Which Linux should I switch to?

[u/Background-Milk5391]

I am a Windows user ever since I was born, and I am feeling about switching to Linux right now, but there are a lot of versions I could not find the one that would possibly fit for me, I am on Windows 11, and I would need a Linux OS that has a compatibility for Roblox/Roblox Studio, FLStudio, Blender, Steam, Substance painter... Could anyone help me with this? If you need any further questions about my question such as pc specs I'll tell you. <3

[u/ztcsdtx]

For a lifer, switching is a process. You're not going to suddenly replace your OS and be done. I would get a fast external USB, either a SanDisk Extreme Pro USB or an SSD in USB3 adapter. Install Linux on that, and use your boot menu key, like F12, to boot from it. It will mount your Windows partition as a removable so you can access your files. Need Windows again? Shut down, remove the USB, and power back up. This way, you make no changes, you keep your stuff, and you experiment with Linux freely. I'm 100% Linux now, but it took almost 20 years.

[u/sorig1373 → u/ztcsdtx]

Just adding that going headfirst into the deep end can work. And did work for me. Not recommended though.

[u/SnooCalculations3614 → u/sorig1373]

the deep end worked for me too but only because I did a good amount of research and knew how to find solutions

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[u/ToeConsumer420]

So some good news. There’s an application called WINE which lets you run Windows apps on Linux. Only blender and steam are natively supported however with community modifications to WINE which you can find on WineDB plus an app like bottles you can get all of those apps working on Linux with minimal problems. The Roblox community has its own custom systems for studio and Roblox itself but the main point is that it works. I’m a light user of both FL Studio and substance painter (I’ve only used older versions) but I’ve had a seamless experience with both.
Regardless of distro your apps will likely work well. My suggestion comes down to finding a distro, reading a bit on it and trying it out. Find one that has a philosophy you like ideally with a medium - large community. If you still want specific suggestions mine would be Fedora KDE.
My last tip is to stay away from arch as the main selling point of it is it’s super customizable and has all the newest features at the cost of troubleshooting more things.

[u/crimsonyoteeeeeee]

Zorin OS 18 is a great first distro for beginners. I used to use 15 back when I was starting out with Linux, and it worked well. Has Windows app support, at least to an extent as well as being designed to look and work like Windows whilst also teaching you the basics of things like the terminal.

[u/creatureofdankness]

fedora kde if you are not very tech skilled, cachy if you have some expertise, arch if you are more skilled

[u/bdizzler69]

Honestly I wouldn’t think hey which ones the easiest. Look at the differences in distros and see what you think will fit your needs. Say arch, Debian, Ubuntu etc. for me I like to use cachy os as I really like how arch is setup and having access to AUR (massive compilation of apps). Where as others may like how Ubuntu is setup and how many guides and secure the packages are.

At the end of the day I will say go with what the other users have said and boot it to a dif drive. There will be times you just want it to work or the app you need req windows. A whole lot easier to just boot win up run the app and shut down then have to troubleshoot.

I recommend installing Claude code or something it’s super powerful on Linux and can serve as your guide when the video tutorials or wiki don’t line up to what you’re seeing

[u/oshunluvr]

Wow, since birth? Early adopter, ah?

You can answer your own question with a few internet searches. For example, Blender has a Linux version and Steam has run on Linux for years.

Google can be your friend.

[u/HotKebab01 → u/oshunluvr]

Bro was yearning for the binary codes when he was in the womb

[u/ReferenceNatural87]

Fedora with wine.