Like perhaps many others I am debating what to do with my PC at the end of support for windows 10 later this year. I have read a lot of discussions here about switching to Linux, and a lot of commentary that though it has gotten a lot more plug and play it maybe still has some weaknesses. I just want to know what those are, and if it can support what I currently do with my computer.
Basically my computer is just for gaming. I play a plethora of games both major titles and small indy games. I also use mods on my games sometimes. Beyond gaming it’s just basic web browsing.
More specific questions:
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I think I need to pick a “distro”, right? Based on the above, which distro may work best for me?
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what am I most likely to NOT be able to do, if anything? I have heard modding in particular can be challenging with Linux. Like Skyrim mods that use a script extender or rely on various Windows programs. Is that true? Are there some smaller indy games that don’t have Linux support (thinking back to the early mac days)?
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I would rate my computer technical ability at like… A 4/10. I haven’t done anything too crazy but can Google most issues and willing to learn. Is this realistically enough to get me up and running with Linux? I don’t have any programming experience or anything of the sort.
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if the final answer here involves running a windows partition, is it possible to safely still use a windows 10 partition, even after the end of support? Or does it need to be a windows 11 partition? Best case is no partition, but curious if it comes to that.
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anything else I might run into that I’m not expecting? Words of encouragement?
It’s really easy to try out most linux distributions by running them live from a USB drive. You’ll need to be able to tell your computer to boot from the drive by entering your BIOS setup.
Once you’ve done that you’ve probably done the most technical thing you’ll have to do to try linux. If you have a separate SSD to install linux on you’ll have a pretty easy time actually installing linux. If not you’ll have to learn to partition your drive which can feel a little scary.
I think if you are playing a lot of different games it’s likely you will find some that won’t run on linux so you’ll likely still need to run some form of windows for some games. I’d hope to see that change in the future but I’m not holding my breath. I personally still do most of my gaming on windows because some of my favorite games don’t run on linux but it really depends on your preferences.