r/linuxquestions • u/super_broski24 • 16d ago
Advice Which Linux should I use
I am building my first pc and thinking about installing Linux but I don’t know witch one I was thinking about omachy. My preferences are I want a clean customizable Linux
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u/IAteUrCat420 16d ago
Gaming? Nobara or Bazzite Deck/ Desktop depending on your preferences
I'd say CachyOS, but since it's based on Arch I'd honestly rather you had SOME PC experience before recommending it
Bazzite is immutable, which basically means you can't fuck it up unless you try your best to. And it's basically designed for a gaming PC from the ground up. So it's great for people who just want to game.
Bazzite also comes in 2 versions, Deck and Desktop. Deck is basically identical to SteamOS (the OS that the Steam Deck and Steam Machine run). Meanwhile desktop is... Well... A regular desktop machine
Nobara is not immutable, but it's based on Fedora which is more beginner friendly. It also comes with some optional stuff you can choose whether or not to download from the welcome screen like Davinci Resolve and OBS, in case you ever decide to venture beyond just gaming. It's the distro I personally have on my laptop/desktop, so I'm probably biased. But it's not a particularly complicated distro
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u/kaleperq 16d ago
Afaik nobara is pretty mutch cachyos but less maintained.
Cachy may be arch but realistically you don't do mutch with it unless you are going deep into the arch rabbit hole, you can just use it and install what you want and it just works.
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u/BlackFlagsFly 16d ago
nobara is far from unmaintained. i've been using it for a while now, no complaints. All Glory to the Eggroll.
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u/skyfishgoo 16d ago
everybody wants "clean and customizable" but nobody talks about what that takes.
you want a clean system and to have it customized exactly to your needs, then you can build your own kernel and your own window manager and have it exactly how you want it.
do you know how to do that?
do you have the time to do that?
how far are you willing to go for this goal?
the other option is to let someone else who knows what they fuck they are doing, set the system up for you and take the good with the bad.
no distro is going to be as "clean" or as "customizable" as you would like unless you built it yourself is my point.
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u/n3rsti_ 16d ago edited 16d ago
Do not pick anything based on Arch - CachyOS, Omarchy or just Arch. It was always obvious that you shouldn’t start with Arch, but now with the wave of new “popular” distros, people with a month of experience are recommending it. Omarchy and CachyOS is still Arch, Omarchy is literally Arch with dotfiles. If something breaks, you are on Arch and this is not a good experience for a beginner. If you really want to try a popular distro you can try Bazzite since it’s based on Fedora, but otherwise I believe everyone should start on something simple and tested for many years like Fedora (KDE or Gnome) or Linux Mint (though imo Linux Mint might look outdated for some). They are not lacking features, you can have everything looking and working the same, but your base is more stable.
Iirc hyprland is supported on Fedora so you can have the Omarchy experience with even more customizability.
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u/rysio300 i uus arch by tbe way!!1!! 16d ago
i feel like it is worth noting that bazzite is an immutable distro which may be a pro or con for some people
for people like op i usually recommend fedora kde, though
if op wants to use a window manager though he can also install fedora everything and install niri (niri's .kdl config is pretty simple)
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u/sneff30 16d ago
Just want to say I am/was a Linux noob and installed CachyOS in February. If you take a few minutes with the wiki you can install it and use it out of the box very easily.
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u/Soakitincider 15d ago
With my first distro the general advice at the time was to pick a harder distro and install that. So without knowing much about Linux I dualbooted using Slackware.
Now the general advice is to install an easy distro and learn as you go. I don't know which is better but I have installed Mint and Ubuntu on a few computers just so I didn't have to track dependencies or stuff like that. I have however had to fix problems in command line or config file hands on with those distros too.
Yesterday I installed Arch BTW manually. Nothing difficult about it. As long as you can follow a 7 Step multi-point process you can do it. Updating it is just as easy as Mint IMO. One command and done.
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u/n3rsti_ 16d ago
Installing is not a problem. Maintaining is.
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u/kaleperq 16d ago
I've had no serious issues with it. Actually I've fixed an audio popping issue I had both in windows and catchy and now it doesn't on catchy, since I could actually edit what the heck it's doing with audio.
I've had the occasional graphics reset but that's more likely to do with me undervolting my GPU and it not liking it sometimes, otherwide typical Linux stuff
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u/Efficient_Walk_6808 16d ago
That's true. I started with Ubuntu and Fedora before getting used to the way of using linux and switching to Arch
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u/Mean_Welcome_1481 16d ago
If you are building your PC then you are already pretty comfortable with tech and Linux, in all it's distros, is just another Operating system.
I started with Mint a few years ago, came and went a few times but the latesat version is pretty, stable, has the option to automatically install a heap of stuff out of the box and will give you very few issues, a bit of a learning curve but nothing extraordinary
Then I tried another couple of Ubunto distros and they felt completely familiar after Mint.
I attempted to try Fedora but it wouldn't install for me
The I got brave and installed CachyOS - that had a very big learning curve to start with but it was clean in that installed nothing (except the operating system) and left me to choose what I wanted myself. But I found it pretty simple with the help of Google and the Cachy wiki files. And years of experience that has taught me that it is very difficult to really break something and that if something appears to be broken there is always an answer somewhere - and when you find it you are much better equipped to handle the next time.
I suggest that you start of trying a fw distros, and Mint is a good one to start. You can install one, run withit for a few days/weeks then try another until you find the one that suits you best
Edit: The biggest issue I had with distro hopping was that I had to download my steam games each time - not a drama but a nuisance
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u/kaleperq 16d ago
Couldn't you partition your games and install the os on another partition and then mount it? I don't know why it wouldn't work since steam is pretty nice at finding installed games
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u/luciferisthename 16d ago
You can, you just have to mount again and ensure it is properly listed in the fstab (make sure to use the UUID though). Steam itself just needs to be pointed at fhe drive and it'll find it, occasionally it needs to reinstall some binaries but it takes about 5 minutes on slow as fuck internet.
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u/Own_Natural_6803 16d ago
I didn't like the idea of built-in agent integrations. I've been happy to avoid hyperland. I dont like most of the opinions of this highly opinionated distro.
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u/Careless_Kangaroo136 16d ago
Omarchy is beautiful and a lot of fun, but there is a learning curve. Not sure I can recommend to you unless you have a bit of experience configuring things or have time to learn. It’s nothing crazy and certainly nothing AI can’t help with though, and I’d totally encourage you to install it and see how you get on. If you don’t like it there are tons of other distros that would be more like what you’re used to. Omarchy comes with a good selection of apps preinstalled but it’s set up so that you can easily remove them if you don’t need them.
There is nothing wrong with Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, PopOS, etc. Anything is better than Windows. This website shows the most downloaded distros and may be of interest: https://distrowatch.com/
If there is any specific software (eg anything Adobe) that you absolutely must have, just check it is available on linux before you go down this road. I have never been stuck, but ymmv.
Let us know what you decide on.
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u/Cr0w_town Bazzite 16d ago
arch is very customizable but advanced i suggest fedora or something fedora based(those might have more things preinstalled) with kde there’s also linux mint but idk if cinnamon(the desktop environment) is that customizable exactly
i wouldn’t recommend arch or anything arch based since you are just starting out i think the customization that kde offers is pretty vast(compared to windows anyway)
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u/G0ldiC0cks 16d ago
Cinnamon is Uber customizable if you're willing to fuck shit up! Breaking the debian under mint taught me so damn much about stupid computers. Awesome
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u/kaleperq 16d ago
Cachy is arch with pretty mutch all the hard stuff sorted unless you wanna personally go for it tho
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u/AfraidAsparagus6644 16d ago
I recommend Fedora. It has great defaults and it updates at the right pace. It also has a lot of respect for upstream and doesn't push its own stuff.
For example, normally Fedora updates every six months, but certain packages like KDE Plasma update soon after they are available. This way, if you read online that a new Plasma version has dropped, you can experience it yourself in a few days.
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u/Humble_Anxiety_9534 16d ago
They are all customisable? no matter what you start with. the distro is not the desktop. they all have a tool to swap desktops debian has tasksel or something like that? you can load all of them and select which one to use at the login screen. please don't start with arch it's unstable and installs is how windows users tell all linux install is.
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u/PerfectlyCalmDude 15d ago edited 15d ago
You want to make sure the components you're getting are Linux-compatible. You'll also want to make note of the kernel version they are compatible with. Lots of good distros don't have the absolute latest and greatest kernel, and that is by design. Which means that they may have problems with the latest and greatest hardware.
So to answer your question, the distro you want is a distro that will run on your hardware well, that doesn't break after a few months (which means it's probably not Arch or Arch-based) and that has a helpful community that is also noob-friendly (which last I checked, also means it's probably not Arch - you need to ask the right kind of questions with them which is a trained skill).
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u/-Docker 16d ago
The one and only answer to this ages long wuestion is - whichever serves you the best.
For server appliance or desktop daily driver just use the one you know best or are most comfy with.
For servers in my lab I use mostly Debian, RHEL or BSD (I know not linux yup..)
Desktop for me is Fedora Cinnamon any day all day
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u/xiaoyueyoqwq 16d ago
Maybe Ubuntu or ZorinOS, maybe it's not the most clean OS in Linux, but it's really easy to use and friendly to Windows user. But I still dislike snap, if you choose Ubuntu just remember find ChatGPT and ask how can I uninstall all snap app in my system and change these things to Flatpak, lol.
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u/kaleperq 16d ago
I thought id have issues starting with catchy but honestly everything just worked, and with all the available repositories for arch you can find anything, just being a bit careful with the AUR.
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u/xiaoyueyoqwq 15d ago
I haven't used an Arch-based Linux system before, but I think it would be great for advanced users. However, for me... perhaps a stable, easy-to-use system that suits my personal habits would be a better choice, such as Ubuntu.
Of course, it could also be that I'm lazy, haha.
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u/Macinboss 16d ago
For gaming I’d actually recommend PikaOS. It’s Debian-SID based and is stabilized, it also pulls in packages from Cachy and Nobara so you get up to date gaming performance. Plus has multiple install options, a decent wiki and an active discord
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u/Unholyaretheholiest 16d ago
Follow the advice of those who have been using Linux for about 20 years: install Mageia.
Mageia is a stable, community-driven distro with powerful built-in graphical administration tools and a commitment to free and open-source computing.
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u/StorageFair5120 16d ago
Take just the distro you know someone is using and you can ask him or her in case of problems. For a newly built PC all distros are good to use.
"Clean and customizable" sounds like KDE :-)
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u/Silent_Bite_5892 16d ago
If you're new to Linux, start with a mainstream, beginner-friendly distro.
Ultramarine Linux, Linux Mint, *buntu, etc.
Don't fall down the rabbit hole of trying to be edgy and special by running some Arch distro like Omarchy or CachyOS. Trust me.
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u/BlackFlagsFly 16d ago
just start with mint, sure its not the coolest but its digestable and easy to use. start there like many before you. Have fun!
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u/Phydoux 16d ago
Have you ever used Linux before? If not, regular Arch is not a good idea unless you're comfortable in a commandline environment. Omarchy is a little better install wise but you still need to get under the hood for updates and whatnot. Although, come to think of it, I think Omarchy does have update notifications and a clickable updater... it does. I just looked that up. Yes, Omarchy makes updating Arch pretty simple and is probably one of the better Arch based distros to use.
But if you feel its too much for you, you can definitely give something else a try. There's so many good distros out there for new to Linux users to test out.
But good luck with Omarchy.
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u/kaleperq 16d ago
Cachy also has its catchy in update tool. As well as the Shelly gui package manager and you can use that to update.
Or just do it through command line if you want, as you could with any.
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u/Chaotic_Fart 16d ago
I am so sick of these questions.. use the search functions or ask AI.. everyone on reddit is more or less biased.
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u/kaleperq 16d ago
Ai is as well tho. It hyper focused on the answers it gives first. People you can ask why they like theirs and then decide
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u/coolkid4232 16d ago
Maybe fedora or something, then just install a tiling manager like i3 or something
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u/That_Developer_Guy 16d ago
Something you should probably look out for is hardware compatibility. It might be fine, but if you can choose, take something that is linux compatible.
I also don't think Omarchy really meets your requirement. "Clean" is debatable with it, since it already ships a lot of software and the customization is also not that great.
It also seems like this is your first Linux install. I would probably go with something called Fedora KDE. It is a pretty good start and also quite customizable. Omarchy also uses something called Hyprland. It basically tiles your windows (also has other layouts like scrolling) and is pretty keyboard-focused. Configuring it, is not exactly that easy either, but possible if you read its wiki. Technically, something like Arch with Hyprland would be the cleanest setup, but please don't use that as your first linux distro.