Whom also likes to game every now and then ;)
Edit: Thank you all for your input and suggestions! Linux Mint shall be my next OS! Though, I think I’ll give Pop!OS a look-see as well.
You always start with Linux Mint. This is the way.
Handles graphics drivers, printer drivers, looks like a windows without the influence of advertisers, what I consider a consistent theme, and best of all it is mind numbingly boring. Prepare yourself for the heart pounding activity of predictable updates, uncomplicated booting, running familiar applications, doing work, being productive, not even actively thinking about your OS.
Mint is my go-to linux newbie distro suggestion.
Pop!OS. It is maintained by a company called System76 who make Linux computers. You might think about getting one if you want a new computer. Support the cause!
I will second Pop!OS. I have it installed on my gaming desktop and have been very satisfied with its stability and ability to play every game I’ve wanted to. Between Steams Proton layer and Wine (with the wineglass GUI) there is nothing I want for right now.
(I do run an AMD card, YMMV with an Nvidia one as I cannot speak to experience with that).
I do use Mint for my laptop/daily driver outside of gaming and love that as well. In my mind the two distributions fit the use cases well.
Pretty happy with my Lemur Pro, 3.5 years in. I just replaced the battery, which was fairly painless. Also had to replace the wireless radio, which was as easy as popping in a new one. I wasn’t happy that it failed, but apparently that’s industry wide, not just these laptops. Replacement was like $35. Other than that I’ve only had cosmetic issues, like the System76 sticker came off, which I don’t care about.
You should try Linux Mint. It’s a good distribution for new Linux users. It’s easy to understand, has a good community with plenty of solutions for all types of problems and it is not too specific.
Gaming with Steam on Linux works without any major issues except when it comes to games that intentionally made run on Windows only due to their DRM. I suggest using the Flatpak variant of Steam so you won’t clutter your system with too many weird dependencies.
Linux Mint is definitely the right choice here in my opinion. I installed it for my parent’s on their older laptop when they were having issues running windows. They were blown away by how fast it was and how they could do all of their usual tasks (i.e browsing, financing, basic games, etc.). It will be a great first experience for you!
Like most others have stated here, I’ll also add my recommendations for Linux Mint.
I have helped most of my family, relatives and several friends move and familiarize themselves with Linux Mint, especially those that do almost everything within the web browser (shopping/email/Facebook/youtube/travel reservation/etc…). Since I already was their goto tech support, I showed them around on Linux Mint and they pretty easily got going as everything was intuitively similar to Windows. All was point and click (after my initial setup with their network, peripherals, printer and some basic automatic updates configuration), no terminal voodoo magic for them.
For the younger ones I typically set them up with Pop!OS and Steam and they are ready to jump without me having to explain much. Sometimes, I had to install and help setup a server (Minecraft) so they can play with their friends.
Personally, I use a mix of LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition), Alpine Linux, TrueNAS Scale, OPNsense and VMware ESXi/Workstation/vSphere for virtual machines.
Mind you, I would not recommend VMware as I am currently evaluating my transition options toward XCP-ng with Xen Orchestra or LXD/Incus or something else entirely.
U should try KVM for virtualization, more specifically virtmanager.
Personally I use Debian stable but I’d recommend starting with Ubuntu if you are new. I’m using linux fulltime since 2008 if that makes any difference.
The reason is you are guaranteed to find support for a program if there is a linux version.
Most of the instructions online have specific Ubuntu instructions.
The default install is quite user friendly.
You will have access to more packages than many other linux distros. You still have flatpak too if your desired package is not in the Ubuntu repository ( or snap store).
You can always pick a different one later once you have some experience under your belt.
Doing this you will be able to become familiar with APT the Debian package manager. Used in Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Raspbian and other Debian derivatives.
Getting the concepts here you can then just learn the differences if you switch distro such to an RPM (Different package format) based distro such as fedora.
In short use Ubuntu for now. Experiment and read up about it so you can build your knowledge. We are a community that like to share and learn. Also as a general rule backup your files before you install it and after you have set it up how you want. You can easily just copy the whole home directory for this 😉
The distro doesnt matter but it should not get in your way. They can all be made to look and act the same for the most part. The focus should be on knowledge. Linux is like digital Lego you can pick and choose the parts you like and layer them together.
Nearly all Ubuntu instructions also apply to Debian.
Flatpak is no longer default on Ubuntu since they see it as competition.
As of Debian Bookworm, nonfree firmware is available on the installation media and no further steps are involved.Ubuntu used to be the most friendly beginner experience. I’m not sure if it has any advantage over Debian today.
C’mon convince the newb that Debian Unstable is the way to go…
Great advice substantiated by clear reasoning. I second it. More specifically, grab Ubuntu LTS. Going with an Ubuntu LTS based distro might present some extra challenges but it would probably be fine too.
Ubuntu is great for the reasons outlined and it provides an obvious path to Debian, should you want to move away from it in the future.
And it’s 2024 which means a new LTS version will drop around the April/May timeframe.
totally agree. the latest ubuntu is great and can be cusomtised as much as you want after installation when you’ve got used to linux
PopOS or Mint. Easy peasy.
Which would be better for gaming?
Pop OS, it’s just brilliant.
What about the fact that it’s based on Ubuntu, can you still install programs packaged as flatpaks ?
Pop!_OS uses flatpaks, not snaps. It’s a good thing.
oh nice !
Linux mint for sure
deleted by creator
-Linux Mint: […] not the best […] if you have multiple monitors with different resolutions and refresh rates.
I’m thinking of installing Mint (Debian Edition) on a 2013 MacBook Pro with an even older external monitor connected through DisplayPort, while using the internal Retina as the secondary monitor.
Do you think it’d be a safer bet to go with a different distro with better multi-monitor compatibilities, or do you think I’ll be good using this hardware+software combo?
Any related advice will be appreciated!
deleted by creator
Definitely Linux Mint. Literally the best out there whether new to Linux or an advanced user.
Wait, when is Windows 10 hitting end of life? If Windows 11 doesn’t support devices without aTPM, that’s a huge swath of insecure machines.
October 14, 2025 apparently.
Edit: could also affect as many as 240 million machines that don’t have TPM.
I’d recommend POP!_OS. Very easy to install and use and most games I’ve tried to play work without any problems.
This, especially if you have NVIDIA.
The only thing I would maybe hesitate about with POP! OS is the big upcoming switch to the COSMIC desktop, which is is brand-new and a bit untested. But also System76 are a really solid company and seem to know what they’re doing so it’ll probably be fine.
Even so, changing desktops in Pop! is pretty easy. I generally recommend new users watch a few videos on different Desktops and consider what would work best for them. It also really shows you the level of customization you’re going to get.
Fedora’s my favorite. It’s also the most secure without going straight to QubesOS, which is not beginner friendly.
Just switched to Fedora after bouncing between Ubuntu and Manjaro. Really digging Fedora and kicking myself for waiting so long to try it out.
