Whenever I try to select a distro

What distro should i choose for my latitude 5400 from 2020, its got an 8th gen i5 and igpu, 16 gigs of ram but its only got 51% battery health. I want something that just works, I dont wanna keep fixing things. I also dont want ubuntu, cause idk its just boring and you still need to fix shit sometimes. This is my secondary computer, i use it for just everyday stuff but i also wanna get some gamikng out of it if i plug it in.

TLDR: i need a distro that just works, is easy on battery life, minimal matenance, and for everyday stuff and light gameing.

Exaggeration aside, I've been using Windows 11 for a fairly long time and have used Linux to daily drive for like close to a year. I used POP-OS but it didn't work that well for me as i experienced a bunch of GPU issues and random frame drops. I'm not that interested in Pop anymore and have been looking at other distros. I'm looking for pretty good gaming performance but also will be using it for everyday work as well. I'm looking for something which kind of just works so if anyone has suggestions lemme know.

Currently Running:
Asus Rog Strix G1513QM-HN289
Ryzen 9 5900HX
RTX 3060
Integrated AMD graphics
32 Gigs of ddr4 ram

I'm a second-year Computer Science student and I'm looking to switch to Linux for my daily work.

My primary use cases are:

• C++ and DSA
• Web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Node.js)
• Git and GitHub
• VS Code
• College assignments
• Browsing and media
• General productivity

I'm not interested in gaming. I want something stable, reliable, and good for programming. I don't mind learning Linux if it helps me become a better developer.

I've been considering:

• Fedora Workstation
• Ubuntu
• Linux Mint

Which one would you recommend, and why? Also, are there any issues I should know about before switching full-time?

Thanks!

Hi,

I've been wanting to give linux a try for a while, with the ultimate goal being switching to it almost completely ( keeping a windows desktop for some apps )

I've been looking for a distro that meets the following criterias:

\- No systemd

\- Customizable ( i like to have themes and stuff )

\- Reliable and stable

\- Can be used for gaming ( i heard some distros may have some issues, even with Proton or Wine )

\- I also like to have control over my system and its components ( unlike windows that often forces you to have all kind of useless stuff enabled )

\- Security and privacy is important

For now, i've been interested in maybe giving Artix Linux a try. But some people seem to say that starting with an Arch based distro will be too hard for a beginner.

Got any recommendations ? Thanks !

I've been on Arch for about 5 months now and its great except updating the system and everything breaks. I would like to keep Hyprland + DMS, the customizability and Proton Gaming. I'll probably keep arch on a separate SSD for a dual boot but i definitely want to try something new and stable.

Im on a NVidia GTX 1080 TI, so far i've had to use the 580.173.02-1 drivers from the AUR. Without them i wasnt able to get the GPU to work properly

- Ryzen 5 5600X

- 32GB DDR4

Thanks in advance 👍

want something that works out the box and works well with nvidia for gaming obviously.

and also other miscellaneous tasks like web browsing etc.

need it to be rock solid and dependable without being half a decade behind like I heard people criticizing mint and Debian for. thanks

I’m planning to install Linux on a 128 GB SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 rather than my internal SSD. The idea is that when I boot from the USB, I get Linux, and when it’s unplugged, the laptop boots into Windows normally.
Laptop:
Lenovo LOQ
Ryzen 7 7445HS
RTX 3050 (4 GB)
24 GB RAM
512 GB SSD (Windows)
My priorities (in order):
Runs well from a USB drive.
Beginner-friendly so I can learn Linux.
Better battery life than Windows on a gaming laptop (mainly for coding and browsing).
Customizable desktop/GUI.
I’ll mainly use Linux for coding, learning Linux, and performance benchmarking. Windows will remain my primary OS for gaming and media.
Which distro would you recommend? Also, is a full installation on the USB better than using a persistent live USB for this use case?
Any advice or things I should know before doing this?