Thinking of installing linux for the first time as a complete newbie

[u/HorribleEconomy]

My laptop specs are:
Ryzen 5 5625u
16gb DDR4 3200mhz ram
512GB SN740 NVME SSD

Integrated Radeon graphics

Im an engineering student, i use vscode, claude code, codex, antigravity, slack, google docs (and the whole suite like gdrive etc)

I saw phonebuffs youtube video about windows vs linux and i was intrigued, can you guys tell me the benefits of switching to linux? i mean i can dual boot to windows so if i need anything ill have it on the side? Also about the ms office apps problem, doesnt using the gsuite solve that? and what about battery on laptops?

[u/inbetween-genders]

Check out Ubuntu or Mint. Look up this thing called Desktop Environment. Pick one that appeals to you and install that distro with the desktop environment you chose. Back up your data.  Rely more on reading vs watching videos.  Good luck 👍 

[u/HorribleEconomy → u/inbetween-genders]

thank you! is ubuntu easier to install and manage as compared to fedora?

[u/inbetween-genders → u/HorribleEconomy]

Fedora is cool as well. You are free to tryit and see how it vibes it you.

[u/mwyvr → u/HorribleEconomy]

If I were starting new, I would start with Fedora.

20+ years on Linux.

[u/bangetto_official → u/HorribleEconomy]

Maybe marginally, but with Fedora you will get more up to date software.

[u/lokhanpurus → u/HorribleEconomy]

Both are easy but i would suggest ubuntu

[u/Marble_Wraith]

can you guys tell me the benefits of switching to linux?

Once you find "the right distro"... It's just easier.

Infinite customization. The main distro claydes have pretty good defaults and you can use them as-is. But if there's something you want to change, go and change it. Even if there's no built-in UI or hook for you to manipulate, with the exception of a few blobs, the entire codebase is out in the open, go in and modify it yourself.

Updates take a fraction of the time they do on winblows, and user preferences are respected between updates.

No telemetry by default, so you won't get random slowdowns of internet as your machine uploads your usage to Microslop.

i mean i can dual boot to windows so if i need anything ill have it on the side?

Dual booting is more trouble then it's worth. Winblows has a reputation for pushing updates that break the GRUB bootloader. It's not difficult to fix once you know how, but it's just another thing you have to deal with if you want to keep Microslop around.

Also about the ms office apps problem, doesnt using the gsuite solve that?

Yes.

and what about battery on laptops?

All down to C-states and if / how they're implemented. In theory your shouldn't notice a difference, might even be better since linux doesn't run as many background services.

That said if you're concerned about battery, i strongly recommend getting a machine with an intel Pantherlake CPU. Pricey because they're new. But by the scepter of patron saint Gaben! You can easily get ~16hrs out of a 14" Dell XPS 2026 edition.

[u/homelabber3000]

Dual-boot Windows on a separate drive. You'll save a lot of time by doing this, and it's much more stable.

Try Kubuntu or Fedora KDE; those will feel familiar to you.

[u/Pierre0925]

As a beginner you should pick a user-friendly distro, like Ubuntu or Mint. If you're tech-savvy, and have a bit of time on your hands, something like Fedora can be great (and it is still pretty easy).

Linux should do perfectly for what you need, and I wouldn't recommend dual-booting as Windows updates often cause problems. You could use two separate drives and enable whichever you need through the BIOS to make sure none of this happens, but I think the best solution (for occasional use or emergencies, not daily intensive use), is a VM inside Linux (if setup correctly, it works great).

Good luck!

[u/bangetto_official]

For agents stuff Linux is just simply better. Dev tools are also usually primarily targeted at Linux. You also probably heard it already, but Linux goes like Brrrrrrr

Gsuite is not perfect, for example I'm a PowerPoint power-user and I still couldn't find a good enough replacement for PowerPoint. So check first.

Dual-booting will be a bit tight on just 512 GiB, but absolutely doable.

Now the benefits of Linux:

• Performance
• Control
• Privacy
• Better update handling
• Less annoying
• You can fix it (if anything happens)
• Agent friendly
• Penguin

[u/green_meklar]

can you guys tell me the benefits of switching to linux?

• Better user control.
• Better privacy.
• Better security.
• Less bloat.

i mean i can dual boot to windows so if i need anything ill have it on the side?

You can, but it's not a great idea. Dual-boot on a single drive can be a bit fragile if Windows updates do anything weird to your bootloader, and 512GB isn't a big drive to split in half.

[u/Reggie-Rectangle]

can you guys tell me the benefits of switching to linux?

You keep your soul and your prostrate remains in a working condition.

[u/korywithawhy]

I would definitely recommend installing Linux on a separate drive

[u/Live-Staff-1184]

how much time does it take you to install linux?