I would recommend using one of the distros backed by a big company or have very long track records. They are less likely to break on updates, and have a higher chance of supporting any uncommon hardware you may have.
Fedora
Ubuntu
Mint
Pop OS
If you have new hardware (e.g. GPU newer than 6 months) you will probably have issues. Follow the recommendations from the hardware supplier, or use something arch based. I used Manjaro a while when I got new hardware.
Besides those tips, you should decide which desktop environment you like best. I prefer gnome, as I enjoy to spend time in apps and not on in settings. Others prefer customization. Have a look at youtu.be/09cYQJBgKEs?si=KX8FZeMRcMlPTzG2
In the somewhat distant future you’re looking to switch to Linux. Okay, the question of distros can wait.
What you want to do in the not-too-distant-future if possible is start finding FOSS alternatives to the software you use. Stuff like LibreOffice and Krita have Windows versions, so in the meantime start learning and using those apps. Because that’s the real pain point.
As for distro…distros don’t really matter. Most of the user experience comes from the desktop environment, and that’s a matter of preference so personal that the real answer is “try several and use the one you like.”
KDE is the best desktop environment, period. Why not go with a stable OS base but enjoy all the current updates of your desktop, app suite? Introduction: KDE Neon
I was impressed by how streamlined and intuitive EndeavorOS (with Plasma) is out of the box when I threw it on a friend’s computer. Will probably switch to it myself shortly.
Know that you’ll probably hate what you try first. Personally I say you shouldn’t use Pop_OS!, but its better than being scared of making a wrong choice. “distrohopping” is a great way to learn.
Honestly, I recommend everyone without existing Linux experience to use Fedora: it's reasonable modern (nice for, e.g. gaming), while also not being a full rolling release model like Arch (which needs expertise to fix in case something breaks).
It's also reasonably popular, meaning you will find enough guidance in case something does break.
For the love of god and all that is holy just use mint cinnamon it’s the easies most stable with little learning curve ever. High performance great for work gaming browsing whatever lol. If you can use windows 7/10 you can use mint cinnamon
I’ve been using Mint for quite a while now on a spare machine and it’s the first linux strain that has me not giving up in frustration. I can definitely recommend.
From my experience, download many distros from Linux Mint to Zorin, maybe Fedora and OpenSuse if you want something non Ubuntu bases, or Manjaro and Endeavor OS if you are up for a challenge.
Then install them in a Virtual Machine like Virtual Box. This way you can test which OS you like, and see if the software you want works.
In my experience the Desktop Environment makes the biggest impact on your user experience.
Followed by the package manager (app store)
Then available software (steam lutris libre office)
Finally the terminal for when things go south (or you installed arch)
And now I settled with Garuda and Nobara. Like them.
I used Nobara for niche gaming (rarely use it now).
And Garuda Linux for dev work, and downloading and installing stuff, including proprietary packages. And I don’t have to configure all the things to make it capable of allowing me to download stuff from all the nice mirrors, such as the community arch mirror.
Nobara, on the other hand, is great at handling compatibility issues kinda out of the box. Such [Edit1: as GPU] drivers.
The reason I disliked the aforementioned distros was solely because of how much involved I had to be to configure them to integrate with my rare WiFi chip drivers, which triggered me when I banged my head at the keyboard for hours only to find out that my WiFi driver was not supported.
But Garuda and Nobara or a blessing, and a chef’s kiss.
That’s coming from a person who tried more than 20+ distros and/or their derivatives.
[Edit2:] All in all, I would recommend what the comment above suggested, as that will help you find your own path. The samurai path, the kenjutsu path, or the kendo path, the peaceful path, or the hackers path. ;)
[Edit3: sorry Debian users, but I DID try your distros, I just didn’t want to bother with them much as they had compatibility issues too !]
I’ve been wanting to do this for years, and tried several years ago but my AMD graphics card didn’t have available drivers. I now have an rtx 2070 super, do you know if it’s compatible?
I saw in a comment above that mint cinnamon is great for gaming, does that use wine or something similar? The gaming aspect is really holding me back.
Also slight concern with my dev environment but I’m sure that’s been solved 100 different ways.
Drivers. I’ve yet to run across any major issues except for Intel Compute not working with Davinci Resolve but that’s well documented.
Now for gaming on Linux. There are 2 ways to game on Linux.
Native ports. Most valve games and some third parties (mostly indie) are natively compatible. I’ve had no issues playing these ports and they run like any other application.
Windows Compatibility Layer. Now asking for 20+ year old games to be ported to Linux is a bit of an ask. Let alone asking devs to add Linux support to their games when Linux had such a small install base.
So what some very smart devs did, was make 2 pieces of software that makes playing native Windows games on Linux possible.
WINE, or WIne Is Not an Emulator, is a compatibility layer to run native Windows Software in Linux. With a primary focus on Windows System Calls. Gaming in wine isn’t graphically the best.
Then there is DXVK, or Direct X to Vulkan compatibility layer, which translates DX9-DX11 code to the open source Vulkan that runs in Linux. Intel’s Arc graphics uses this for their legacy compatibility.
Now you don’t need to worry about installing any of this since Valve packages these apps, and some choice software like .Net Runtime in a package called Proton. This is a checkbox in Steam and when Steam Play is enabled, the Windows versions of games will be installed and will work.
Compatibility is very good at this point but there are edge cases that still need to be ironed out. Like anti cheat, DRM, and more.
Lutris is another prices of software that can be used like Steam Play but for non steam games. Its also good, but can be fiddly.
Install process is no more involved than actual Windows, but when a Ubisoft game crashes it won’t take your entire machine down with it.
I recommend first switching Windows-only software to crossplatform software so you won’t have to get used to another operating system and different software at the same time.
OP, I have an entire guide for Linux/Windows computing, having been a couple decades old user of Windows. I am using Linux for the past 6+ years, and am using Debian as of now.
Start with Ubuntu LTS. Your priority is being able to search your solutions easily on AskUbuntu, StackOverflow or similar websites within the first few search results, and NOT needing to interact with and/or get harassed by the toxic evangelists in Linux community. I assume you already got a taste of that evangelism with the comments here.
Also, it is essential to require optimal corporate and community software support, and maximum stability/compatibility with WINE, without your system breaking upon automatic/random updates. This lessens the need for you to go around scrambling on the internet for solutions. Make sure to utilise whatever you need, Snaps, AppImages, regardless of what people say, to make your Linux life easier.
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