Alright guys, I’m going to do it. Today I’m ditching Windows and trying to run Linux exclusively as my daily driver.

Over the past few days I’ve been reading up a lot about different Linux distros and DEs with their unique quirks and update philosophy. But since I’m more drawn to some rather niche distros that might suit my needs, I still have some questions, because a lot of more in-depth information has been nuked in the reddit fallout.

Basically, I’m looking for the best out-of-the-box experience for my specific needs, because I don’t really have the time to customize my OS from the ground up and have little Linux experience outside of docker. I also don’t want to spend months distro hopping, because I need to get some productivity done.

So anyway, here’s what I need from the distro out of the box:

  1. Gaming:
  • Bleeding-Edge Nvidia driver support
  • VRR support for Multi-Monitor-Setups
  1. Programming:
  • mostly web development, so no real needs other than an intuitive DE with a good workflow
  1. Media Server:
  • I’m running Plex with Sonarr, Radar etc. with multiple streaming devices around the house and VPN remote access, since I’m doing this in docker anyway, this should hopefully not cause any problems no matter the distro
  1. Tinkering:
  • while I want something that just works out of the box, I want freedom. My goal is to tailor the system to my needs and keep learning for months to come.

So, what it has come down to is that I’m currently looking at the following distros with their pros and cons, let me know if I go anything wrong here:

  1. Pop! OS:
  • it’s pretty and feature-complete out of the box
  • I actually like their spin on Gnome DE and its productivity features
  • probably the closest I’ll get to “it just works” coming from windows
  • it’s not bleeding edge, drivers might not be the newest and bugs might persist for long periods
  • their own version of Gnome has no VRR support
  • seems to be more of a locked-down environment and less “open” than other distros. Getting heavy Apple vibes
  1. Nobara:
  • Everything I need for Gaming OOTB
  • Dev seems to have an insanely good reputation
  • It seems to be pretty open and basic, as it doesn’t brand itself and is basically just fedora with pre-installed packages so you can just get going
  • VRR support for Gnome out of the box
  • As far as gaming and Nvidia support goes, probably closest to Bleeding-Edge you can get without going Arch
  • Fedora appears to be more limited for tinkering with a smaller selection of software and extensions
  • I don’t really like the default customizations or lack thereof
  1. Garuda
  • everything I need for Gaming OOTB
  • even more gaming and file system optimisations than Nobara does offer
  • most open environment of the three with endless amounts of customization
  • useful features to roll back problematic updates
  • does come off as “too playful” and bloated and thus untrustworthy, dunno how to explain. Seems more like a playground than a serious OS
  1. EndeavourOS:
  • Basically lets be do whatever the fuck I want and doesn’t hold my hand while at least providing a basic UI
  • Basically lets be do whatever the fuck I want and doesn’t hold my hand while at least providing a basic UI

So basically, I’m looking for a distro that just lets me game with all the features (especially VRR) and do my work straight away but is as open as possible to customize and learn about Linux environments. It’s going to be Arch (btw) isn’t it? 😬

  • flashgnash@lemm.ee
    32·
    1 year ago

    Nobara’s probably the “it just works” one for gaming and you can code on pretty much anything

    If you want to tinker NixOS is the one imo. Has one config file with fairly simple options like to ensure steam is enabled it’s

    programs.steam.enable = true;
programs.steam.openFirewall = true:

    # nixos-rebuild switch

    And it installs and configures everything for you

    Also because every time you are rebuilding your system it saves every iteration so if you totally fuck up your system you can just boot an earlier build and away you go

    • BitSound@lemmy.world
      5·
      1 year ago

      I like and use NixOS, but if this is the first time OP is using Linux, I’d recommend sticking with something like Pop. When something goes wrong, there’s a pretty good chance that there will already be a SO post for Pop or Ubuntu on how to fix it.

    • azvasKvklenko@sh.itjust.works
      5·
      1 year ago

      For basic stuff is pretty easy, but once you try to go outside of what’s in option, you might find yourself in a deep rabbit hole. Definitely not a beginner distro.

      • flashgnash@lemm.ee
        11·
        1 year ago

        I’ve yet to find anything particularly difficult to do, 99% of things have options/packages and you can still install stuff with snap/flatpak/appimage if not