyable setup.
Stick with Fedora, but give a shot to the Atomic variants (Silverblue, Kinoite, etc.) You can always switch DEs back and forth with one command. Even if you don't stay with Fedora, it will help a lot for you to find the desktop environment that fits your workflow best (although I do recommend sticking with Fedora)
Linux Mint. Works well and it's friendly.
Distros that just work (although YMMV): Fedora, Mint, Ubuntu, Pop!_OS with the default desktop environments. I have been using Ubuntu and Fedora both (on different computers) for over 15 years now they each always get the WiFi and BlueTooth drivers right, neither ever has trouble with audio or video, they really just work, and they both are pretty well up-to-date with the latest stable versions of the biggest Linux apps in their repositories.
I have been thinking of switching my Ubuntu computers over to Mint (Xfce edition, though Cinnamon isn't bad), which uses the same base operating system package set as Ubuntu, but its ownership model is more collective and community-oriented. Fedora is also collectively owned, while Pop!_OS and Ubuntu are owned and operated by for-profit businesses -- that doesn't make them bad, it just might be something to consider.
Also, if you don't mind a shameless plug, I wrote a blog post on how to choose a Linux distro, so feel free to read if it pleases you.
EndeavourOS is an arch-based distro that "just works". I put it on a new machine recently, and the installer manages to let you pick a desktop environment, and still manages to be user friendly.
Since you want a just works deal, I'd go with a ublue based immutable distro, my favorite is Bazzite. You can pick between KDE and Gnome, and change between them cleanly at any point. User apps auto update in the background, your system also updates while it's running and you only need to reboot to apply. If anything ever goes wrong, you have painless rollbacks. All that with up-to-date fedora packages and kernel.
I've been running it on my deck for a while now and it's never let me down so far, really pleasant experience. It generally keeps out of your way and takes care of the chores while still allowing you to mess around if you want.
Endeavor OS. Its an excellent arch based system and people REALLY over emphasize how tricky arch is. Its not difficult, its not just for power users, and the rolling release means you have access to updates faster than other distros..this is particularly nice for gaming as you'll also get updates to graphics drivers sooner.
For something that "just works" and feels quite like home, without being KDE, I'd recommend Zorin.
It's stable, beautiful to look at and works as expected. I'd not recommend Arch-based distros to begin (but if you want to go the troubleshooting and fixing things way, that would be choice #1).
Unpopular : I'd not recommend mint.
I just switched from windows to Linux a few months ago. I just picked opensuse tumbleweed KDE at random and it just works. Idk anything about Linux so maybe give that a try and see if it works for you as well.
So I could recommend a distro, as you asked (which would be Ubuntu) but instead I believe what's better is making the switch... small!
In practice that means safety net and familiarity all around :
- backup your data
- backup your data... and not, that's not a mistake, truly do it, now. Before you try something new, and scary. In fact... don't touch your computer, get another one, a cheap one like a RPi4 or a relatively old laptop that a colleague hasn't used for years.
- copy, don't move, your data to whatever distribution you picked
- ideally have a dedicated hard drive in there for JUST the data, NOT the OS
- play... have fun, truly. Try to use YOUR data, I mean the copy you have now that you don't even care if you lose, and try to use them with the stock software that comes with your distribution, e.g OpenOffice or Blender or Kdenlive, or whatever you are into
- delete it all! Don't be afraid, you can do it, you have copies anyway
- do it, again, again, keep a logbook or wiki or .doc file where you write down what you learn
- rinse and repeat
this way you should find YOUR distribution in no time and you won't be afraid of messing up!
Honestly it's a fun adventure. I've been learning Linux and CLI tools decades ago and I'm still learning to this day so do not assume there is one solution you can find today and move, it's a process, a long one, but a really empowering one IMHO.
IF you want Steam, THEN please consider every variant in the official Ubuntu family.
Steam-support told me in their system, iirc in early 2023, that they ONLY support the Ubuntu family ( directly ).
As Linus Torvalds noted, it isn't possible to release software that is going to work on all distros.
Even glibc has been broken by one, in that talk of his, and it wasn't a niche distro, either, iirc.
Pick which subset you CAN afford to support, and do not add to that subset until you're rolling in money, from your linux-customerbase.
( slight sarcasm on the last line, but business is business: destroying-resources costs, and if there is no benefit, it isn't sane to continue doing it. )
Decide which capabilities/functions/apps you NEED, and then don't even consider distros that break your required-set on you.
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Mint, specifically Debian edition (LMDE), is my current recommendation for new users.
I swapped last summer and landed on Pop!_OS after trying a few different options. If you game, Nobara is a great choice too. Other ones I considered were Mint, Ubuntu and SUSE Tumbleweed.
I would highly recommend trying them all with the live disk thingy. Mint didn't even work at all on my computer for some unknown reason, which was rather surprising considering how often it's recommended. It kept freezing right when the GUI logged in. So yeah, try em out for a little bit just to make sure there aren't any weird incompatibilities.
My personal recommendation is Fedora, but the community recommendation will likely be Linux Mint, which is also a perfectly good recommendation. Either of them are "just works" distros. I prefer the update cycle of Fedora, and would certainly want to distance myself from Ubuntu and Ubuntu derivatives (even Mint), and Debian's update cycle is painfully slow. Fedora manages what is seemingly a perfect balance of quick and stable updates.
Fedora comes with Gnome by default, but it has spins for other DEs like KDE Plasma if that's more of your thing (I'll be switching to Plasma when Fedora 40 releases with Plasma 6).
If you like Arch-based, there's Manjaro and EndeavourOS.
openSUSE Tumbleweed. Or EndeavorOS if you want to join the Arch side.
If it's KDE that's causing issues you should just be able to install a second desktop environment and try that out.
Otherwise, Debian stable is good. Can also testing or unstable if you want newer packages. Debian "just works" if you're not on day 1 hardware, don't have Nvidia graphics, and can troubleshoot the occasional issue that any Linux distro will bring.
Anything except Ubuntu and it's direct downstreams
Fedora for my pick.
Options:
- Linux Mint (Awesome first distro, but more out of date)
- Pop!_OS (Great for gaming, based on Ubuntu)
- Fedora Silverblue/Kinoite (Maybe later if your interested in immutability)
- EndeavorOS (Maybe later once you understand the value of the AUR, more bleeding edge)
Don't use:
- Ubuntu (bloat, snaps)
- Manjaro (Don't get me started...)
You could try fedora sway or gnome spins
@Canadian_Cabinet www.tromjaro.com/ - you can try our distro. Based on Manjaro it has all you need to just use it. Enabled the Chaotic AUR repos, flatpaks, and our repo, thus you can find any linux app via one single place. Click and install. Plus we have a list of some 700 curated apps on our website www.tromjaro.com/apps/ - apps that are trade-free. Meaning no BS, no freemiums, no limitations, purely free apps.
We made TROMjaro back in 2018 and kept it up to date since, plus developed our own tools like a Layout and Theme Switcher. See the homepage to get a more detailed idea about it.
That's all! :)
Im pretty happy with KDE Fedora (though constant updates make me anxious something breaks every reboot, lol) but if I had to change I would probably check out LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Ed). I'm not really a fan of Cinnamon/Mate but I'd give it another go ...
Universal Blue might be what you're looking for. It's a Fedora-based distribution based on ostree (same stuff for Silverblue/Kinoite). It has the leading edge system components of Fedora with the reliability of flatpak and ostree updates. I truly consider ostree to be the future of the Linux desktop.
Debian stable.
I’m sure someone will link you the install media…
Fedora Silverblue
I like Garuda. I use the dragonized theme and it makes it look similar to mac OS. IMO it’s as easy to use as any other justworks distro but is far prettier
what about regular fedora on gnome?
None of those people have a slightest clue. Your options really are: ubuntu vanilla and maybe pop os.
Everything else will very quickly require you to read through some obscure docs and bash your head against the terminal.
Vanilla Ubuntu, not kubuntu/xubuntu/whateverbuntu is the only polished and documented distro. After a year or two of that you'll be ready to consider this "what distro" question.
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Go with EndeavourOS. It won’t “just work”, but it will be the best compromise between confusing abstraction and low level frustrations.
Fedora is good but it abstracts a little too much away, this is great when you understand how software works, but it’s very confusing when you’re new to Linux and programming.
Arch is good, but you won’t be able to hid the ground running, you’d have to sacrifice a weekend to learn.
Go:
- [Optional] Fedora
- Endeavour
- Arch
- Learning
- Ghost BSD
- Void
- Gentoo
Tinkering with those in that order, after about 6 months, you’ll start to feel at home.