New to Linux, have a few questions

I currently use Windows 10 and I’d like to try out Linux. My plan is to set up a dual boot with OpenSUSE tumbleweed and KDE Plasma. I’ve read so many different opinions about choosing a distro, compatibility with gaming and Nvidia drivers, and personal issues with the ethos of different companies like Canonical. I value privacy and I’d rather avoid a Linux distro that’s implementing something like ads or telemetry…if that’s even a thing that’s happening?

As a complete beginner, what sort of advice would you all have for me? Should I avoid OpenSUSE or KDE Plasma for some reason? Are there any ‘10 things to do first when installing Linux for the first time’ recommendations?

Despite all the ‘beginner friendly’ guides and tutorials around, I still feel a little lost and like I’m going into this blind.

EDIT: Thanks to everyone who’s offered advice, I really appreciate all the help and the patience with my dumb questions! There’s a lot to look through and it’s been a busy day for me, but I’ll get back to reading through everything and replying as soon as I can!

Astaroth, (edited )

If you’re going to be using a DE and mostly do stuff through the GUI instead of terminal/command-line then make sure you can go admin mode (Root/Sudo).

Besides small annoyances I had with KDE Plasma 5’s UX the main reason I didn’t like it was that often enough I would have to use admin privileges but I couldn’t do it through the GUI File Manager (Dolphin) so I frequently had to use the terminal.

It should be possible to have admin privileges in Dolphin but I was a noob and didn’t know how (and still don’t even now).

If you end up facing that issue then either be a bit smarter than me and look up how to do that or use Nemo, another file manager, which is more or less the same thing as Dolphin except when I ended up using it on Linux Mint a while back it let me use it as Root as a feature out of the box.

And for the record I don’t like Linux Mint, apt package manager sucks (package managers are basically app stores where you get all your stuff), but at least it was super easy to install and Nemo was a good file manager.

If you don’t mind tinkering and have a secondary device with an internet connection in case you break something then I would recommend Arch Linux. Or you could try it in a Virtual Machine I guess.

Pacman (Arch’s package manager) is a hundred times better than Apt, and then there’s the AUR on top.

Also while I’ve never used it I hear a lot of good things about EndeavorOS, Arch Linux but supposedly easier

milkjug,

Hello OP, warm welcome to the schizophrenic community that is linux! I’m running this exact same setup as you intend to.

Couple of points I’d add:

  1. Nvidia and linux is a shit show. You either use the gimped mesa drivers (not so good), or the closed source drivers (even worse), especially on Wayland. If you still want to try it out, I suggest you stick with X11. I was using a 3080Ti and gave up trying to get it to work on Wayland+KDE Plasma v5 without screen glitches and bought a 7900XTX instead. AMD works out of the box without further configuration. I’ve had nothing but issues with Nvidia. For the GPU neckbeards that are going to achytually me, please don’t, I have no skin in this game as I have a bunch of cards from both.
  2. I am not a pro nor expert in the foundations of linux, but I more or less know my way around its fundamentals (enough not to get into too much trouble), so I would actually suggest not getting into a rolling-releasing distro like Tunbleweed until you are super comfortable with a little hands-on and figuring shit out. Pop!_OS might be a better bet for your use case for now because it comes bundled with Nvidia drivers, but it uses a GNOME derivative (cosmic DE) so you don’t actually get the KDE experience.

Having said these, I absolutely adore Tumbleweed and KDE, I’ve been half daily-driving it but the gaming experience is not the absolute best (be prepared to experience weird glitches and crashes). If a flawless gaming experience is non-negotiable to you, stick with Windows. But if you’re ready to explore the quirky wonders of linux, the beauty of it all is the experience and the real reward is the friends you make along the way.

PeWu,

The hardest part is when you need to use tools from windows, or to develop a program for that system. Also, many things require good amount of configuration, and with that, expertise at what you doing. I’m currently struggling with solving bug as to why VSCodium will not debug in external terminal.

hersh,

I used to run Tumbleweed with KDE on my Nvidia system. I found the rolling release structure of Tumbleweed to cause extra work for me, because kernel updates came frequently and occasionally broke the Nvidia drivers. As a workaround, I ended up pinning my kernel to an old version.

Nvidia drivers have been at least a little troublesome on every distro I’ve used, particularly with the additional CUDA libraries.

One nice thing about Suse is that it uses BTRFS by default, and you can use snapper to revert your whole system if something goes wrong. So if Nvidia shits the the bed after an update, it’s easy to roll back. Most distros default to ext4 and do not have snapshot support by default, which feels like living in the stone age to me after using Suse and BTRFS.

Of course you CAN set up BTRFS and snapshots in any distro, but that’s a lot to ask for a beginner with Linux. I strongly recommend choosing a distro that does that for you, like Suse.

sailingbythelee,

I can see why you want to dual boot, given your use case. For gaming and MS office, Linux is not better than Windows. That said, Linux is fun to learn and you can experiment and gradually move everything over from Windows.

If you want the absolute easiest transition from Windows, I think Linux Mint Cinnamon is the best. It looks like Windows out of the box and is organized similarly. Its like going to a familiar grocery store where you know where to find the things you need. It is stable, there are rarely any weird conflicts or updates that break the system, and it comes with all the codecs you’ll need for media. In terms of installing new software, the software “store” is so simple, it makes installing software much like installing apps on Android (without all the bullshit marketing, of course). Shit just works. Steam, spotify, etc. are right there and install flawlessly. Many Steam games are native Linux and you’ll be able to install the Linux version of any game you own. For Windows-only games, you can gradually experiment with Wine, etc. and see how that works for you.

MS Office is obviously the elephant in the room, but office apps are pretty standardized at this point. You can use MS 365 online apps. Or, it is an easy transition from Word, Excel and Powerpoint to LibreOffice. Much more intuitive than using Google apps, for example. Write a few papers in LibreOffice and just save in Word format for submission (although most profs will accept Open Document Format as well, which is also supported by MS Office). Double-check formatting in Windows or the online Office 365 apps if you are worried. It is pretty easy to get used to if you use Office like most people do.

But don’t take my word for it. Make a bootable live usb and see for yourself. …readthedocs.io/…/latest/

S410,
@S410@kbin.social avatar

OpenSUSE + KDE is a really solid choice, I'd say.

The most important Linux advice I have is this: Linux isn't Windows. Don't expect things to works the same.
Don't try too hard to re-configure things that don't match the way things are on Windows. If there isn't an easy way to get a certain behavior, there's probably a reason for it.

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