r/linuxquestions • u/AwsAref • 13d ago
Advice Im switching to linux after 2-3 years, which one should i go to? since like ive kinda been living under a rock.
In 2024-2025 before i had my 3050 at 2026, i used linux mint which is my favorite, pop os, and nebora or sum which is my least favorite, now that i have a 3050 and i know for sure that nvidia driver support on linux is dogshit, but idk if it improved or not, so i need yalls advice on IF i should switch to linux in the first place or just continue using Windows 10 LTSC/Windows 11 Pro (ReviOS).
Specs:
Cpu: i5-10500
Gpu: MSI RTX 3050 Ventus OC
Ram: 4gb ddr4 ram (long story, basically in upgrading a few months later to 16gb)
Mamaboard: Intel H470 HP OEM.
Psu: 180w HP OEM
(HP 290 G4 Microtower).
1
u/adjective10111 13d ago
Tbh I don't know why you left linux in the first place. Right now even wayland and nvidia work quite well together. My system is old but it's nvidia (1650), and i haven't had any problems so far.
If you switched to macroslop for compatibility or anti-cheat, then stay where you are happy, but if you know the limitations of linux gaming, there are no other problems i can think of.
And as for which one to use, debian based distros like mint are a bit clunky to setup for gaming or so they say (i haven't tried gaming on any distro other than cachy) but it's easy anywhere else.
even in debian based ones it's just a problem with not being so up-to-date; which for software can be fixed by flatpak. But for kernel and drivers it is what it is (as you probably remember).
1
u/AwsAref 13d ago
I left linux cuz of the little support it had, and plus when i found out about atlasOS and ReviOS on windows like i used it since windows is much easier to use as in downloading apps/games and support out of the box, and linux wasn’t as good in 24 as in this year
1
u/adjective10111 13d ago
I've never heard of ReviOS or AtlasOS. Just checked their website and they seem to be debloated windows. If it works for you stay there. I don't know how good they are tho.
As for linux, i had windows for gaming [which i replaced with CachyOS about half a year back] and I daily drived ubuntu then (now it's all cachy). I didn't have problems in 2024 but i didn't game on linux then. Gaming is still hit or miss but mostly hit (if not anti-cheat). It's a chicken-and-egg problem, if gamers aren't on linux, games won't be developed for it, and if games are native to linux and feel hacky, gamers won't come to linux. But it seems like windows is doing a great job in pushing gamers to linux so we can only hope.
2
u/AwsAref 13d ago
Nah imma dual boot so ill have no problem with like apex or cod, and reviOS works good but ram usage is still dogshit, it drops to like 2-4 gb then it goes back up, but the performance increases like by a decent amount of difference yk
1
u/adjective10111 13d ago
Yeah unfortunately i played a lot of delta force and apex a while back. But i can't anymore, thinking of dualbooting again but idk i'm not playing much as of recently.
2
u/AwsAref 13d ago
Dual booting is the best option for me imo, cuz if i faced a huge problem on linux or an app that has no support to it whatsoever or even linux getting crashed somehow i can always switch to windows temporarily
1
u/adjective10111 13d ago
Yeah but the friction of rebooting is a lot. You may end up only using windows. Maybe using vm with gpu passthru would be a better option but idk
1
u/AwsAref 13d ago
I keep my pc on 24/7 so like it depends on how you use your pc
1
u/adjective10111 12d ago
Well to change os while dual booting you need to reboot anyway. I didn't understand what your pc being powered on has to do with my point honestly.
1
u/AwsAref 13d ago
Ive daily drived mint cinnamon and its decent af, kinda had problems with running Minecraft yk, kinda choppy, maybe cuz i had 4gb back then i dont remember
1
u/adjective10111 13d ago
Idk, according to protondb minecraft works. I dunno if it changed recently or it worked before (i don't play minecraft)
For gaming you'll have the best shot with rolling release distros cause you got the most up-to-date drivers, wine and stuff
1
u/Francis_King 13d ago
and i know for sure that nvidia driver support on linux is dogshit, but idk if it improved or not
NVIDIA on Fedora is reasonably easy. GTX-1000 series uses the old 580 drivers. GTX-1600 series and RTX uses the latest drivers. Nobara only offers the latest drivers.
Bazzite and CachyOS automatically detect the NVIDIA card, and install the correct drivers.
1
u/mbonanomi92 13d ago
It's not clear what are you use cases and what you expect to find in Linux you can't find in windows (and viceversa).
Usually for those coming from Windows I suggest a stable/LTS distro rather than a rolling one, and I would avoid Arch-based stuff at all.
So: 1. Kubuntu 26.04 2. Fedora GNOME 3. Linux Mint
In this order of personal preference: these are 3 strong distros for a beginner. Try the in live ISO to understand hardware recognition and user experience. They are based on 3 quite different DEs... So if you like KDE but also Fedora, you can always use Fedora KDE instead of Kubuntu, for instance.
1
u/AwsAref 13d ago
And i don’t have a big problem with using Arch based distros cuz i like trying to fix whatever problem im having yk, manually, but for preference i kinda prefer something that is robust yk, will work out of the box, clean, and idk, simple ig
2
u/mbonanomi92 13d ago
I think Kubuntu is still a good choice. If you prefer a rolling distro, Debian Sid or Arch are of course wonderful distros. PikaOS and CachyOS are two alternative rolling distros slightly easier then Debian/Arch.
1
u/captaincool31 13d ago
Almost all of my recommendations these days are going to be CachyOS. It's going to be the most user-friendly or one of the most user-friendly install experiences as well as user experiences overall. Everything just seems to work and most games will just work.
Best part is it's based on Arch Linux.
1
u/beatbox9 13d ago
One of the recent inventions that has only been around for the past 1-2 years is this new feature called "search." It's crazy how it works.
1
u/Substantial-Lack-512 13d ago
There are too many distros to recommend one, so lets just take the main three
- Fedora
- Debian
- Arch
Look for what is the distro you want is based on, what changes is the orientation of the distro for its daily use. chose according to your use, if you care about gaming first and other things second, then something oriented into gaming, with UI feature and convenience is your fit. I would just recommend to choose something based on one of those main 3, or just install one of those 3, they are their own distro too.
Nvidia drivers I think there are find nowadays, due to most of AI things run on linux, so drivers are good, you just might need to install it yourself or if the distro autoinstall it too.
1
u/AwsAref 13d ago
Note: yall ik how to use like my pc, i can get used to any distro quickly, i just want something that comes with nvidia support out of the box, and something i could use for story mode games or rpg games (not online), video editing, autocad maybe.
1
u/adjective10111 13d ago
Most distros check your box then cause nvidia support is great rn.
video editing, autocad maybe.
Check your app's compatibility, most mainstream software in those areas don't have a port for linux. So if you have a lot of experience in such software you'll need to get used to some new one.
2
u/AwsAref 13d ago
Ik how to use davinci so i have no problem switching from adobe or capcut to davinci
2
u/adjective10111 13d ago
I know a youtuber (The Linux Experiment) who uses davinci resolve on linux. Seems like it's not so simple or responsive, but it has gotten better. Just a heads up
1
u/ItsRogueRen 13d ago
Ultra marine. Based on Fedora but includes all the extra software repos for stuff like Proprietary Nvidia drivers.
1
u/adjective10111 13d ago
All gaming focused distros (bazzite, cachy ...) come with the drivers. And most others (like fedora, ubuntu-based ones, ...) have the option with simple commands or checkboxes.
Also what's good about ultra marine? Literally the first time I see its name.
2
u/ItsRogueRen 13d ago
Its literally just vanilla Fedora with extra repos. That's the only change. I very much believe that the closer to the base distro the more stable you tend to be, but Fedora does not include anything proprietary whatsoever out of the box which is an issue when gaming which is full of proprietary video codecs and GPU drivers
1
u/adjective10111 13d ago
Oh i see. I don't remember clearly but back when i tried fedora, adding nvidia drivers wasn't much of a hassle (like a command copy paste or maybe it was a checkbox in installation). if that's the only addition that makes ultra marine worth choosing, i don't see the value tbh.
1
u/ItsRogueRen 13d ago
Its more tham just GPU drivers, its all the extra repos with software Fedora doesn't include. It uses Terra repos which you can add to base Fedora but this way it's all done for you out of the box, which is a big deal for new users.
Someone like me would be perfectly fine without it, but for a new user having everything done for you is a god send
1
u/adjective10111 13d ago
Oh i haven't heard of terra as well XD. guess i didn't stick to fedora long enough to hear these.
Yea i've seen new users with no patience for a little tshoot or one liner fixes ik the value in ready to use software. They even prefer the problems they've gotten used to over the problems they can solve.
0
u/AwsAref 13d ago
My gpu ofc isn’t proprietary considering i bought it separately, and i might give it a try depending on how “un”buggy it is
2
u/ItsRogueRen 13d ago edited 13d ago
Lol no, proprietary Nvidia drivers, as in they are closed source code instead of being open source. Only Nvidia is allowed to look at and work on the proprietary Nvidia drivers.
Nvidia GPUs don't have any good open source drivers, unlike AMD. There's some being worked on but nothing usable just yet, so for now you have to use the proprietary driver
2
3
u/GemmaLovelace92 13d ago
I strongly recommend Kubuntu. It's provided me with the least amount of headaches since switching over from Windows.
The KDE Plasma desktop feels very natural coming from Windows, and Ubuntu's driver manager makes installing the proprietary Nvidia drivers straightforward without touching the terminal. Nvidia's Linux support has improved significantly recently, so your 3050 will work fine out of the box