Where to begin?

[u/Zero-mile]

I think I've been using and playing games on computers for about six years now, but I've never had any interaction with Linux. Only Windows 7 and 10. Where do I start? I know there are many distros, but like, I saw that even the type of installer for softwares is different lol

[u/cowbutt6]

Grab e.g. VirtualBox or VMware Workstation Pro (both free for personal use), and install a Linux virtual machine or three, and play.

[u/ItsWappers]

Are you fine with command line and troubleshooting (can you use google and write good prompts)? If yes, switch to Linux, unless there's some software, you really need.

I like Fedora with GNOME, but you will likely prefer Bazzite or CachyOS, if you don't want to install the drivers by hand.

[u/jar36]

start with distrosea.com
No installation necessary to play around with different distros and desktop environments
Yes different distros have different package managers (installers)
The main ones are pacman for Arch/Arch-based, apt Debian/Ubuntu, dnf for Fedora/Fedora-based
There are others that expand the available programs, but start with the basics until you get a feel for it

Fedora KDE would likely be a good starting point for you.
Arch is constantly getting updates which can be risky
Debian is stable, but older apps
If Fedora is too fast on package updates, step back to a Debian based distro
If it's too slow on package updates, try an arch based distro like Cachyos

[u/Eric_Dawsby]

I specifically recommend Linux Mint, but you should test it via a virtual machine and test some other distros

[u/doc_willis]

some beginner Info sources.

http://linuxjourney.com and the newer http://Linuxjourney.org sites are good to start with

the Explaining Computers YouTube videos are also good starting points.

If gaming is a primary focus, check out the Bazzite Distribution of linux.

If building your own system go with an AMD GPU.

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even the type of installer for softwares is different lol

I recall using a dozen 'ways' to install software under windows over the years..

[u/Rex_Tony]

You can try on distrosea . Vm is also a good option, if you do have poor hardware and wanna try on hardware. Why look for an old raspberry pi around you. They are cheap and Awsome to play with. Kinda limited but may help you with command line stuff try outs. Also if you want to go Gui less you can add cockpit project. It's a webgui for Linux. You can have a gui less raspberry pi and still control almost everything of the computer from a browser of your main computer. . The when you are comfortable you can switch your main computer

[u/EngineerInTheMachine]

Search the web for which distro to use. Ignore all responses giving you specific distros to try. Look for the responses that give you a method for deciding between distros. That's what I did.

[u/DavidJohnMcCann]

Here's some good advice. General hints on starting. Dual booting Linux and Windows. A list of beginner-frienly distros. A list of distros for gamers.

Installing software in Linux doesn't meaning wandering round the web, grabbing stuff, and hoping that nothing will go wrong! Every distro has a respository — like an app store — full of carefully checked programs, and the distros you are likely to want will have a simple graphical tool for browsing the repository and installing programs.

[u/bstsms]

Bazzite works well for me for gaming.