Why should I primary Linux for Home Desktop and which one do you recommend?
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I've always used Windows and am super comfortable with it. I have set up a dual boot with fedora but don't use it because I have never identified a need to use it. I see a lot of windows hate, so what does Linux have that I need? What can motivate me to migrate? What is a good Linux to have for a desktop + steam?
Don't use linux.
I mean, curiosity is good enough reason. Worked for me some 15 years ago.
True, but then one wouldn't ask so hesitantly but just dive in. So curiosity seems to be missing.
For me, it all started during a summer holiday in high school
This very much.
The reason I switched was the forced updates that kept slowing down my computer when I needed the juice and network. Also there was a constant pressure to "upgrade" to win11.
OP, If you don’t have many major grievances with windows, it might not be worth switching. Nothing stopping you from taking a look in case you might like it. I have enjoyed my experience so far, despite some small issues.
It's hard to have a clean windows install. Forced update? Now you have a weather widget. Installed an app? New icon on desktop. Don't use onedrive? Fuck you here's the unremovable shortcut in filexplorer.
When I switched I was just curious. (Love to tinker with something for hours) But now I think the other way round. Why switch to a non open source OS when I can do everything on a free one (both meanings). Granted professional work is still very much reliant on special software made for windows
We‘re on a linux community and someone says they don’t see the need to use it and people will upvote „don’t use linux“.
I‘m exceptionally baffled. Why does one say this, why without context, what was the intension? So many questions.
I for one think you don’t need a reason to use linux. Just get rid of people making money off your back thats reason enough.
If one doesn't have any reason to use it or any problem it should solve, the motivation to learn new workflows and to investigate upcoming problems is typically low. That can only lead to frustration and finally wasted time.
I agree 100%. But I think the answer in that case would be „reflect on why you are interested/downloaded the OS in the first place.“
Typical answers to that are „curious“, „got told it is better because…“, „had problems with other OS and thought about switching.“
Like everywhere in life, people typically get an idea of things and either investigate or not. Oftentimes people then hit a roadblock and some lose interest.
Imo, the best long time strategy is to reflect on why someone lost interest and determine if it is better to just leave it be or solve the underlying issue (no resources, no friends with similar hobbies, etc.)
Enough rambling. Have a nice day. :)
Agreed. Linux desktop is brilliant but if you (OP) find no use for it, you'll only end up paying the frustration of using an OS you don't know to operate. I'd say you need motivation, hatred for Windows or Microsoft is a common one. Certain functionality that you know of and want is another. If you find motivation down the road, Ubuntu LTS is still likely the best option, in my opinion.
I'll preface this with: If you like Windows and don't particularly care for Linux experiences, that's ok. Not everyone needs to use Linux - the world is more interesting with variety.
For me, I hate when my computer does things that I don't tell it to. I also hate ads. These, along with but really using it for a decade were deal breakers for me with windows.
Some things that Linux has that Windows does not:
For distros that work well with steam, I definitely suggest Linux Mint or Ubuntu for beginners. They're just way more "batteries included". However, if you could also give SteamOS, the distro developed by Valve (on top of Debian) a try and it will probably work quite well.
Most of all, have fun, whether you decide to take Linux for a spin or not.
+1 for the package manager. No need to find some website to download what you want while having to worry about whether you're at the right one and if you're going to download a virus or ransomware or something. I can't believe that's the normal way to install software on windows, download something from a website and hope it's the right thing. Much better to browse a bunch of software that is designed to work well on your system and is free besides.
One big thing for me is that linux doesn't try to push you to do anything. I run simulations and they are a pain to set up again sometimes so having the computer decide to update itself out of the blue is completely unwanted. Linux will wait until you are ready. This can have a downside if you don't keep up on updates, but it's far less a concern than it is in the Windows ecosystem.
The updates issue is real. My spouse uses some specialized hardware and software for work in a non-technical field. Windows would regularly, due to poorly-QA'd auto-updates break the drivers every few weeks, leading to a lot of list work. As much as I'm not a fan of Apple, this us to purchase a Mac Mini as stability and reliability on Windows for this specific use case was pure garage and I don't have the time to run support at home and my day job.
The new SteamOS is based on arch. And the old SteamOS kinda sucks.
Good point. Yeah. The Arch version should be used.
This is a positive take. No OS is perfect, but there are lots of reasons to give a Linux distro a whirl. Tech right now IMO has become disappointing, but Linux continues to be a shining beacon of fun and hope.
Technically, Windows does have a native package manager – the Microsoft Store or whatever it's called. But yeah, it sucks.
It also has
winget
for terminal package managing now, but it takes its packages from ms store and is super inconsistent in my experience.For a normal Desktop user nowadays I think Linux is just not worse than Windows. Don't ask what Linux can do what Windows can't, ask what Windows is doing what Linux isn't: Spying on you, installing software you neither want nor need, forces you to use software you don't want, forces you to connect your local account with an online account, forces recent hardware on you and in the future, forces you to move all your data into the cloud. And all that while charging you a few hundred moneys. Linux just doesn't do that (well, depending on the distro of course).
For newcomers and non-techies I'd recommend Ubuntu or Ubuntu based distros. Plain Ubuntu is the distro which in most parts 'just works'. If you're looking for something which looks more like Windows have a look at Linux Mint Cinnamon. Linux Mint Mate (or XFCE) is a great choice if your computer is a bit older. I also mention Kubuntu because KDE is the a very popular desktop but rather demanding (but also feature rich), it may also feel more natural for people switching from Windows.
All of them will run Steam without trouble, but be aware that playing Windows games on Linux can in some cases be troublesome and require manual fixes. Maybe look beforehand which games are supported how well on https://www.protondb.com/ .
Forces you to reboot.
@Seltsamsel @SendMePhotos
I've had issues with plain Ubuntu but never have I had an issue with Linux Mint. Works perfect out the box. Even Debian edition.
There are billions of possible hardware configurations and billions of use cases for an OS. No OS will ever be able to work on all of these combinations flawlessly, I'm just saying that on average you have the best chances of everything working out of the box if using Ubuntu and even if not, there are the best chances that you find help online for your problem on Ubuntu, but there are of course cases where other distros will be better suited.
@Seltsamsel
I certainly can't argue against your last point. You are almost guaranteed to find a solution to your problem on Ubuntu. Simply due to mass usage.
If Windows works fine for you and does not annoy you, there is no need to migrate.
Personally, I’ve been mostly happy using Linux as my sole desktop OS for ~15 years. However, I only switched because Windows kept breaking and reinstalling no longer fixed it. I couldn’t imagine going back now, but a big part is probably being used to it.
These days most major Linux distributions should be fine for desktop use.
Linux Mint Cinnamon use to be the go-to beginner distribution. Its design is apparently somewhat similar to Windows, giving you some initial familiarity. Linux Mint is also based on Ubuntu, which used to be so widespread that many support pages and simple how-to instruction still default to explaining it for Ubuntu.
(This can still lead to confusion if you search for "install [Windows program] Linux" and the instructions work for Ubuntu based distribution only, not for any other distros.)
The last few years, I’ve seen a switch to Arch-based distributions around. Valve itself switched away from Ubuntu to Arch in some ways. (On Steam, the system requirements still use Ubuntu as default.) SteamOS used to be based on Debian, which Ubuntu is related to, until the Steam Deck. Now it is based on Arch. More specifically, Valve seems to default to:
Base: Arch
Desktop environment: KDE Plasma (more powerful/options than Cinnamon)
Compositor base: Wayland for gaming, old X11 for Steam Deck’s desktop. (Apparently Wayland isn’t quite ready yet for that in their opinion.)
EDIT: Fixed thanks to feedback.
Arch itself is seen as a more technical distribution. There are extremely many support pages for every issue or question you may have, similar to Ubuntu, but some may be more difficult to understand. Still, support systems improve as the user base grows and Arch is growing.
For specific distributions, EndeavourOS is the one I’ve heard about being the most friendly. Manjaro is also beginner-friendly, but the folks who maintain it have some serious issues with seriously fucking things up sometimes.
https://itsfoss.com/arch-based-linux-distros/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVlD17OjFAc (Video compiling Manjaro fuckups.)
Didn't SteamOS switch from Debian? And doesn't it use X for the desktop mode and Wayland for the gaming mode?
It did. I must have mixed them up. Not sure about the desktop/gaming divide, I mostly get my info from random articles.
Based on a brief search, you may be correct on both counts. I’ll fix my post. Thanks for pointing it out.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=oVlD17OjFAc
https://piped.video/watch?v=oVlD17OjFAc
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
Not having Microsoft install candy crush and reenable telemetry trackers with every update.
I've been using Linux for 19 years. In that time I've very rarely booted Windows.
If you don't feel comfortable with Linux, then why use it? People who pressure you ir have an elitist attitude have always existed on both Linux and Windows, but they come and go.
The only legitimate complaint someone might generally have is Windows being a weak link on a local network, but in most cases its usually, even then, just someone trying to be part of the in crowd of Linux opposed to actually understanding what they're saying well enough to have a reasonable concern.
Most people who become interested in Linux go through some kind of phase that involves talking crap about security or privacy or free software rights, but regardless of any of that being true or untrue, most of us just wanted to try something different when we tried it and switched after becoming addicted, then we go through our arrogant phase.
Btw, if you don't feel like the current distro feels comfy, just try a different one with maybe a different Desktop or different Desktop design. The best part about Linux is, its perfect. But there is no perfect fit for every Human, thus why I hate Windows for trying this "fit for all" Philosohpy, but maybe its just that I have setup a perfect Arch Linux System with KDE after using Kubuntu, Pop OS, Manjaro for 3 years and gaining knowledge about Linux.
This. The same that Torbrowser is Firefox and not Chrome. Tails is Linux and not Windows.
uhm, you should update your software. Maybe I understood you wrong. Best update process is Fedora immutable, switch to a different image, reboot, no problems. Rolling distros might be good, but are too unstable for many.
I think I meant debian but I actually don't know how long security updates are done. Maybe I was a bit in the wrong. My main focus was Arch Linux and OpenSuse but not sure how it behaves when you only do security updates and no normal packag updates. But the main thing stays true that you don't need to reinstall anything like you need to with Windows 10 to 11 transistions and other versions
That should be the other way around, no? What do you need that Linux has (and Windows doesn't). Otherwise it's a case of "solution in search of a problem". You presently do not seem to have a need as you have mentioned, so ideally you should leave it at that and continue using Windows.
While as I implied above only you can answer that authoritatively for yourself, a few examples of what other people seem to like about Linux might help perhaps -
... and so on.
There are many, but I generally recommend Linux Mint or Pop! OS for this use-case.
This is the best reply in this entire post. I personally prefer Linux-based OSes and use them for pretty much everything these days, but if you don't know what you want or what you're looking for, I'd feel bad telling someone to jump headfirst into a new world. As much as I hate what the Windows platform is these days (imo, an advertising/data collection platform first, operating system second), I wouldn't suggest someone change their workflow unless they're truly interested in learning something new (which, depending on your use cases, could be better).
If OP really wants to use Linux instead, be it for fun or utility, I agree with a lot of people's suggestions for Pop!_OS or Linux Mint. I'll also suggest sticking with Fedora or trying Nobara (a gaming-focused distro based on Fedora). I use Fedora for my daily use and Steam works great for my games. Nvidia drivers are easy to install if you need to.
Overall, anyone who's going down the path of replacing Windows with Linux should have two things: patience, and some decent web sleuthing skills. Switching to Linux can be incredibly rewarding, but you have to have patience (especially in the beginning) for learning new things or changing default settings to make your OS work for you. I know this is just another drop in the sea of long-ass rants in this post, but maybe this has some helpful info here.
It is always funny visiting sites that you know are riddled with malware and slipping right past as their scripts attempt to install stuff that isn't even compatible with your computer.
personally i prefer mint, in large part because i love the cinnamon desktop and mint seems more stable than pop os in my experience. (and if you have nvidia gpus i know pop os can have it pre installed but getting it installed in mint is the click of a few buttons)
Edit to add: See what desktop environments you like, than find a distro that ships with that environment, that will tend to lead to great levels of stability for you.
If you don't feel the need, don't do it. But linux can give you extra privacy, customizability or a way to tinker with everything on your system. Distros like fedora, linux mint and pop os are great distros to start if you feel the urge some day.
Most answers you will read here will have technical reasons at its core. For a normal average user that gew up with it, windows is fine. But as soon as you get a bit more tech savvy and/or privacy minded you suddenly see a lot to be desired. Most people switch to linux because they want more control, because its structure is more technically elegant, more responsive and because they don't trust microsoft to respect their privacy.
Windows is 50GB on disk to install. An insane size for an OS. Windows often calls home without any indicaton or transparancy why. In linux you can control everything yourself. Windows is often slow or inefficient.. On windows you have only limited ways to craft and costomize your desktop experience, which in linux allows fully. And more reasons like these.
As you can see for tech savvy people linux offers the tools to take control over your computing needs, if you have or develop the skills to do so. For more mainstream grade experiences distros like Ubuntu or Pop!OS provide a great environment that allows people to ignore the more technical stuff and get on with their needs. Using linux as your daily driver will require you to leave behind some old habits and learn some new ones, but its worth it in my opinion.
I daily drive PopOS on my gaming rig and whatever distro that catches my fancy on my development homelab labtop.
For me the reason I've switched is Windows just feels bloated and slow to use especially on less powerful hardware. When I open a program on Linux it just opens instantly, no spinning wheel, no waiting 5 seconds for the start menu to finally decide to open
That and package management, on NixOS I have a list of installed programs and system config all in one place, so no random applications I installed 3 years ago and forgot about, uninstallers that don't work, dodgey .exes etc
Omg package managers. And manual updates that actually work and actually tell you what they do.
A few reasons other than privacy to use linux:
After you setup Linux to your requirements, there really isn't a reason to use windows.
A few reasons not to use linux:
If you do decide to use linux a few recommendations:
Typical updates on Linux take MINUTES, and (sometimes) a single reboot.
And for the record, with regards to @oats point #1 for the negative, I have a school machine (university level, research-related work). Matlab, Mathematica, R, Rust, Intel and Nvidia (CUDA) Fortran are all available for Linux. And, in many instances, many CPU-intensive applications may only be available on Linux (and Linux clusters).
Just wanted to share my experience as a new Linux user. I recently started getting much more serious about privacy and open source over the past year but I didn't make the leap to Linux until Reddit killed all the 3rd party apps; probably because of all the Linux posts I began reading on Lemmy. I was searching up all posts similar to yours seeing which distro is "best" or to start out with. I decided to take the route of researching what I'm looking for and just trying out different distros and desktop environments.
Fast forward to today and after much trial and error, internet searching for troubleshooting answers, how-to videos, and testing about 7 different distros, I landed on OpenSUSE Tumbleweed and couldn't be happier.
Linux is fast, customizable, and I no longer have to worry about windows spying on me. It definitely was a challenging switch, even though I'm very tech savvy, mainly because it's a whole new language (for me). It was also extra challenging because I have a Samsung GalaxyBook3 Pro 360 and for some reason audio is shot on all the distros I tried. Thankfully, some very smart folk on the internet had a guide on how to get audio working (not perfectly though) using a command script and HDA verbs (like wtf are HDA verbs??? Lol). I also had to find a workaround for being able to use my laptop for work as well which heavily relies on Microsoft's suite of apps. My solution? Install edge alongside my default browser of choice, to be used only for work, and operate entirely from office 365 web apps.
At the end of the day, I've found that everything you can do on windows, you can do on Linux (literally even run windows apps) and you can sometimes do things better on Linux. It takes patience, troubleshooting, and you may have to format a partition or two along the way but it's so worth it. Just dive in and have fun with it. Everyone can give you their opinion on a distro to run or desktop environment to choose but remember they are just opinions at the end of the day and very much subjective.
Have fun! :)
Thank you
freedom of speech, actually owning your computer, more privacy. I recommend using mint or Pop!_OS
Everyone says mint overall
They're wrong. Pop! master race.
I recommend Linux Mint. It's really great and works on older hardware as well as newer.
In the last 10 years I've used linux from time to time on my personal PC, mostly used for gaming and web browsing. Always switch back to Windows, because it was not ready for my use, mostly due to gaming.
3 months ago I got fed up by windows forcing on me the connected account and installing crap by default, so I tried a few distrib and stick to ArchLinux, this time I didn't switch back to Windows, and for now, I don't intend to. I don't play online "competitive" FPS anymore, which tend to not work well on linux because of anti cheat. Linux compatibility improve every day for gaming, it has been mostly flaw less for the past 3 months. With the steam deck, compatibility greatly improved, and it's getting better everyday.
I feel like Arch is more snappy than Windows, everything feels more responsive, and man update are so quick, Windows takes forever to update... And I like having more controls of what my PC is doing for better and worse.
Do a list of what you want and don't want for your usage, then try some distrib and check if it fit your needs or not.
About competitive FPS I think only valorant does not work with Linux
For me Linux is about customization, from windows7, Microsoft is removing a lot of things and trying to force a streamlined way of use it. I hate it.on Linux you have a much more control of your workflow, doing things in your wa, also there is a sense of community, wikies work, tutorials usually are better.
But, if you are super confortable with windows I will suggest you to not change. There is no reason for that, only if you are curious, but none system will be better that one you already like in every aspect and you need nothing.
For a beginners a distro is not even the most important thing, but the desktop environment, i can recommend endevourOS, manjaro, and mint, i the order i like most, and for the DE i highly recommend Cinnamon or KDE since you clearly don't feel the need to change your desktop so much, Mate is also a greatDE but it is just a little bit uglier but has a good performance if you have a less potent machine
I'm still seething at their decision to rename "Prefetch" to "SysMain". It doesn't make any sense!
A good place to start is Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop download option.
IMO when you migrate to Linux, you can learn many things that you never think about before and it give you the easiest solution for daily life. From piracy, privacy, ideology, and deep tinkering other things that you can't do on Windows (Coreboot / Libreboot, or HAM Radio hack for example).
Pop! OS is the best choice you have. But if you want to create home desktop for your family using it, I recommended Q4OS with Pure Profile installation, just install Firefox + Ublock Origin and you can go perfectly good..
Personally I would say start with Fedora and try Gnome (maybe with some extensions like dash to panel) or KDE. KDE is more buggy poorly, but has far more features. On Gnome you can run some KDE apps too though, Dolphin for example is awesome
In Fedora add Flathub and try to only use Flatpak apps from there.
Then if you think you are happy, you can try an immutable Distro. They will basically never break, but some advanced apps and plugins may not work that well. In theory you can simply install these apps as RPM apps though too.
Fedora Silverblue/Kinoite with Flatpaks is SO ahead of Windows. Updates go in background while running, and after a reboot you always have a completely new system. Updates are fast, and extremely stable, due to the system image being like on Android.
Flatpaks run in containers, isolated from the system. They are getting better slowly, but are mostly not made to run there, unlike apps on Android. So they cant be as secure, but still are waaaay better isolated from the system, you can restrict internet access, state the folders they are allowed to access and way more. On KDE in the settings, in Gnome using Flatseal.
This is also wayyy more modern.
Also, Dolphin, or actually any other file manager. Dolphin runs on Gnome too perfectly. They are soooo much better than the Windows explorer crap. Extensions everywhere. Tabs. Drag-drop menu. Creating links. Windows is so horrible to use.
Also Linux is way better at processing small files. Try starting GIMP, unlocking a big Cryptomator vault (for cloud backups). Windows just crashes sometimes.
Also, Linux has so much more Opensource software for nieche purposes. Windows has a lot, and a lot of old crap like Openoffice, FreeMind and other not maintained software. May not be there on Linux, because its outdated. But just look through flathub.org, its amazing.
As others have said if you're happy with Windows then why change? If you're wanting to then instead of looking at the OS, look at what applications you use and see if there's a Linux version or an alternative you could use.
Personally, I actually support Windows on a day to day basis but use Linux at home. If there's one hate I have for Windows it's their awful update process, making my computer basically crawl until it finally decides it's going to reboot randomly as I've put the update off too long.
Added with the artificial software restrictions put in place for Windows 11, Linux seemed a no brainier.
I've been using Debian for a while. It's not as resource hungry and rock solid. It's survived several OS upgrades and keeps happily ticking along. Where for work I have a Microsoft Surface that the camera driver crashes unless I roll back to a previous version. Every so often Windows will decide that actually I'll want that new driver regardless of what I say. How can a MS OS fail to work with MS hardware?
In terms of recommending an OS, I'd say Linux Mint. It's a great starter OS and as it's popular it's well supported.
I have had better luck with Linux updates applying faster and they are more reliable than Windows. You can customize your desktop to have whatever theme you want. Also the privacy benefits are great too
the main reason are package managers, since the package managers on linux are much easier to use than winget(the one in windows). apart from that, there are not many other reasons to switch.
I love that winget exists but it's not really comparable. I think it doesn't really do dependencys of if it does the packages don't really use that. Also the packages are still stuck in the windows mindset of having to update on their own with each having their own update service
If you care about your privacy and you are a kind of IT guy, then never ever just watch into wireshark while using windows. I was so fucking scared about the shit running in my background while I had a really clean windows installation and a lot of services and tasks disabled. Holy moly, I could not tell if this where MS calling home or some maleware. Even a simple netstat was full of messy unneeded stuff I can‘t disable (I figured out how ti disable everything via registry, ending up having an unusable windows) Hint: I was beeing hacked on windows OS some years ago, which makes me paranoid not having any chances on windows to check if some unwanted programm uses your PC and sending data over the ethernet.
Switched to endeavourOs 1y ago and would never go back. Runs 10 times faster, can do 95% of my tasks and games without having huge workarounds, thanks to proton. I have finally the feel the OS belongs to me and I can mostly control what the hack is going on on my PC.
I can see only a few scenarios where you couldn't use the Linux full time.
If you have none of them, the best reason to use is curiosity. I started my first Linux out of curiosity and now I am a full time Linx user though I still have windows dual boot and a Mac book pro.
Debian Stable is a solid choice as it has the best support and is a hassle-free experience. Maybe with KDE Desktop. Its the most userfriendly windows-like desktop i know of.
Optional: You can also install the MX-Tools from MX Linux to get some comfortable GUI system tools.
Yes, that with flatpak you get the best linux experience.
If you are using your PC to play games, stick to Windows.
Linux is better if you want to run servers or do software development.
If you're a casual user who only uses office software and spreadsheets and watches pirated anime, you can use either but you should use Linux because it's cheaper.
As a full spare timer gamer I slightly disagree with the point about games, if you can give a very small set of games away you can still play a ton of different games. But... Sometimes you will have to do some stuff to work properly, but it is very doable, i dont think it is will be a no go for anyone actually willing to switch, just my point.
IMO all three of these statements are true.
The first sentence is invalid. There is such a minuscle amount of games not working on linux. On top of it, most games run better on linux (e.g. frametimes). Also your second argument is flawed and outdated. Privacy and having freedom and control is probably a much bigger driver to run and use linux on your desktop.
Hey, if you're comfortable and happy with Windows, and don't feel the need to switch, then don't feel pressured. If you want to try Linux for fun, try a distro like Arch, that gives you a lot of control and a lot to play with.
While I personally am a big fan of Arch, it's absolutely not for beginners.
I’d argue it’s perfectly fine for beginners with time and desire to learn. The Arch Wiki is a great resource.
EndeavorOS is more beginner friendly and still an Arch based distro.
What is a beginner? Somebody who wants to install and never tinker with the system again? Those users should not try ANY linux in my opinion. But if you are willing to learn and check resources in the internet on how to solve problems, what better place than the best online linux documentation EVER?
I started with Arch. It's a great beginner distro.
No, its great for begginers that want to understand their OS, are curious and have technical background, don't be crazy
I started with Ubuntu and settled on Arch.
Seems like you're pretty happy with Windows. I don't really see a reason to convinced you otherwise, but since you asked…
Basically, Linux can range from a bit to a shit ton more secure. It's also, the the off and on exception of Ubuntu, free of ads, and much more respectful of your privacy. Also, depending on your hardware, Linux can offer a modest performance boost. I personally find maintenance to be much faster and less resource intensive, if a bit less noob-friendly.
But like I said - if you're happy, why change?
Tl;Dr: if you don't do nothing, the CPU stays at 0% utilization. Magic?
(I'm kidding)I'm using Linux for work. At home, I have Windows on my desktop, I mainly use it to play games.
One day I've tried to move to Linux for my home system, but it came out that games work slower because of DirectX adaptation layer. And most of the games can only work with DX.
Which games run slower on linux (with proof please)? I bet you are not able to name 2... the adaption layer as you name it is not causing performance degression because linux by itself runs much more performant than Windows.
Bring Vulkan into play and you will see performance gains on linux compared to windows.
I've noticed significant performance degradation in World of Warcraft and League of Legends. Used Lutrix to start them. FPS in those games visually dropped to 3-5. While on Windows there was smooth 60+ frames. I've tried that about 3 or 4 years ago.
Well that sounds like miss configuration. I played one of those games without problems on Linux years ago. And performance was very good.
If you have to ask, don't do it. People moving away from Windows usually have strong enough motivation to be able to tolerate the occasional tinkering Linux will require (any distro will, some more than others).
Personally, I switched a couple of years ago because I was fed up with Windows telemetry bullshit. But I admit that's mostly ideological because you don't "feel" it if you choose to ignore privacy rights violations.
I then discovered Linux to be much faster (booting, I/O, program start-up, basically everything) and not becoming shitty just by using it like every single Windows version does. Also, if you run into problems it's much easier to find and understand the root cause. Windows is just a black box.
I think that, IMO, you have to have a reason to move AWAY from Windows. The fact that you're asking the question tells me that you may have problems with Windows (and maybe Windows 11 in particular?). TPM and an initial user creation process that requires a Microsoft account come to mind.
I still recommend Ubuntu or Mint Linux for new users, although I dislike Snap packages (in the case of Ubuntu) and I recommend getting away from Snaps as soon as possible. These distros pretty much just work. I'm more fond of the MacOS look and feel, so this is what my desktop looks like currently
.
EDIT: I should point out that this is actually STOCK Ubuntu 23.04...
As you can see, my setup is very similar to MacOS (but not EXACTLY the same, which I prefer). Mint Linux is basically like Windows 10, only much better IMO. You pretty much can't go wrong with these two...
I’m in a similar boat—would love a compelling reason to move to Linux but just don’t feel it yet. Many of the things other commenters dislike about windows I don’t experience. I’d consider myself fairly competent at tinkering with windows, so I have a completely local login, don’t see any ads, and it doesn’t install updates until I tell it too (I scripted manually installing the Defender definition updates every day though). I use Actualtools AWM for fine grained control over desktop and window features which I’d need to find the equivalent of in a Linux desktop—doable I’m sure, but it feels like a lot of effort to be exactly where I am right now.
So I’ll keep looking for the opportunity to move, install Kubuntu on an old laptop, and in the meantime just get on with work.
Perhaps it's compelling that you no longer need to have scripts to stop the OS from doing things you don't want it to? That there is no need for scripting defender? That the desktop will be as fine grain control as you want without a third party toolkit?
To be where you are now... would require... nothing.
For me it's speed, stability, easy of printing and scanning, a decent file manager (windows one is just horrible) and knowing my current cycles go to doing work not background crap.
To be fair, to get where I am now would not require nothing—it would be a good few hours at least installing and configuring replacement software, all of which is doable, and I’d be exactly where I am now.
I had a look at KDE Plasma a short while ago, and I’m sure it could do everything AWM does, but I’m not certain, and don’t know how to configure it so, hence more time to replicate what I have that’s working fine. I use XYPlorer which is a great file manager, so I also don’t have to put up with the default one.
And KDE might not be the best choice either—so more time and experimentation to find the right distro, DM, WM, and so on. I have already put those many hours into getting things they way I want so I can be productive. Until something forces my hand, I will stick with what I have.
But the next time I have to reinstall the OS, that would be a good motivator to move (I haven’t had to do anything significant like that since bolting Windows 10 down several years ago).
This is where NixOS shines. To get where I am now on a fresh machine would take ~20 minutes, run the installer, drop my config on the machine, rebuild and sign into my accounts
I like linux lite
My server is Linux and it works great. My PC is Windows because, despite its flaws, it just works. Especially for playing games.
You say that I've actually got better performance in a few games running under proton
Linux for the most part just works for games now
If the games you want to play work well on Proton then it's fine. You'll receive a minimal performance hit, or on very rare occasions, none at all. Unfortunately something like half the top 10-20 games on Twitch either don't run on Linux at all, or run really poorly and require a lot of workarounds.
I've only really run into one or two games that haven't worked flawlessly not for lack of variety
I'm guessing the top games on twitch are probably competitive things with strict anti cheat right?
Yes, I think it's mostly anti-cheat causing the issues. Still, these are some of the most popular games in the world like Fortnite and Destiny 2 and Valorant.
Valorant I'm not surprised isn't that the one with the super invasive anticheat?
I’m not sure. I think any effective anti-cheat is invasive. I hate them but I hate cheaters even more.
Games manage to have good anti cheat that doesn't do that though, I rarely encounter cheaters in overwatch for example and if I have they've been really subtle about it
Last time I investigated this, Overwatch used a very poorly-designed client-side solution called Warden. It's a signature-based detection system, similar to antivirus. It looks for process IDs of known cheats. There is also some server-side heuristic detection which looks for impossible player stats that reveal rage-mode cheating. Again, this is easily defeated to the point that it doesn't work at all because cheaters know about it and spend the first few minutes of the match firing into walls and floors to dilute their stats. Detecting process IDs is useless when you can just make some minor changes and recompile every few days, which is exactly what the subscription-based hacks do. It is a naive and amateur solution, and because of its flawed architecture it can never be effective.
The only serious anti-cheat in any game is in Valorant. It's a kernel module that can detect low-level hacks. Overwatch's anti-cheat runs in user mode, and all the serious hacks use HID drivers that are recompiled periodically to prevent signature detection.
But how often realistically do you run into people who have spent money on clients like that? I'm going off perceived experience in the game and I have very noticed cheaters, and if they're around they aren't OP enough to ruin a game single handedly or it'd be obvious
Cheating estimates are hard. I think my Fortnite games are plagued by cheaters, but maybe I just suck and everyone else is competitive level. This study found that 32% of gamers had admitted to cheating, and 12% claim to cheat regularly. This study found astonishingly high levels of people searching for cheats for their games, with Sweden topping the ranks of cheaters.
Bottom line: if it's not a problem for you, that's great. It's a big problem for me and others, and I'm grateful to give up a little privacy in exchange for a cheat-free experience, which Valorant does.
You say that but I've cheated, I haven't cheated in any competitive games but I cheat in PVE stuff for shits and giggles all the time
Still salty about getting VAC banned dying light from for swimming at super speed in a co op lobby with vac explicitly disabled in everyone's settings
Cheating doesn't neccesarily mean ruining other people's experience unless the survey is specifically about competitive games
For home desktop use you really shouldn't.
Can you elaborate please?
Hard disagree. I use mint as my daily driver and gaming PC and run into less issues as a whole than if I was running windows
So I ended up going with mint XFCE (?) and I really dig it. It's comfortable. Now I'd have to work on migrating proper documents and files over but I might just keep them separate (have spread out over different drives anyways) until I get some hdd/ssd updates.
Get time shift set up so you have restore points if needed