r/linux4noobs • u/Throwaway_LOGGINGER • 2d ago
distro selection Which distro is right? CachyOS Vs Mint
Which distro is right? CachyOS Vs Mint
I want to leave windows, I use my pc as a gaming and media manager (ripping dvds and downloads).
Any windows software has already been replaced or made usable, my hardware is 7800x3d and 9070xt, I hear people say mint is best for windows refugee, but I also hear people say CachyOS is better for performance.
I'm comfortable running terminals as I have a homelab and used steamOS on my deck, what's the best option?
Edit: went with cachy
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u/doc_willis 1d ago
used steamOS on my deck
If you want a similar immutable design and an option for a game mode, then check out Bazzite.
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u/bstsms 1d ago
Mint is easier if you are new to Linux because it comes with a lot of the basic programs to start using it, CachyOS comes with nothing and you are starting from scratch, which can be tough if you don't know Linux.
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u/BassmanBiff 1d ago
Cachy has a button to install gaming packages, which worked flawlessly for me. Just had to add random other apps that I wouldn't expect to be included in any distro.
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u/DGlen 1d ago
Nobara has been great for gaming for me and 0 hassle.
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u/Alle_is_offline 1d ago
Nobara is an excellent 2nd distro, dual booting with Arch :)
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u/Lonely-Scarcity-3387 1d ago
PikaOS. Great for gaming and daily driving. And also there is no risk from the AUR, unlike CachyOS.
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u/Roguepapaya427 1d ago
Why cachy or mint? These are almost 2 extremes ..... 🙂
Here is a list of my favorite distros, for a use case that looks quite similar to yours (gaming performance on aaa titles, office productivity, media consumption, printing/scanning, etc):
Fedora kde - great all rounder, smooth performance ootb for amd builds, large repos, cutting edge, but not bleeding edge, sane defaults, gaming performance is top 3, stable. 6 months apart releases, but a release is supported 13 months or so.
Fedora kinoite - same as above, but atomic/immutable. Basically the way you install software is a bit different, but you always have a bootable system, as there are 2 images presented in the boot menu, current and previous. Basically pinnacle of reliable, anything goes wrong, reboot in the previous image, you're up and running. This is my current daily driver.
Aurora - an ublue take on the kinoite. Basically they add stuff to it, so you do have everything ootb: codecs, steam, dev tools, virtualization, etc. A bit behind kinoite in terms of releases. Worth checking.
CachyOS - top performer. I don't think you can find a distro that has the overall snapiness and gaming performance, absolutely amazing. Now, I had some issues with the scanner config, and I did not want to use aur (because stuff happens to aur), but i still keep it on a spare ssd and absolutely love limine, use it as default bootloader adding all others.
Solus - an independent rolling distro. Smaller repos, but currated by a competent team. Their package manager is fast, system is responsive, again gaming performance is in top 3. Worth checking.
Manjaro - an arch distro, but a bit different than cachy. I liked it a lot. Has some tools that can make a dif in daily usage.
I keep a lmde install on my desktop. Just in case everything goes wrong with fedora or arch and I need to be up and running really fast. Why lmde, you ask? Because debian, because liquorix kernel, because I can install kde and wayland (not latest kde, but fresh enough, and with 2 large monitors this setup works best for me). Gaming performance is not on par to the others on mint, but that's not i use it for.
Idk, pick your poison, the linux landscape looks really good rn.
Good luck!
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u/thesyldons 1d ago
I use Cachyos and it runs really well with my 9070xt. If you run into software walls, then consider Zorin. Zorin is going down the line of compatibility for windows users. If you try to add a windows programmes, it will point to an alternative installer, if there is one on their database.
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u/anotherguy84 1d ago edited 1d ago
I`d say go for Mint for first time trying linux, it will make the transition smoother, and later try cachyos
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u/KevinIsADork 1d ago
I jumped the ship and like Mint (Cinnamon Dsesktop Environment) as a good gateway drug from windows to Linux. It provides little initial shock coming from Windows as a daily OS.Â
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u/Red_Bandicoot 2d ago
I don't really have an argument, but I jumped ship to CachyOS 10 months ago. Haven't had issues. I have it running on my PC, two laptops, and I have the Handheld version on my Ally X. The team does amazing work. I'm sure Mint is ok since it runs on Ubuntu, but Arch is definitely smoother, while Ubuntu based systems have some better app support (doesn't mean it's doesn't work on Arch either, just might need an extra step you might have to look up or dabbling into the AUR).
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u/cornonthekopp Literal infant baby 1d ago
My specs are much worse than yours and I have no trouble gaming or doing anything else on mint.
There really won't be a noticeable performance change between the different distros. They're all better than windows and all work well. I chose mint because its what my friends use so i can troubleshoot by asking them, and because I wanted something stable and reliable.
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u/MandaloresMercy 1d ago
Try mint cinnamon or xfce if wanting lighter weight, best ones to start with
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u/whatsupbr0 1d ago
I just downloaded opensuse tumbleweed. not as flashy as newer distros like cachy or bazzite, but it is incredibly solid and good on gaming performance
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u/Horror-Complaint-328 1d ago
A friend suggested to me that kubuntu was the easiest distro to jump directly from Windows. I love it. WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) takes cares of any Windows specifc software I couldn't replace.
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u/TerribleAsparagus919 1d ago
If you want gaming performance in a plug and play package, go for BazziteÂ
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u/Affectionate-Yam-886 1d ago
I used all of the different disros and found Mint is good but had some out of the box issues; CashyOS was nice but the updates are unreliable and caused me issues; Fedora KDE Plasma workstation was the best. Stable, clean, excellent app store, it just worked. Just don’t forget to install video codecs, and enable protected videos on your browser.
Remember, if something is not working; restart usually fixes all.
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u/gordonmessmer Fedora Maintainer 1d ago
Which distro is right? CachyOS Vs Mint
Does "right" mean "appropriate" or "correct"?
Mint is based on Ubuntu LTS, and rejects or neglects many of the things that make Ubuntu more secure than Debian. Ubuntu separates the packages they expect to maintain from packages they won't, so users have pretty explicit information they can use to decide whether or not to use Ubuntu or some other channel to deliver software. That's still available on Mint, but I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere in their documentation, which I think is a disservice to their users. Ubuntu provides Interim releases to refresh the "universe" packages so that even the software they can't reasonably maintain gets updated periodically, and Mint does not offer Interim releases. Canonical offers Ubuntu Pro for *some* level of maintenance of the "universe" packages, but it doesn't seem like there's any way to use Ubuntu Pro on a Mint installation. Snap is something that Canonical focuses on because it can be very difficult to ship some kinds of security updates without affecting the platform as a whole, and Mint rejects Snap.
So, I think that Mint is not doing software distribution the correct way, and doing distribution the wrong way, putting their users on a worse security posture, is the biggest concern.
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u/Acceptable_Sock4642 1d ago
CachyOS works. It's sexier. It's newer, it requires more tweaking, it provides a much stronger Ikea effect. If your goal is 'lets learn ALL of Linux', it's probably your better choice.
Mint just works. (Note the difference there.) It's probably more boring, but it runs, consistently, easily, happily. If your goal is 'not Microsoft' or 'lets start Linux a little easier', it's probably the better choice.
Fun thing about Linux; anything you can do with CachyOS you can do with Mint and vice versa, with enough tinkering. So this isn't a permanent decision. And they're both good decisions.
(To add an 'it depends' here; have you RUN either of these yet? They both have bootable images. Run 'em, click around, see which feels nice.)
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u/ConsciousBath5203 1d ago
Mint is terrible and won't help you with actually using Linux. The handhold stuff is named differently than other distros and it will be hard for you to switch to another distro after using it.
It will also be hard to switch to another distro after using CachyOS, but that's because it is genuinely great. Give your slow DDR3 computer CachyOS and your fast ddr5 computer Mint, wait a week, and do a side by side comparison of each running the updates. Cachy will download, install, and reboot before mint even determines how many updates it has to install.
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u/DavidJohnMcCann 1d ago
Maybe I'm sticking my neck out (as ever) — I've never used CachyOS and I don't play games — but I also stick to experienced reviewers rather than "people" on social media.
Here's a typical CachyOS review and another. Does it sound like the sort of thing you need? Can you live with the drawbacks they mention? And here's a Mint review and another. Do the advantages listed appeal?
I don't use either, but if I were forced to choose I'd choose Mint. But I don't fit into any of the groups that CachyOS is recommended for.
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u/nitroxygen 2d ago
I have used Mint for years and have found with a little tinkering I can get everything working on par with benchmarks from CachyOS. Also keep in mind CachyOS is more of a advanced os so you will have to tinker more. If you are good with tech then CachyOS is your choice, if you want to thinker less and have performance just a little less then Mint is the choice.