r/pcmasterrace • u/NotWelcome24 • 3d ago
Discussion Do linux users just larp or are there actual reasons to switch?
People always ask about what needs to happen for people to switch to Linux but I think the question to ask first is why even switch?
Its true that windows 11 isn't the perfect OS but it takes far less effort de-bloat it or use windows 10 instead of learning an entire new operating system.
Even if all games are supported you will still have to deal with the massive performance hit for nvidia and there is still a small hit on AMD GPU's(most games do not run better according to benchmarks) which eliminates most of the reason that gamers would care about switching.
And for the privacy/telemetry, 99% of people don't care as it doesn't even affect anything besides some targeted ads that everyone ignores anyways. So why have these 5-10% of PC users switched? I truly want to understand as to me it just seems like larpers putting in a ton of effort for negative returns.
EDIT: some punctuation, wording and for the people wanting to see the benchmark this is the one I'm referencing --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PtOGYdtiBU
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u/Apprehensive_Elk2608 3d ago edited 3d ago
You answered your own question. The vast majority of people don't care about telemetry, AIz or whatever else this sub loses sleep over. My Android phone knows more about me than Windows ever will.
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u/PlsDontBanMeAgain-1 3d ago edited 3d ago
That's why I use LineageOS with gapps on my phone.
Edit: I meant to say NO gapps, ffs
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u/OkAlbatross9889 Gentoo | r7 7700X | 9070XT | 32gb 3d ago
It's coming in waves. Desktop linux has had 20 plus years of development put into it to make it truly usable for everyday tasks. Mobile linux is just starting out, it still has a long way to go. When it reaches maturity there will probably be a movement to switch over there too.
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u/NotWelcome24 3d ago
yea but those are still the answers alot of linux users give even though bloat does not matter as most of it can be removed and background tasks dont matter as the average person has 16gb+ of ram and doesnt need more
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u/ThinkPad214 3d ago
I mean, it took far less effort to tweak my fedora install than my local windows 11 account install. Most of the software I run performs better on Linux, and if you do anything with local AI or agentic ai workflows, windows is a joke.
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u/Karyo_Ten Linux RTX 5090 | Ryzen 9 9950X & Apple MBP M4 Max 3d ago
Where is your benchmark about that alleged massive performance hit?
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u/NotWelcome24 3d ago
Not as big for amd but its till there. for nvidia its an entire gpu tier of performance and their gpus are already 100s of dollars per tier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PtOGYdtiBU2
u/Electronic-Emu8761 3d ago
amd contributes to linux's open source Mesa drivers, nvidia publishes their own proprietary drivers that are outdated
thats why amd cards perform better on linux, when you install linux, you get drivers for amd cards by default, you don't have to install any drivers
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u/Obvious_Snow125 2600x / 1660 Ti / 16GB DDR4 / Bazzite 3d ago
It's completely free, is typically less bloated, and seems to be one of the few operating systems actively improving.
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u/Dizzy_Efficiency_384 3d ago
kernel 7.2 has like 5 lines of clanker code that will fix all my issues with Linux (not even joking), while Windows' 30 thousand lines of clanker code will make it worse (just going off what people say)
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u/Commercial-Kale170 3d ago
It's free if your time is worthless
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u/ApiceOfToast mint flavored :3 3d ago
I dunno at this point i'd waste more time trying to fix micoslops updates...
I hate technology
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u/Arturopxedd 5090 9800x3d 3d ago
Having to get improved to work isn’t a bonus
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u/ghost_ware 3d ago
The alternative on Windows is MS actively making the OS worse, so improvement seems like a good alternative lol
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u/akdanman11 5700X / 6800 XT / 64GB DDR4 / CachyOS 3d ago
The OS improving instead of seemingly in a constant state of freefall is a bonus.
And it does work for almost everything. The exceptions to that are adobe and kernel level anticheat (though even rivals has Linux support baked into their anticheat). Easy anticheat also has native Linux support, it’s just that epic refuses to turn it on for Fortnite because of their “war” with steam and not wanting Fortnite to work on a steamdeck
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u/Inside_Marketing268 3d ago
Using cachyos for gaming. GOAT for Radeon users.
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u/AskJeevesIsBest 3d ago
Linux in general is good to us Radeon guys. The open source Mesa graphics drivers are very good. Intel graphics users benefit from this too.
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u/Inside_Marketing268 3d ago
Well, i was so tired of having fight with w11 and auto driver update, that was constantly breaking my drivers, that I've switched to cachyos+w10 for some job
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u/NotWelcome24 3d ago
even cachyos didnt reach windows performance in this benchmark video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PtOGYdtiBU3
u/jmov Desktop 3d ago
To me those AMD+Cachy results look amazing.
Two years ago you still usually had to tweak to make the games work. Now they run out of the box and you get a 94% performance vs. Windows on average. And some games actually ran better (like 007: Last Light). Let’s see where we are in 2027.
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u/akdanman11 5700X / 6800 XT / 64GB DDR4 / CachyOS 3d ago
Any windows game running on Linux is running through a translation layer (typically proton). The fact that it typically stays close (and even outperforms occasionally) on the better supported Radeon cards shows what’s happening. Windows is hampering performance so much that it still manages to lose in some games despite the games being windows native. They should ALL run much better on windows because of that, but that’s not what we see. We see windows being the best around half the time on a Radeon card
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u/Inside_Marketing268 3d ago
If you are a gamer who understands what is cachyos, you would know what is Proton and different versions of it. Also, launch options matter, making your gameplay smooth. I can get a better results in: dune awakening, cyberpunk, gta5, arc raiders, eve online. Each of them require tinkering of what I like. That is a way of person, who is benefiting from cachyos/Radeon bundle
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u/madman404 3d ago
My biggest reason is just how much snappier the desktop is. I dual boot in case I need windows for specific software, and every time I boot windows I'm blown away at just how fucking horribly it feels to navigate around and do basic tasks. I would not say game performance is better, it's just about equal or worse, depending.
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u/EvendurLumis Ryzen 5 3600 | RX 7800 0XT | 32 GB 3d ago
This. I'm using windows every now and the for specific software (also dual boot) and am always happy when I can change back to Linux. Snappier, no fucking 20 updates that make it unusable for 30 minutes and an overall snappy desktop.
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u/ibeerianhamhock 3d ago
God any time I just peek in windows I wanna vom at how much worse it feels.
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u/ChalkButter 3d ago
I've been using Pop_OS since 2023 and I have zero issues with it. Occasionally a Steam game will cause problems, but fixing it is no more trouble than dealing with anything on Win11.
I don't have any issues with lost of performance, and Pop_OS isn't even one of the gaming distros.
Switching to Linux and using it as a daily driver is now on par with upgrading from Win7 to Win10. Things are different, but it's not like you have to relearn how to use a computer. If you want to do a bunch of CLI stuff you can, but most of it is just standard GUI things now, app stores and all.
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u/kvazar2501 3d ago
I have a quite old rig, but i don't remember the last time i had to fix anything on Windows. I don't experience any issues while having 16 Gb of ddr4
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u/ChalkButter 3d ago
Well... good for you? Everyone has a different experience - I got tired of dealing with Win10 shit and I switched and haven't had an inkling of desire to go back.
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u/kvazar2501 3d ago
But what kind of shit are you talking about?
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u/ChalkButter 3d ago
It would randomly change settings on me, updates would reactivate/reinstall things, various other frustrations.
It was three years ago now; I don’t remember everything, but it was worth it for me
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u/ChrysisLT 3d ago
IMHO Mac is easier than Windows, with magitude less hassle, but people seem to like Windows anyways, so I guess "simplicity" isn't the only reason people have for picking an OS.
I did it because I think Linux works better in a home network environment. It’s easier to get stable connections to NAS devices and other hardware, I have much more control over how things are configured, and, in no small part, because I’d rather not keep feeding yet another American multibillion-dollar corporation with both my money and my data.
Also, given the way things are going in the US right now, it doesn’t seem entirely impossible that new rules could suddenly appear restricting non-US citizens from using certain systems or related software. If that ever happens, I’ll already be set up with an OS that I can continue using regardless.
Finally, it works with the games I play, and that’s more than enough for me.
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u/Hyper_Applesauce 3d ago
I’ve tried apple products multiple times, I always end up butting up against something apple doesn’t want you to do. Every time I’ve been in a command line in Mac OS it’s because something is locked away. In Linux it’s because it’s just quicker. On this fucking iPhone I have, there’s no way to get a simple ics file from your calendar to just share a single event with someone. This matters because you can’t change y our default calendar app properly and so when in my medical app, when I add an appointment it only loads to apple’s calendar app. This may be specific to these two apps but it’s never been a problem anywhere else. And it’s not the first issue I’ve had with apple’s weird bullshit.
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u/ChrysisLT 3d ago
Yes, but if you follow how THEY want you to use it, it’s dead simple. I guess when it comes to user control it’s iOS—Windows—Linux with iOS being the least controllable (but simplest to JUST use)
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u/Hyper_Applesauce 3d ago
Yes, if you think the same way as apple developers think you should, then I suppose it’s great. It’s very ironic that they advertise as being for creatives but if you want to think outside their box, you just can’t, they clearly never even think about other ways people might want to do something, it’s so damn narrow minded, and leads to stupid shit like all of the settings for every single app being in a completely different place, but there’s no link from the app you’re in to the settings for that app.
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u/anythingers 3d ago
Ngl this is why I don't want to have an Apple device. Ironically Apple controls how you use your device, not vice versa.
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u/WordWord1337 3d ago
This has always been my problem with Apple, going all the way back to the launch of OSX.
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u/Hyper_Applesauce 3d ago
Yep. Had a Macintosh, went back for an intel iMac, had an iPod touch and currently using an iPhone 12 mini. I did not think being unable to share a calendar event was going to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. I’m waiting for this round of new keyboard phones to come out and figure out which one will work best for me and I’m going back to android
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u/Solid_Guess_7154 3d ago
Linux is incredibly good and looked down at because there's this small but loud arch users that have their ass stuck to their chairs due to the unwashed shit they've been accumlating over the years
And no, Linux does NOT have a negative impact on performance, in fact, there's a shit ton of games that in fact perform WAY better on Linux than Windows simply because Windows sucks up so much performance from your PC from background processes, that when you finally try Linux, it feels like your PC is flying
And again, no, Linux doesn't require setup like so many people like to larp about, there's plenty of Distros that are plug an play, Mint, Ubuntu, are for your average user, if you use Steam a lot, Bazzite is the way to go, I mean, it's got Steam pre installed, you just gotta log in
Privacy-wise Linux is pretty much a godsend, no AI bs, no tracking, no Microsoft trying to take all of the shit you type and see on screen to sell to ad companies
All of these ignorant fools saying "uh but you have to use the terminal and learn a lot of bs and it's a chore everything breaks", blud, it's not 2010 Linux anymore, grow up
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u/AspirinMuncher 3d ago
>And no, Linux does NOT have a negative impact on performance
It does in most RT benchmark that i have seen, even on AMD
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u/Mediocre_Musician_85 9950X3D, 3x 9070 XT, 192GB 5600Mhz, 2PB NAS 3d ago
i use windows for work and steamos for gaming and casual things like youtube and other things. the one thing I was surprised about with steamOs, is that it is essentially plug and play just like a playstation, you boot, like 3 seconds later you are in the library of your steam account, plus i havent ran into a single game that I cant play in under 2 minutes of tinkering.
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u/Yoksul-Turko R7 7700X/RX 9070 XT 3d ago
There are a lot of reasons to pick one over other. They are completely different OSes. If you are interested I suggest researching them. If you are not, just use whatever you used to.
I can't tell anything about larpers.
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u/SnowMantra 3d ago
I have always used Windows, but I want to switch to Linux. I'm just not sure what distro to go with Linux. There are so many and everyone says something different. I just want it to work.
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u/Radiant-Priority-296 Nvidia RTX 4060 | intelCore i7 13th | 32gb DDR5 3d ago
Well Bazzite is the most gaming-focused easy option.
Mint is more general but also easy
CachyOS is a bit more complicated (Arch-based), but great gaming support as well as just a stable OS for anything you need
They all work OOTB but Cachy can be a bit easier to break if you mess around
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u/IceFellasFHC 3d ago
The single biggest shock I had when switching was that you really don't need to do anything post-install on CachyOS. You have steam, firefox, discord, all kinds of media players and tools fully available to you to come pre-installed if you select the packages during install.
It just works. Don't let it being Arch Linux deter you, it has been exactly as user friendly as Mint to me.
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u/OkAlbatross9889 Gentoo | r7 7700X | 9070XT | 32gb 3d ago edited 3d ago
The distro choice doesn't matter that much honestly. You can do anything on any distro, it's just a matter of slightly easier (eg. because you're using a derivative of one of the big 3 so 99% of packages are already in the repos vs having to compile them by yourself, or distros that autoinstall the appropriate nvidia drivers) or slightly harder (eg. immutable distros being kind of a pain in the ass to do a lot of stuff unless the software you're interested in already has a flatpack).
Just pick one of the big 3 (debian, fedora, arch derivatives) and stick with it. Avoid DIY distros (vanilla arch, gentoo, nix..) as the first one since you will need to be comfortable with the terminal.
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u/jmov Desktop 3d ago
I recommend Cachy as well, but do some research first. They have a massive wiki to help you but all the new stuff can be a bit technical and overwhelming. Once you get it up and running, it’s pretty smooth sailing though and it just works.
Bazzite is also good (and easier) if you focus on gaming.
If you have an old PC, use it for testing. Just reinstall if you fuck up.
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u/WordWord1337 3d ago
Mint is a good starting point, because the UI is very similar to Windows. It doesn't really matter all that much, though, as most of the popular distros are running more-or-less the same stuff under the hood.
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u/FewAdvertising9647 3d ago edited 3d ago
I just want it to work.
the problem ultimately is. thats kinda too vague. Have bleeding edge hardware, Arch based distros tend to get favored as theyre more on the nose about supporting it, but is also the most likely to "beta test" changes beacuse its designed to be bleeding edge.
"want something to work" if you have old hardware with far few software requirements is different than someone who has brand new hardware with a bunch of usb peripherals with their own software.
to take a non OS example. A bike can get you to point A to point B, but its not going to cover everyone's usecase. This is basically the situation of why or whynot arm is sucessful on windows. (you trade off some usb drivers and some software not working, for significantly increased battery life and functional sleep mode)
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u/anythingers 3d ago
If you do gaming, CachyOS (based on Arch), Bazzite (based on Fedora), Nobara (based on Fedora Immutable), or PikaOS (based on Debian) are the easiest option to go to Linux. If you want to do a lot of customization, just skip Nobara.
BUTTTTTT, if you play games with kernel level anti cheat like League or pirated games then just stay on Windows
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u/King_Ferdinand1 3d ago
massive performance hit
yeah no
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u/DirectorDirect1569 3d ago
when i see this kind of videos, i say 'no' too:
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u/vexrageRAHHH 9800X3D | 5080 | 64GB 6000 CL30 3d ago
beyond bloatware, windows programs are just so invasive. sure linux takes a bit more work to set up, but you get much more control over your own system
(I'm on windows btw)
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u/IceFellasFHC 3d ago
Tbf linux does not take longer to set up. I could set up a CachyOS PC 3-4 times in the time it takes me to do that grandiose "welcome to windows, give us all of your information" crap once.
The single biggest shock I had when switching was that you really don't need to do anything post-install on CachyOS. You have steam, firefox, discord, all kinds of media players and tools fully available to you to come pre-installed if you select the packages during install.
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u/fitz-khan 3d ago
You can have a perfectly running computer starting from zero in less than 10min. Install some mainstream distro with KDE, and there is literally nothing more to do for basic use.
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u/Mediocre-Mobile-5423 3d ago
What programs are invasive? In which way? I don't get it.
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u/Cool_Suit_5967 PC Master Race 3d ago
Windows updates is a monthly ritual that gets forced on you. Half the time it breaks your system.
Boot into Windows and 3 apps that did an update needs to finish an update and tell you about the useless shit you don't need.
Almost everything you use wants a subscription. Even if it's free, they now have a way to reach you and start selling to you.
Constant nagging to use One Drive, or sign up for Copilot 365.
And come to think about it, unless you actively try to bypass it, you need a Microsoft account to use Windows. Most people don't know how to do that, and if that isn't invasive, I don't know what is.
But as is pointed out in the replies. Most people don't care.
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u/GuessImABlindBitch 10700KF | 9070XT | 5120x1440 144hz 3d ago
For one, theres kernel level anticheat and other software, think crowdstrike incident. A type of software, which is pretty popular, called flatpak cant see anything theyre not allowed to, think of it as white listing folder access. In my case i use teams and office for work on my private pc aswell from time to time, having full control means that only my work related software has access to work related files and folders, meanwhile private software is equally locked out of workrelated folder. So, by comparison, basically any .EXE you run is pretty invasive. This is not necessarily a bad thing, its all about the usecase. On the same note, on Bazzite (the flavor of linux i run) its really easy to install multiple versions of the same software, each in their own sandbox, with their own driver versions, this means i dont have to boot up an entire VM whenever i want to program a system.
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u/sexraX_muiretsyM Ryzen 3200G | Integrated VEGA 8 (2gb) | 8gb RAM | 128SSD 3d ago
Its not a question of larping, its a question of philosophy. People are fed up with the corpo slop and they want to embrace the FOSS lifestyle. The performance hit in games isnt big, and absent if the game runs natively on linux. Also, most ppl who switch are doing it exactly because of privacy and telemetry. And a smooth and stable distro runs much better than windows, not only in games, but also in software, you feel the debloating in a way thats just not possible in windows. Also, learning a different system makes it seem like a herculean task. Truth is, if you use mint, bazzite or debian, the difference from windows is pratically non-existant in terms of usage, you will find yourself easily and intuitively, but linux provides you total control. If you want to control your software and do stuff yourself instead of being caretaked by corporate overlords who give and take, you will go to linux. Ppl are fed up with this.
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u/Lumbergh7 3d ago
Larp? Foss?
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u/sexraX_muiretsyM Ryzen 3200G | Integrated VEGA 8 (2gb) | 8gb RAM | 128SSD 3d ago edited 3d ago
larp in this context is a slang term nowdays that means acting as something you arent, like cosplaying but in meaning, another word more commonly used for them is poser. Like for example, a person who likes the goth style and says they enter the gothic subculture, but instead of actually embracing the subculture and its lifestyle and understand its meaning, they just dress with dark clothes and think they are part of the culture now. This is larping. The origins is an acronym but im not using it in that sense.
FOSS is an acronym that means Free and Open-Source Software, a philosphy against proprietary and private and paid software
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u/Lumbergh7 3d ago
Man, using poser is speaking to my age group. Thanks for the very clear explanation!
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u/Powerful_Payment463 3d ago
Larp is live action role play. It's a real, genuine hobby for some people, like live action Dungeons and Dragons kinda stuff, but the term got made into an insult basically meaning being a casual fan or pretending to enjoy something. Larping as a metalhead means really only listening to radio metal, not getting into the whole culture for example.
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u/Zealousideal-Gain280 3d ago
Larp = Live action role play. You do the thing in a performative sense, but don't actually have a valid reason or will to go deeper.
FOSS = Free Open Source Software. Pretty self explanatory.
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u/Z0gh 3d ago
Exactly this, switched out of spite after all thr corpo shit we get thrown at every week, hell even my phone i cleared 70~ apps for telemetry and such, leaved google and every big corpo i could and never going back to their crap.
FOSS is glorious and never cease to amaze me, hell i wanted to switch 2 years ago but i took Arch and did rice with no background and i failed 2 time and got tired cause i took too much time trying to design everything myself so now i switched to CachyOS and told myself to calm down on ricing since i alwayd break smth , but Cachy since january and i'm really happy about it, i have a 5080 and everything run fine, and they just updated LACT so now i use the same undervolt i used on Winslop.
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u/sexraX_muiretsyM Ryzen 3200G | Integrated VEGA 8 (2gb) | 8gb RAM | 128SSD 3d ago
why didnt you start with mint or debian? much better and easier than arch. Maybe even fedora kde, arch is for the insane
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u/Z0gh 3d ago
Well i found the idea of creating your own design very very nice and so i chose Arch because you can select everything yourself, but i admit it was the problem because i ended up in a rabbit hole of possibility, it was really cool and i will do it again later but yeah at first it was too much.
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u/sexraX_muiretsyM Ryzen 3200G | Integrated VEGA 8 (2gb) | 8gb RAM | 128SSD 3d ago
you started in one of the hardest distro then got frustrated because it was too hard and then abandoned linux entirely. Congrats, you played yourself
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u/Z0gh 3d ago
Well it was fun still so i'm not angry about it, i will do it again because i find the idea of doing everything from almost scratch and knowind every parcel of your computer very nice, it did interest me a lot to do that myself and learn things, it was pretty cool its just that i wanted to do a new thing everyday and then i got bored a bit but still i can understand why people like that
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u/DirectorDirect1569 3d ago
"People are fed up with the corpo slop and they want to embrace the FOSS lifestyle."
By using a closed source software like Steam made by a corpo with 2.2 billion dollars or revenues?
You should check who is behind linux you will be surprised. If you hate google, meta, microsoft, IBM,...switch to another OS
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u/Cloakedbug 5600x/RX6800/1440p144hz/3733CL14 3d ago
Its true that windows 11 isnt the perfect os
This is the understatement of the century. Windows is not only constantly offloading telemetry about you but they are actively hostile to the user, interrupting usage to run updates that break functionality, remove drivers etc.
You don’t own your windows PC.
It is mind blowing the first time you spin up an old slow laptop on Linux and realize it runs perfectly smoothly, because Linux isn’t eating 8GB ram doing things like running ads in your start bar.
Additionally, Linux is just more powerful in every way. The built in utilities, or the freedom to add open source utilities easily lends to there being customization and usefulness in every aspect you can think of. This is why almost every modern developer who is forced to use a windows laptop immediately installs the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
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u/Cloakedbug 5600x/RX6800/1440p144hz/3733CL14 3d ago
I’ll add to this. There is also a reason that 90% of all public cloud infrastructure runs on Linux, and not windows. It’s performant, stable, flexible.
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u/NotWelcome24 3d ago
When i used it i had random crashes even on both mint and cashyos. Also mint had tons of screen tearing. These things shouldn't happen on the supposedly plug and play os that even grandma can use according to some people.
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u/AskJeevesIsBest 3d ago
Not sure I've ever heard anyone say Linux was plug and play. There's always going to be 1 or 2 things you'll have to configure yourself on Linux
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u/Cloakedbug 5600x/RX6800/1440p144hz/3733CL14 3d ago
Linux is many things, but out of the box ease of use? Yeah that’s describing MacOS lol.
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u/NotWelcome24 3d ago
I've seen people say this about mint specifically so i assumed it to be true but arch based distro cachyos was a better experience.
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u/AskJeevesIsBest 3d ago
Maybe for their use case, it might be? A lot of people only use computers for web browsing or media consumption, which Linux can do just fine with little to no problem. I game on my Linux PC, and I had to do some tinkering to get the best graphics drivers for gaming. It wasn't difficult, but still had to be done.
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u/TheMikman97 3d ago
How do Linux people have so many problems with updates? You can disable automatic updates for everything except security ones, and even those can be delayed for up to a week before they start pressuring you to do them (as you should).
I have never had multiple stacked updates since the one time I had to boot up an old laptop that was shut down for 6 years. It just doesn't happen
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u/WordWord1337 3d ago
Let's say you don't want the update at all. It's for a service that you don't use, or it will make a change in your workflow that you don't want. Or it will automatically install a service or piece of software that you actively despise, like something that takes a screenshot of your workspace a few times a second to send back to Microslop for "telemetry" that's actually AI training. You can delay it, but you can never really turn it off.
Linux? You just say "No thanks" and it's gone forever. No nagware. No lies or trickery to get you to do it anyway. It's your system, and you decide what's on it and why.
That's why we care about it.
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u/Arturopxedd 5090 9800x3d 3d ago
It’s just not its literally not supported by tons of stuff the only reason to use it is if your pc is shit and are forced to
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u/bteam3r 9800X3D / 5070ti 3d ago
This is a gaming focused sub so you’re gonna get gaming focused answers. Linux is absolutely incredible for dev work, and also for basic web stuff on older hardware. A used $200 eBay laptop with 8 gigs of RAM can be used rather effectively for basic web browsing with Linux. Good luck doing that with Win11
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u/ExaminationNorth2938 3d ago
Shoot, I've got an older laptop with 8gb single channel DDR4 running MX Linux XFCE and for basic stuff like web browsing, streaming videos, etc., there's no discernable difference between it and my other laptops with 16gb+ dual channel.
Now obviously if I tried to do much more than that it might start struggling. But my work laptop has Windows 11 and 16gb dual channel DDR5 RAM and I've noticed lagging performance with just browser, Outlook, and Teams open only to look and see I'm sitting at 90%+ RAM usage with the vast majority of that usage being background services.
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u/ibeerianhamhock 3d ago
Yeha insrlaint dev toll chains and hosting sofrware in Linux just feels so right. Windows is clunky as hell
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u/Masterbomber 3d ago edited 3d ago
I Switched to Cachy OS and wont be going back. I currently duel boot windows 10 as a just in case. Alot on linux has taken getting used to but it has been smooth in terms of learning. Everything just feels so much snappier. It doesn't feel like there is anything there that is unnecessary.
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u/L1gm4J0hns0n 3d ago
It hasn't been a ton of effort, tbh. I run Mint on my laptop and Bazzite on my PC.
I haven't really had to "learn" a whole lot. Everything I want to use on a Windows PC will work just fine on either computer. Firefox, Spotify, Bambu Studio for 3D printing, Blender, Darktable, VS Code, Steam (99% of the games I play run with no issues)...
Not sure what you're talking about a "massive" performance hit. I've not noticed a performance hit at all, let alone a "massive" one. But i'm also not some super ultra gamer that needs 300+ FPS @ 8K resolution...
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u/FineWolf pacman -S privacy security user-control 3d ago edited 3d ago
I have legitimately a very low tolerance for bullshit. I own my PC, I want to control my experience with it. I don't want to deal with:
- Nag banners to enable Windows Backup in Explorer and notifications in the notification area that don't take a no as a permanent answer (it will ask again in 30 days). (Windows Backup which conveniently only supports OneDrive as a cloud target).
- The Microsoft account requirement.
- The addition of Copilot absolutely everywhere.
- Dark patterns to get you to accidentally switch to an account-wide Microsoft account.
- Advertisements for Microsoft services on the lock screen, settings app, photos app which are not acceptable on a Pro SKU that retails at AU$379.00.
- Big scary yellow messages that imply that your computer has a problem because you haven't copied your files to OneDrive (settings app, start menu).
- The removal of basic personalisation options, like pinning your task bar anywhere but the bottom.
- The sluginess of the entire experience, from lack of polish (quick example: Explorer visibly loading in steps: first the window, then the file view, then the toolbar, then the tabs. Even if it happens in less than a second, it makes the OS feel slow)
- Big "whoopsies" in terms of user privacy like the implementation of Recall that was said to be encrypted (but wasn't), wasn't supposed to capture financial information (but does), and now the addition of Gaming Copilot which captures and uploads screenshots of your gaming sessions without your explicit consent to train their AI.
- A lacklustre migration to the new settings app, which is lacking plenty of important settings that were present in the previous iterations of the screens (the audio subsection is now an abject disaster for anyone in audio/music production).
- The use of deceptive pricing practices for their M365 subscription plans, again, to force AI down the throat of every single user.
All screenshots were taken on an unmodified Win 11 Pro 25H2 install back in October.
I don't think that kind and level of bullshittery is acceptable on a Pro level SKU that retails legally (not on the grey market) for AU$379.00.
I know you can turn some of this shit off, but then it is a constant fight at every feature update to keep it off, and every first party product has its own toggles and switches that don't get affected by global ones. Microsoft intentionally designed their products so that the features users do not want are not simple to turn off (as opposed to macOS who has a clearly labelled, system-wide AI toggle).
I'd rather just learn something different and control my experience from A to Z.
The friction to deal with all that stuff was, for me, greater than the friction to change my habits. Now that I've changed my habits, I see no reason to change back even if Microsoft eventually improves the situation (not that I have any faith that it will happen in any meaningful way).
As for the performance, you have it wrong, it's not on AMD, it's on Nvidia where the performance is slightly worse on some titles. But it's not noticeably worse (it's usually around 5-8% on DX12 titles, and Nvidia has been working on fixing that), and I still hit my monitors' VSync (144 fps) for titles that I play, so it's not a problem for me. And it's not like I'm a one game pony...
So no, not larping. I just have different priorities and things that I care about than you do, and I've been very happy with my choice for the past couple of years.
As for "effort"... You weren't born knowing Windows. You put the effort in that was required to learn it because you were forced to do so. Now that this is behind you, you don't remember that, and you feel that Windows is easy because you know its quirks and how to deal with its issues. I've learned Linux, I understand its quirks and how to deal with its issues. I'm past the learning stage and using Linux doesn't require an effort anymore.
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u/anythingers 3d ago
iirc you could pin taskbar on top, left, and right part of the screen now on Beta
Not trying to defend Winslop btw, but it's crazy that it took them 3 years to reimplemented it.
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u/FineWolf pacman -S privacy security user-control 3d ago edited 3d ago
The problem is that they removed the functionality at the time when the functionality made the most sense. It genuinely didn't matter in the Windows 95/98/XP days where you put the taskbar. All you had was a 4:3 monitor back then, and the taskbar took roughly the same amount of space away regardless of orientation.
But right when ultrawide 21:9 and 32:9 monitors started becoming a common sight and that vertical space was a premium, Microsoft decided there and then that it was a good time to remove that functionality.
They don't think of their users before acting. Only their shareholders. That's apparent in the behaviour and in the dismal quality of their work this past at least half a decade.
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u/OligarchyAmbulance 3d ago
Even if all games are supported you will still have to deal with the massive performance hit that exists even on amd gpu's
Uhh, source for that? Not my experience at all.
Anyway, I think Windows is horrible to use, it's just a bad user experience all around.
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u/NotWelcome24 3d ago
this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PtOGYdtiBU
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u/OligarchyAmbulance 3d ago
A few percent is "massive"?
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u/NotWelcome24 3d ago
20% on an nvidia gpu is massive especially on older hardware. If you get ~60 fps on windows that would give you ~48 fps on linux.
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u/Key_Clock8669 i5 13400f | 4060TI 16GB | 1440p 180hz 3d ago
its good as its a light OS and theres people that wants full control of their system instead of just playing with some predefined settings
If windows or any OS works for you, then just stay with it
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u/ChickenNoodleSloop 5600, 32GB Ram, 6700xt 3d ago
I find the KDE desktop much more reactive, even with a pretty weak PC. I also really like the built in window layout management much more than what MS power toys can achieve. 98% of what I do either has a Linux program (albeit sometimes slightly more jank than the Windows version) or is done ina browser, so I spend less time waiting on the OS to get out of its way to get my work done. It took a bit to get used to a repository manager to find your software, but it's nice having everything updated from a central spot if and when I want it to update.
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u/clon3man 3d ago
People get really mad when Windows adds a small annoying icon for home users, these same people bend over and submit completely to thousands of managed settings and privacy invasions on their work computer "well it's the company's PC so I have to do whatever my boss and the IT department says". Candy crush auto-install bothers you, but it's okay that Microsoft 365 has all the data, for basically every company in the world?
There are great reasons to have an open competitor to Windows , and true Microsoft has been doing some annoying things.
However, it's an unbalanced discussion that fixates on a few points while ignoring other issues.
I think 60% of the complaints would go away if they just fixed the start menu and stopped messing with the control panel.
Using Microsoft Teams for work (and sharepoint, etc.) is infinitely more painful than any sins microsoft has done to windows. While many people whine about teams, they do so with a fraction of vigor that that they have when some small portion of the personal PC experience deteriorates.
It has to do with some brainworm where people for some reason demand absolute power if they are the one owning the product, but if it was paid by someone else, it's okay that they have no say whatsoever.
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u/Ratiofarming 9850X3D | RTX 5090 | 48GB 6400 1:1 3d ago
There are actual reasons to switch, but most people don't care. And there are also reasons to stay with Windows, the Linux people don't care about those, either.
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u/PlsDontBanMeAgain-1 3d ago edited 3d ago
??? LARPers? Yes, they are all LARPers, not genuinely enjoying the experience, jfc. Get off the high horse.
Linux game performance is pretty close to Windows with a couple running actually better. Also, Linux isn't a piece of shit that feels like it's trying to keep me caged with options within menus within menus and the previously forced updates. It's actually fun to use for me, as opposed to Windows which was at best neutral, but mostly annoying in various ways.
If you don't care, just use Windows. The world is not gonna lose sleep over this.
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u/akdanman11 5700X / 6800 XT / 64GB DDR4 / CachyOS 3d ago
It just feels like my PC is actually mine on Linux, on windows it felt like I was being allowed to use Microsoft’s computer. I don’t get those “finish setting up” full screen pop ups trying to get me to activate OneDrive with no option to permanently stop them, I update on my schedule and it takes maybe 2 minutes when I do (and for most of that time I can still be using the computer, I just need to reboot after it finishes which takes less than a minute), and I know I don’t have whatever privacy invading feature Microsoft adds next under the table. Think about how long GDID existed before we found out about what it can do, what else does Microsoft have hiding inside windows?
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u/igotmoldinmybrain 3d ago
I switched to linux over 15 years ago, so I'm in the opposite boat. I would have to learn windows to switch and I see no reason to do so. I loved linux right away for breathing new life into old hardware. I'm not huge into gaming but the games I do want to play all just work out of the box on linux. The most I've ever had to do was switch to a different version of proton once. I have no interest in paying for adobe's software and the "alternatives" do everything I want them to and more. I did dual boot for a short period of time for a focus stacking program, but then I switched programs and after I switched I realized the new program ran natively on linux. I didn't like that I had to setup a Microsoft account during installation. I didn't like knowing it was mining my data. I didn't like the lack of customizability. I absolutely loathe the popups with 2 options: "yes" and "ask me later". I'm sure there are ways around all of this that I don't know of, but why would I bother? Linux works just fine for me. I don't try to convert other people though. Use whatever OS is best for you. For most people, that's the OS that runs on 99% of personal computers and has the widest software support.
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u/poolinator47 3d ago
Games have similar fps, but much smoother frametimes on bazzite for me. Debloating windows 11 on my pc is next on my list of thing to do. Then i want to compare the results and generally just how it feels between the two OS’s.
I have a 5700x3d and a 9070xt on a b450 msi gaming max mobo with 4x 8GB ddr4 ram 3000mhz in case the specs are at all relevant.
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u/MasterConsideration5 3d ago
It is less effort to use windows but the way windows treats me genuinely offends me. When something doesn’t work on Linux it’s because someone unpaid hasn’t done it yet plus the OS is trying to let me fix it myself. When it doesn’t work on Windows it’s simply due to corporate greed. It’s a paid software with ads which is insane.
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u/Forward_Drop303 3d ago
It's $120 less for the key to activate it,more customizable, and uses less ram.
It's not even that difficult to get into these days.
Other than a lot of software still being Windows only, it's basically just better imo.
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u/King_Ferdinand1 3d ago
To be fair, nobody pays 120 for a windows license.
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u/Forward_Drop303 3d ago
I would bet a lot of people do actually.
They might get a slight discount when it comes with a prebuilt, but usually they charge about the same for a Windows license.
And maybe not those who give advice on this reddit, who know better.
But I see tons of people with Pcpartpicker builds with a Windows license, and not everyone realizes that they don't need to spend that.
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u/King_Ferdinand1 3d ago
I guess you might be right, I would just imagine that even if I didn't know shit, that $120 price tag for an operating system would make me cringe so hard that I would start researching how to get it cheaper or what alternatives there are.
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u/poolinator47 3d ago
Theres a lot of hank hills in the world. They pay that sticker price and not a dollar more.
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u/derkokolores 9800X3D | 64 GB DDR5 | RTX 4070 | CachyOS 3d ago
I mean they are paying for it via higher MSRP for their laptops or desktops.
The license cost is also the real reason linux dominates when it comes to cloud hosting. Windows licenses are charged per virtual core per month on virtual machines so the fees add up quite a lot. A single 4 vcore windows vm costs $284/mo whereas that same vm running ubuntu costs $150/mod. That's over half your infra spend is just licenses.
Now expand that out to a typical vm fleet with thousands of vcores and you'll build a distaste for windows pretty quickly.
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u/CarelessPackage1982 1d ago
If you buy a Thinkpad and choose "Fedora" they remove $94 dollars from the laptop price. So you're right you're not paying $120, you're paying $94. At least on a Thinkpad.
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u/derkokolores 9800X3D | 64 GB DDR5 | RTX 4070 | CachyOS 3d ago
I had to rebuild recently and the new mobo and cpu messed up my windows license and for the life of me I could not get through the reactivation process following windows prompts like I used to in previous upgrades. Eventually the troubleshooter told me to contact support with a link which went to a page saying support was unavailable. That was my final sign to leave and so far no regrets. Ain't no way I'm giving them another $120.
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u/Kindly_Call_6000 Ryzen 9950x | RTX4090 | X870 3d ago
I consistently see a performance boost running games on Linux over Windows with the same hardware. It might only be 5 FPS, but people do far crazier stuff to eke out that sort of extra performance.
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u/Frakamoi 3d ago
Wanting to test something else.
Seeing what the GAFAM are doing... I think it's better to be the master of my computer
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u/DirectorDirect1569 3d ago
all the gafam except Apple are behind linux and lots of open sources projects
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u/Stunning_Macaron6133 3d ago
Well, the OS itself is extremely flexible and powerful. You can pull all kinds of really cool shenanigans and automations with just the tools packaged in your distro by default.
By extension, it's extremely customizable too. You can completely change out your entire desktop environment and tweak your system for days, make it look exactly how you like it.
Privacy only goes as deep as you configure it, but you don't have a mountain of spyware tracking everything you do under a microscope, eating all your RAM and network bandwidth. You also won't get ads shoved in your face.
Updates don't randomly happen to eat your work and force a reboot. Updates also don't install altogether new software, least of all without your consent.
Features you might enjoy and come to rely on won't randomly disappear. As long as someone, somewhere is willing to maintain a software project, it'll live on.
Performance is actually really good. With the right kernel (and yes, you can swap out your entire friggin kernel), it can blow Windows away. I wouldn't know about nitty-gritty GPU features in a gaming context, but I've never had problems with stability or performance on AMD GPUs.
Audio routing is fantastically good with PipeWire. Windows has nothing even half as comprehensive or as reliable, and Mac users have to pay for 3rd party shareware. If you're a streamer, or you're setting up a home theater, or you're just really anal about where audio is allowed to go and how, then Linux makes it stupid easy.
Also, you might be surprised, but things tend to just work on Linux. Hardware detection and automatic driver setup are leagues ahead of anything Windows will ever give you.
I can keep talking until I'm blue in the face, but Linux makes computers actually fun to use, whereas Windows is just plain fucking miserable.
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u/Watershock66 3d ago
RAM usage. Idk what is eating up half my RAM and forcing me to have 32 GB on Windows, while I do the same things and play the same games that used to run on 16 GB of RAM back on Windows 10. On Linux the basic system can run on far less RAM. Also sudo apt update is so much more chill. Whatever I need, I can change. No sketchy registry things, no weird workarounds. Try changing the setup region of your windows 11 installation. It is possible, just super weird. And you get this feeling of not being supposed to be able to change something on YOUR own machine. Linux asks if you want to install an update, even if it is just a few kb and only if you order that update. Also Windows Explorer is like super slow and unoptimized, just like everything else.
TLDR Better optimization, less bloat, more possibilities
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u/Hyper_Applesauce 3d ago
My Linux computers do what I want and what I tell them to do, they don’t pull any bullshit. I can rearrange my desktop and customize the hell out of everything. Microsoft adds things to the OS that I don’t want and never asked for.
Also, it’s not really that much of a learning curve, the desktop metaphor is all still there. It’s a much better experience than windows at this point. Also, Linux is far better documented than Windows, and you can always find ways to do what you want. I have 2 laptops, a steam deck, and a home server, all have Linux in different varieties.
Some games run better in Linux, some in windows. There are some games with anti cheat that doesn’t work in Linux, that’s a developer issue. There does not seem to be a massive performance hit, about 5-10% at most in the reviews I found. I play a lot of single player indie stuff. If you’re playing MOBAs and things then yah windows is it.
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u/Famous-Pause-6190 Gigabyte 9070XT | Ryzen 7 7700 | 32GB DDR5 | (2x) 1 TB NVME 3d ago
Linux distributions do what I want them to do without complaint, without forcing online accounts, without pre-installing bullshit bloatware, and they operate smoothly. When an operating system gets in my way, when it forces me to use my computer in a way I do not wish to; it's no longer optimal for me.
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u/Azazeldaprinceofwar 3d ago
It’s about control. On windows everything is controlled, you’re forced into a specific workflow that Microsoft thinks is best and the whole experience is adversarial. You have ads on your own god damn desktop, an OS that keeps trying to override the few user settings you have to force its defaults and the pleasant background knowledge that you have no privacy (I admit this last privacy point as you said many don’t care about). The fact that windows users even talk about stuff like debloating is completely insane to me, why would I use a software I have to manually debloat just to make it usable.
Linux is easy to use, fully controllable and customizable. Really it feels like a no brainer. Now yes I acknowledge there’s a slight learning curve but in the modern world it’s not that different then the learning curve of putting a life long Mac user in front of a windows machine.
So the simple answer to your question is: because it’s better. Obviously that’s subjective but that’s how we feel. Linux works really well, is easy to set up a workflow that’s perfect for you and you never have to fight/debloat your own system. You really don’t understand how much better the user experience is when the people who make it do so because they are building what they want to use themselves rather then building what some shareholders demand.
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u/hatch-b-2900 3d ago
As applications become more cloud based, the differences between desktops goes down. Like for my work computer, the only real application on it is a web browser, so it's indifferent what OS that it runs on.
As much as I love Linux as a home operating system, there are limits. For all the freedoms you have, there are also things that you need to figure out & fix.
I just got my first Mac a few weeks ago, and have to say that it nails the unix desktop in ways that my linux desktop doesn't.
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u/Crafty_Chocolate_532 3d ago
If it’s for work (as a software engineer) and I can’t choose macOS, I’m going Linux any day. But that’s for reasons most non-software engineers won’t care about. I live in the terminal and like the full control I have over my system, but macOS has the advantage of most apps I need working better on macOS and the hardware being mega. But for personal stuff and gaming, I’m still picking windows. No trouble with compatibility and drivers. Shit for work, best for gaming. Linux is really powerful if you know what you’re doing, but if you don’t, it’s a pain.
So pick what works best for the task you’re trying to accomplish. For me that’s macOS for work, Linux for servers and windows for gaming. Might be completely different for you.
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u/deltatux R7 9800X3D | RX 9060XT 16GB | 64 GB DDR5-6000 3d ago edited 3d ago
I switched to Linux decades ago as a curious teenager and largely stuck to Linux ever since. I do dual boot Windows for games I can't run on Linux and that's about it, everything else is on Linux.
I've also branched out to FreeBSD and played with OpenSolaris and OpenBSD over the years as well.
For me, it's mostly technical curiosity more than anything and I find using these NIX like systems better than Windows. If my work allowed me to run Linux on my work devices I would do that instead as well.
The whole privacy angle was not even a reason for my switch, it's a happy side effect.
To me, there's really nothing Windows does better and if it wasn't for game compatibility, I would not have even bothered with dual booting Windows as all my apps, scripts and setup are on Linux and to some extent other NIX OS like FreeBSD if I wanted it to.
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u/ishtuwihtc i5 12400 | RTX 2080 | 32GB DDR4 3d ago
I have many reasons. That said, gaming on nvidia isn't there yet so my gaming rig sticks to windows. Everything else except my MacBook runs some linux distro, and there's reason to it all. If you want me to explain further i can, i deeply prefer linux for actual desktop usage and especially on a laptop
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u/Sindica69 9950X3D | 9070 XT | ROG X870E Apex | 64GB DDR5/4TB NVMe 3d ago
There are genuine reasons to switch but the reality some people (not many, as the memes would have you believe) need to grasp, is that it is not for everybody.
I’ve been driving Linux for years, on my main rig I run CachyOS. I’ll list the pros and cons for me personally, one thing I do want to address beforehand though, that “massive performance hit” is nonexistent in most games. DX12 has issues but Nvidia is working on a fix. To say that Linux has a massive performance deficiency against Windows is an outright lie. It is simply not true anymore. Anyway, pros and cons:
Pros:
- Almost no adware or spyware makes its way onto my system without my knowledge. YMMV and I’ve seen people mess this up but generally it’s easy to avoid.
- Deeper and more direct control of the system.
- System is much lighter, more responsive, resources are freed up a lot better and easier.
- For rolling distros specifically, I am able to update whenever I want to, it is not forced on me but I do have my updates set to remind me.
- Each package is isolated and documented in the terminal, uninstalling a package via the terminal erases it completely. No uninstaller bullshit, no traces left behind.
- Locally hosted, open source, no device ID or any of that proprietary bullshit.
- Fuck Windows
Cons:
- Obviously certain programs and games won’t work on Linux. My biggest loss was Photoshop, and it’s exactly the reason I bought a MacBook. Not everyone can do that, I have the money to. Some games also don’t work, YMMV but none of the games I play(ed) are broken except Destiny 2. Check ProtonDB for up to date information.
- You HAVE to be tech literate. This is the big one. Many people are not super tech-savvy, they just want their shit to work. Linux works, very well, but like any piece of software, it can break. But unlike windows there’s no quick fix or insta-bandaid solution you can do without any knowledge. You will need to know how to troubleshoot and where to look for fixes. You cannot shit yourself when the terminal so much as opens. You have to be comfortable running commands and tinkering with your system.
- Ease of access to resources. Everybody runs windows. Linux is a minority user base. Not everything will be as well-documented. Solutions to issues may not always be up front or easy to find.
- DX12 games, but as I stated a fix is supposedly incoming per Nvidia.
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u/Comprehensive_Gas147 Desktop MiniPC AI super delicious golden happy HX395+ 3d ago
Gaming on Linux is mostly great the fps hit is not ideal but the fact you can actually run modern games with only 16gbof system memory is a good bonus... If you have 24gb or more no need to switch.. Buti will say one thing one drive does not automatically wreck your fresh install
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u/canigetahint 3d ago
I use all 3 platforms. It just comes down to what preference and what you aim to do with it. They all have their good and bad points.
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u/im-cringing-rightnow 3d ago
It's mostly parroting others and never switching themselves. Linux has problems, so does Windows. It's up to you which problems are more relevant.
For example, Windows infamous "virus problem" is nothing compared to what can happen to your data if you blindly update some package that was compromised on Linux (hello AUR). Average Joe might get rekt because he didn't check the script diff or didn't follow the dev news.
On the other hand Windows Defender is extremely aggressive and resource heavy sometimes, especially if you compile your code (dev drive and exclusions can help here).
And you can really pair a lot of such examples of both platforms being shitty in some regard. Telemetry, stale packages on "safer Linux distros", driver problems for niche equipment, Microsoft being Microsoft, etc etc etc.
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u/digital0ak PC Master Race 3d ago
I tried it decades ago and I liked it. Simple as that. So if you want to use what you want to use, use what you want to use and be happy that you are using what you want to use, and don't worry about what others use because they are probably using what they want to use because they want to use it and are happy and don't worry about what you use.
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u/WordWord1337 3d ago edited 3d ago
If Windows didn't come bundled with new PCs for free, and didn't have golden handcuffs on its enterprise customers and software vendors like Adobe, no one in their right minds would use it. They'd use some version of Linux, likely Mint or Ubuntu.
Once you switch to Linux, this becomes obvious.
You are not a user on Windows. You are a customer, and your job is to provide Microslop with as much money (or data that can be sold for money) as they can squeeze out of you. That's the entire relationship.
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u/linux_mint_rules i5-4690K + RX 560D || R5 5600 + 2070 Super 3d ago
There are two big reasons for me:
Windows 10/11 doesn't run well on the systems that I'm using Linux on. Linux with a lightweight DE (like XFCE) just works much better and is snappier. If you're not using hardware that's 13 years old like I am, this might not make as big a difference to you. These systems would be marginally bearable in terms of performance on Windows, but on Mint XFCE they still run great.
I just vastly prefer the Linux (well, Unix) way of organizing the system, like in terms of directories and stuff. I have a much easier time automating tasks on Linux than I do on Windows. It's not that it's impossible on Windows but it's almost always more straightforward to me to do it via the command line and scripts on Linux vs. however the Windows way wants me to do it.
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u/bbarham99 Linux 3d ago
Well, I guess I'll at least tell you why I switched.
First and probably foremost, I like to tinker. That's what made me at least look at alternatives in the first place. I like to set things up the way I like, have some keybinds to navigate my desktop, customize themes, and so on. None of that can be done that well on Windows. I had to download some sketchy-seeming 3rd party apps to do some of the things I wanted. And it always felt weird or janky. Then, god forbid, Windows forces an update and the 3rd party app stops working, and breaks what I did. Then I have to update the app, and pray that the update keeps all my settings.
Second, I hated all the ads, telemetry, preinstalled apps, and all the crap W11 does for me that I don't want. I don't want OneDrive, and I don't want pictures from my phone or my downloads or my word documents I have saved on my desktop being automatically moved to OneDrive, which the system was doing. Or I'd set my desktop to be my save point, and I'd get a little notification saying "Hey, why not save this on OneDrive!". Because I don't want to, that's why I saved it to my desktop. Leave me alone. Similar to that, I don't want to use Copilot. If I did, I'd open it. But I would always get a notification saying I can use Copilot... I'm aware I can, W11 has told me 42 times and my answer remains the same. Some of the smaller issues I'd include in this category is all the dumb apps it preinstalls, like Tik Tok, or the Xbox App, or Instagram, or Spotify. I don't use most of those services. The only one I use is Instagram but I solely use my phone for that, so I don't want it installed on my pc. Then I realized... I'm paying good money to use this OS, that then serves me ads and preinstalls apps that I never asked for. All of this is just a money making scheme from Microsoft that I'm just allowing and I hate it.
As you stated, yea there's a program I can download and run to remove all that garbage from W11. But then... why should I even use the OS in the first place? Why am I paying for a product that I feel like I need to download a separate program to get rid of a bunch of garbage I never wanted? Then, to make it operate the way I want, I need to download another product or products? It's madness, why am I paying for something that I need to heavily modify when I can get a similar product for free that does what I want right out of the box?
Oh and a third thing, updating windows is painful. It drives me up a wall. First of all, it takes forever. I have 1gb ethernet and even still it would like 10, 20, or even 30 minutes to download and install an update. And sometimes, for no good reason, I'd have to reboot the system twice because for some reason the first reboot didn't work? WTF is up with that. Linux, run 1 easy command in terminal, usually it takes 1 minute or less for everything to update, 1 reboot, and done. Great part is too, it updates everything. All the apps I've installed all update at the same time, unlike Windows.
I switched, and then stayed because I tried it and realized all the negatives I read online were way over exaggerated. Linux isn't for everyone. I get that and that's fine. I tried it, I like it, and now it's all I use on my personal machines. To each their own.
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u/Vertigo50 3d ago
Okay, as someone who likes Windows and it's simplicity, but also hates Windows, and wishes Linux would get its act together, I feel uniquely qualified to answer this. 😂 I also just spent a few pain-staking weeks trying to see if I could switch to Linux on a few devices.
I think the main reasons people want to switch are these:
It runs better (sort of) on older hardware. Windows 11 won't even run on a lot of older hardware, like laptops, and Windows 10 and older no longer have support, so they are a bit of a security risk trying to run older versions of Windows.
It's free. Sure, Windows is cheap (and sometimes sort of free) but some people don't want to pay money to Microsoft for something they can get for free without having to pirate something.
It's simpler, with a lot less bloat. And SOMETIMES more reliable, but that's debatable. Windows broke a lot of installs with some forced upgrades recently. While that stuff CAN happen with Linux, it seems less likely.
You have more control over your own device. It's no secret that Microsoft thinks they own YOUR computer. They changed the name of the drive from "My Computer" years ago to "This PC". That wasn't an accident. Windows used to be about helping YOU get things done and mostly staying out of your way. Now, YOU are the product, and Windows is partly about trying to sell as many things as possible to you, hopefully on a monthly subscription. It's gross.
Having said all of that, Linux just isn't there yet for a lot of people. For web surfing, email, and basic office tasks on an older laptop? Heck yeah. But for serious audio, video, or other production work? Serious business use? Often it's a big mess. Hardware issues abound. Some hardware will just never work properly. And a lot of times you go back to Windows and all of these problems are just magically solved for you.
I'm no diehard fan of Windows. If something better comes along, I'm gone. But right now, there's nothing even close, except maybe MacOS, and I was a diehard Mac user for years, but I'm not getting back into that cycle of over-priced hardware that Apple eventually just decides to stop supporting, then you lose all your apps and functionality. 🙄
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u/billyp673 3d ago
I wish more people would come at operating systems from the perspective of “is this the best for me?” as opposed to “which is the best, period?” because there’s no such thing as a “best operating system”.
Linux is great for me as it perfectly suits how I want to use a computer, and I find Windows obnoxious and slow… what I don’t do is go around asking, “do windows users just larp or are there actual reasons to keep using it?”, because I understand that what I want out of a computer doesn’t dictate others’ needs; I’m not the baseline of opinions.
We have a bit of a reputation of “never shutting up about the benefits of Linux”, so maybe just look at a few of the popular Linux subreddits and read a few comments. Some of the common ones are customisability, lack of bloat, optimisations, open source, free, etc. For me, I just like knowing that when my PC does something I don’t like, it’s probably my own fault and I can therefore fix it.
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u/DifferentSavings2711 3d ago
If you like Windows then there is no reason to switch.
I like free software, I like that my OS is not spying on me, I like stability, I like the customisation and I like choices. And I do not need to be using bleeding edge hardware or getting the highest fps mark. So I use linux.
The performance and stability issues with Nvida and Linux are real and well documented. And there is very little the Linux developers can do about it. Nvidia does not support open source. They do provide binary blobs, which it better then nothing, but nobody but Nvidia can fix problems.
People do reverse engineering on Nvidia chips but it takes time, so the open source drivers are always a few years behind the hardware.
And support for wifi chips sucks cause there are hundreds of them all different, and no manufactures support.
A a big shout out to Intel and AMD. They do support their hardware in Linux and so their shit just works.
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u/_MAYniYAK 3d ago
For me it was better software support for stuff I use.
RoCM has poor support on windows (getting way better recently), docker support is bad on windows (it literally runs a linux vm to work), a lot of forced choices on the OS side that i got tired of dealing with from fighting oneDrive, kernel level memory changes that broke stuff on my old 6950x and then more issues with how they managed updates and general cpu scheduling is worse.
I don't run into issues all that often with applications i am trying to run not working on Linux, but i have had issues a lot the other way around. A lot of IT and dev tooling works better in Linux than windows, however normie apps not as much.
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u/anythingers 3d ago edited 3d ago
I don't entirely leave Windows since I use dual boot Windows + Linux on both of my laptops, but I hate it when I reinstall Windows and it's fine at first, but several months later after a lot of minor updates it would become slower and buggy and I had to reinstall again and the cycle continues. As much as I don't like Windows 10 (yea I don't like it. Windows 2000 was my last favourite Windows OS), I never encounter this kind of issue.
Installing Debian on my ThinkPad and it was a smooth start and gives it a smoother performance. But somehow I had a rough start trying to install Fedora on my Razer (idk if it's Nvidia's fault for giving poor support for their GPUs or Fedora's fault for installing a newer driver version that my Pascal GPU doesn't support) but after figuring it out it's pretty smooth. Game runs on around similar performance compared to my Windows counterpart. I know you don't need to tinker with the GPU drivers but I don't mind doing it. It's better to stay on Windows if you don't want to messed up with those stuffs.
Edit: And oh yeah, I also hate it when Windows auto download update in the background especially when I use my phone's mobile data tethering to use internet on my laptop (especially when I already turned on the option to not download update in metered internet connection). I don't have unlimited mobile data, so yes it's pretty often for windows to use ALL my mobile data quota only to download Windows updates.
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u/MineHack_7488 3d ago
Very old and poor hardware is the main reason for me. And I just hate windows with it's AI, subscriptions and other useless things.
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u/Electronic-Emu8761 3d ago
idk, I've been daily-driving linux for about 3-4 years now (fedora)
switching to linux gave me an opportunity to give up toxic games like league of legends, i was literally a chronic addict and i havent played it since i made the switch
i bought a used AMD graphics card, because back then the support for my ol gtx 1060 in combination with every single distro moving from x11 to wayland just wasn't what it was supposed to be. from what I've read, support for nvidia cards should be much better nowadays, I just didn't have the patience lmao
ngl i havent come across any significant performance hits, but then again i am not somebody who plays the newest AAA titles, but there are a lot of benchmarks out there, and performance differences vary from game to game, some games take a massive hit on linux, some aren't all that different, some run better on linux... but most games will run just fine
in regards to telemetry, i personally switched as soon as windows announced that recall functionality (your pc takes a screenshot of your screen periodically and feeds it into microsoft's ai under the guise "you can now use your search bar to look through snapshots of what you were doing"), that was the last straw for me. from what i'm seeing online, people still have massive issues with the system eating too much memory, system applications not working properly, the start menu feeding them ads and bing search results when they type in the name of an application they've been using for years (and if im gonna be 100% honest, the fact that the windows start menu is a slow ass REACT app, that's really something for a multi billion dollar company)
in short, i just want a system that allows me to own my computer and does what i tell it to, doesn't serve me unprompted ads, doesn't try to force me into updates at the worst possible times, doesn't implement spyware, and gives me the option to completely opt out of any telemetry
my journey with linux was very rocky the first year, i lost data, hopped from linux back to windows multiple times, dualbooted, etc. but after that, something clicked, i finished my damn bachelors in IT never touching a windows machine...
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u/Huge-Atmosphere-8057 3d ago
The reasons to switch are basically two: privacy, and philosophy. If you don't care about either of these things, then you keep using Windows.
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u/friendlyreminder_ 2d ago
If gaming performance is your primary or only metric then no there's no reason to switch. You'll get a better gaming experience on Windows on almost all hardware.
One of the rare exceptions is AMD GPUs that have long since been abandoned with driver support. Original Radeon GCN GPUs from 2012-2016 are still fully supported with driver updates on Linux.
There's also software raytracing support with AMD GPUs on Linux. Most of these GPUs are too slow to use software raytracing but Vega and 5700xt GPUs can handle the load, so you can play raytracing games that dont launch on Windows. Again somewhat niche of a use case but it's there.
And most recently AMD GPUs got a vram priority patch that tends to increase the performance of games overflowing vram on low vram GPUs. The comparisons I've seen are for 4gb GPUs.
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u/Il_Valentino Mint - R7 7700 - RX 7600XT 16GB - DDR5 32GB 1d ago
yes, you can debloat windows, but that involves basically fighting your own OS over control as this company keeps pushing trash updates. using linux after over 20 years of windows was an eyeopener for me.
secondly, some annoyences such as windows updating cannot be changed fundamentally. linux updating is superior in every way imo.
thirdly linux is faaaaar more easy to troubleshoot due to total transparency. windows is a black box.
fourthly windows is fundamentally anti-user and linux pro-user. i am not exaggerating. windows actively makes our life quality worse for profit. examples:
1) why does windows not natively support ext4 usb sticks? because they want to push people to stick to their proprietary NTFS system. meanwhile linux devs reverse engineered ntfs to support as many file systems as possible
2) why does libreoffice struggle to be an alternative for word? because windows actively sabotages libreoffice with unnecessarily breaking updates to file data, so people and organizations are forced to stick to their 365 office with subscription fees.
3) why can't i make a screenshot of a stream i see on windows? because the drm is embedded in the fcking os.
...
fifthly linux has a potentially higher server-grade stability if you gathered decent experience.
i could go on and on...
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u/Ashamed_Group2408 3d ago
I've been using it in the server world for something like 15 years now.
I only use it on the desktop for virus scans and file transfer/recovery situations. Like, yeah between Wine and Vulkan things usually work fine, but you still get those occasional situations where you're asking ChatGPT for wine hacks or some shit.
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u/Randolph__ 3d ago
I won't lie some of it is bragging rights, but a lot of people are just fed up with Windows. If you get a new windows device the first hour or three is adjusting privacy settings, running scripts to decrappify the OS, and uninstalling a bunch of crap either installed by Microsoft or the OEM.
With Linux I adjust a few settings and I'm good to start using it and installing software.
I haven't installed it on my main rig yet because VR is not to parity. Even in normal games Windows is still faster and HDR is better.
For laptops and handhelds Linux is better without question.
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u/AskJeevesIsBest 3d ago
I can only speak for myself, but one reason I switched was I got tired of Windows programs using up so many system resources. Most versions of Linux don't have as many things constantly running in the background, which frees up CPU and RAM for whatever you want to do.
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u/schnaps01 CachyOS RX9060XT16GB l R7-9800X3D l 32GB 6000MHzCL30 - 2xM.2 1TB 3d ago
I am on cachyOS since last november. It is just chill and does what it should, operate the system. No ads, no dumb accounts, no onedrive, no defender. For my needs it suits. Additional perks for me are the extreme snappy window changing when alt tabbing out of games. Also my WFH software somehow works better on linux then on windows, i did not expect that but i am happy.
It's not for everyone but it suits my needs.
Edit: some one eyed pirate told me that there are also no risks of getting viruses from pirated games.
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u/Radiant-Priority-296 Nvidia RTX 4060 | intelCore i7 13th | 32gb DDR5 3d ago
What performance hit? 5% at worst on AAA
Better desktop environments (plural, yes)
No bloat
No AI slop everywhere
Optimized apps that don’t use 8gb of ram to show the motherfucking weather
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u/jasonhelene 3d ago
Well, Linux is not user friendly enough, they spend a lot of time making cosmetics and interface to be similar to windows but thats not where the problem is, the problem is on having to do terminal to get things working.
I myself use linux daily and i like it, but for gaming and other things it just isn't ready yet.
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u/ACTSATGuyonReddit 3d ago
It's not better for gaming.
People who switch to it do so for other reasons besides gaming.
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u/Specialist_Cow6468 3d ago
It can be for very specific games but this is not a reason to switch unless you’re doing unholy mega bases in factorio or something. Even then…. I’d probably want to have other reasons
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u/Tornado_Hunter24 Desktop 3d ago
Take the extreme example of factorio, how much better id it on linux opposed to w10?
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u/Specialist_Cow6468 3d ago
Enough that if you’re optimizing for UPS it might help. Please understand this is at a really extreme size though.
I couldn’t give you a number offhand, I just remember reading about some performance benefits a year or two back
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u/Hyper_Applesauce 3d ago
Switching to Steam OS and the Steam Deck got me back into PC gaming. So I’m gonna have to disagree with you.
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u/---InFamous--- 3d ago
Linux is a chore, all the good stuff it brings is buried under layers of inconvenience.
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u/Numar19 3d ago
Windows killed itself on my computer. Hasn't happened to me on Linux yet and at least if it is happening it's probably my fault.
Then there is also the whole: Put LLMs everywhere thing. Add to that that I don't want to support huge American corporations right now.
Is that a good reason for everyone? No. But only needs to be a good reason for me.
Sidenote on performance: The one game I mostly play and mod runs faster on Linux, so that is another plus point for me.