Decided to ask here because I feel I’d be grilled on Reddit or anywhere else for this.
With data leaks, security concerns, and Microsoft’s spaghetti coding I really think it’s time for me to make the switch to Linux.
I will preface that I am used to SteamOS and KDE Plasma on my Steam Deck and love the functionality. It’s very intuitive for someone who isn’t prone to using a terminal, but I know a general understanding of when to use it and how to not brick my device.
I’m switching due to the security concerns of Windows 11, annoyances I’m sure we’ve all had, and looking for that hands-on experience for my new personal computer.
I’m going to be building a new gaming PC soon and I’m looking for a number of variables to note, warnings, and suggestions of:
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- What distro to use that is as customizable as KDE, safe, and intuitive. Or should I stick with it? Any common issues with it or a recommendation?
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- What games will I need to say goodbye to? I know many games using anticheat won’t always work but I understand how Proton and Wine can help for workarounds, I’ve used some to run Roblox and Rust before on the Deck.
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- Will I need to replace parts? Maybe a stupid question, but still gotta know.
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- Is it worth switching for the games I play or is it better to dual-boot/VM?
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- Any other warnings that may stray me away from Linux (so that I can research and not fall into lol)
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- Tips on applications for workarounds.
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I’ve found it easier to switch to Linux and using windows on a VM or docker image. Tho I had my plan for the migration and used markdown as a means to avoid Ms word.
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Treat each distro like an ice cream flavor. Some are good, some are bad, some are great and some will make you go what the flying fuck. Try and find what you like. There’s a lot out there.
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Check out Lutris as a launcher for non steam games.
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See 5. Different desktop environments for different people see what calls you. I was all up in KDE and the moves to sway.
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Most games with Denuvo
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Maybe but depends on the parts. It’s either change the part or figure out a complex workaround. You’ll find manufacturers that have better support for Linux.
I installed Bazzite myself. Probably the most similar to your email experience in desktop mode in SteamOS.
How is bazzite? Does it have a more complete desktop env than the steam deck?
I’ve been enjoying it. What do you mean by complete? What’s the stream deck desktop environment missing?
They both use KDE so they’re both similar
Printer drivers, weird random things like that.
Oh sweet, KDE is nice! It’s nice OOTB and still powerful.
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Recommended Distros
General Use:
- Fedora KDE
- openSUSE Slowroll with KDE
Gaming Focused:
- PikaOS
- Bazzite
- Nobara
- CachyOS
When picking a distro for gaming, I always recommend using one that gets frequent/fast updates. All my recommendations get fast updates. If you are mainly just gaming, go with a gaming focused distro. If you want a system without many apps or modifications, go the general use route.
I can elaborate on each of my picks on request.
Debian not in the list because OP not looking for productivity
As you are researching, take a look at Garuda. It is beginner friendly, gaming and performance focused, has good helper apps, and is Arch based so it is getting frequent updates.
I’ve been using it as a beginner for over a year and it has been capable, stable, and easy.
If you are used to steam os, also check out Bazzite, it is designed to be a similar experience.
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KDE is a “DE”, not a distro. If you want something customizable though I wouldn’t go with an Immutable distro. If you want something safe I’d go with something Fedora-based. If you want something intuitive go with CachyOS.
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No idea. You could always live-boot into Linux Mint or something and try.
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Using Nvidia makes everything a lot harder. If you have an AMD GPU or even integrated graphics that’ll make things much easier.
4-6. I’m not the guy to answer these questions, mostly because I’m in a hurry.
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I want to say that you might be confusing distro and Desktop Environment. In most base distributions (Arch, Debian, Fedora, etc) you can install any DE you want…
Yes, I realized that after doing some research, my bad guys. Thanks for all the tips, I’ll be reading a lot of wikis and watching a ton of videos tonight.
Opensuse tumbleweed, kubuntu. Both solid options for you. Bear in mind bazzite is an immutable distro and as such, it is not very customizable.
I’d go Fedora Kinoite is I were them. The OpenSUSE ecosystem is a bit unique.
I haven’t tried fedora in a few years, but every time I have tried it, the installer failed in some way.
So is fedora’s.
It’s the only distro where you’ll be using dnf.
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If its gaming that is main priority I think pikaos would be a good option. Based on Debian sid. So you will have a more stable ground than arch(my opinion), but still have access to newer kernels for drivers and fixes. https://wiki.pika-os.com/en/home
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Games that has anticheat on kernel level(don’t know which ones that exist now since I don’t play major fps titles). But basically any games that have anticheat for online could be issue.
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Amd has best support for Linux, nvidia starts to come around but still has some way to go(my opinion). WiFi cards can sometimes be an issue in Linux still. You need to post your exact hardware config that you have/want to buy.
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Not all distros support dual boot or rather give instructions for it.
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Do you have software in your private pc that is work related and developed by employer you will run into issues using it in Linux. I simply built a itx pc just for work stuff(damn you filemaker that don’t work in Linux, even tried with bottles).
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Bottles: https://usebottles.com/ Winboat: https://www.winboat.app/
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Hot take: Go with Gentoo. Dive into the deep end, manually install your system from the command line. It doesn’t get more configurable. You’ll be forced t o learn a bunch of stuff tho. But it’s not that hard.
If you take this seriously, my advice would be to not go overboard with global USE flags, and keep your CFLAGS standard.
Or go for something like Arch. Maybe CachyOS (tho I hear this has a lot of optimisations that are described as “yolo”…)
AMD graphics work better than nvidia still, but things are getting better, so if you’re with team green you might have to replace that or you might have no real problems.
Most games just work. Even stuff with anti-cheat isn’t necessarily out (e.g. Helldivers 2, War Thunder and Star Citizen are games with anti-cheat that I play). Best to check protondb if in doubt.
+1 for Bazzite. Have been using it for over a year, if an update borks sleep or something, I just boot tge other partition, wait a week or two. So good!
KDE is avalible for most distros. It being just a desktop environment. It’s well supported on Fedora, openSUSE, Debian and Arch. As well as many of the various distros based on those. Ubuntu, a Debian derivative, and fedora both have a version that installs with KDE out of the box, and the arch install script has it as one of the main options. You could also install it on mint, but, like, half the point of mint is the cinnamon desktop.
If you’re interested in customizability, are willing to read some wiki pages, and never want to wait for support for some new feature, arch is great.
If you want a system that’s incredibly stable, will run on basically any computer made after 1995, and is generally just very reliable. Debian can’t be beat.
Fedora and Ubuntu are both fairly easy to use, new versions are released fairly often. If you don’t want to think much about it, they’re good options.
As for game compatibility, most will work without any effort, some stuff will need a bit of puttzing with settings. The only situations where you may need a VM or duel boot would be certain competitive multiplayer games that specifically use kernel level anti cheat. If you play one of those, check it on ProtonDB . Notionally Proton DB is for the steam deck and steam games run through proton, but generally what’s on there also applies to any other game run through wine.
You shouldn’t need to replace any hardware. If you have an Nvidia graphics card you will need to install the drivers as they don’t come with the kernel, but it will run just fine. I’ve heard of some issues regarding specific brands of headphones, and I had to fuss a bit to get my microphone and it’s audio interfacing working.
Adobe products, a lot of popular music production software and a few popular CAD programs will have issues. Most of them can be run on Linux, but they don’t like it, and finding an alternative would be better.
I recommend avoiding fedora. It gets shilled pretty hard, but they’re mostly a loud, obnoxious minority.
If you end up trying out fedora and don’t like it, don’t be afraid to switch as soon as possible.
Just made this switch and went with EOS. Been great so far
I recommend jumping feet first into NixOs and Nix packages. Having a single file to edit for basically everything is a great thing. But also terrifying at times. If you can manage this you can manage soo much in the linux spaces.
