Pop!_OS was a lifesaver when I was learning Linux. You can just look up Ubuntu related questions for tech support, the graphics drivers are preconfigured, and the interface is easy to use.

I’m on CachyOS with KDE now, but I highly recommend Pop! for a first-timer not looking to tinker.

Also, with ProtonTricks you can still mod stuff. It’s not perfect, but there’s a version of Mod Organizer 2 for Linux ;P

Very nice! I’d been thinking there should be a standardized guide for switching, but this is so much better!

I ended up going with CachyOS because I feel confident enough to try Arch now, but I think Solus is going to be my go-to when recommending for beginners, once I try it a bit more. I think it’s a good blend between stable and cutting-edge, plus getting to tell people that you won’t have to replace it with Solus 2 eventually is kinda a big selling point.

Hmm, thank you for your point about Solus. I was interested because it seemed the most interested in the desktop experience. But it does seem they’re updating and getting back on track. I love the idea of a weekly rolling release for beginners who still need the idea to click.

I do have backups ;)

See, this is what I meant. I deflected because my phrasing gave everyone else enough information that they could just suggest a distro.

I appreciate that you’ve clearly put thought into the recommendation you want to give, and I appreciate that you’d like to really understand what I’m looking for. But at the time of your original comment, CachyOS was baremetal on my machine. So, I’ve already picked what I want, and you’re insisting I must explain in greater detail so that you may answer my question (already been answered).

Please feel free to enlighten me on what made you even consider the premise of your above question.

The fact that you were insistent no one “delved into the essence of the matter.” I didn’t need them to, I was researching every OS that anyone mentioned.

but instead asked for a comparison between three distros that were (somehow) selected by you.

They’re all gaming distros, dude. I felt like that was evident.

I’m sorry this whole post discussion has not gone the way you wanted, but it’s gone the way I wanted. And I believe I’ve found something that works for me.

But, in the end, it ain’t Sophie’s Choice. I have my important files on a thumb drive and a backup thumb drive with Pop!_OS in case I need to start fresh again. NBD.

Do you think I am using this thread and this thread alone as my only source of information on these distros? I’m crowdsourcing opinions and checking them against the documentation for the distros and my personal preferences.

I feel as though this thread has delved into the essence of the matter perfectly well. That matter being, of course, people’s opinions on the three distros I laid out. I deflected your question because you are looking to pick my brain and start an in-depth discussion, but I’ve reached a point in my research where I’m comfortable making a choice without any more guidance.

And, well, idk, I feel like my statements indicated I was looking for a good middle ground between a stable system that works smoothly and something I can crack open and break while tweaking - for the learning experience. I suppose that would really just boil down to fixed vs rolling release distros.

Fedora has lost my favor due to being a fixed release distro. After CachyOS was brought to my attention, and I researched it a little bit, it seemed to fit my desires pretty well. It’s optimized for speed, which is perfect for games, and it’s rolling release so I still get to feel like an uber haxx0r. Nothing against Fedora, it seems great. I want something a little further from my comfort zone.

Solus is appealing to me because it isn’t based on anything else, and I love that it’s a small team. Plus, the weekly updates thing they do felt like a good middle ground between how Debian-based and Arch-based distros work in terms of updating. But, I think I’ll stick with CachyOS for now, I’m excited to use Arch btw.

Hahahaha I’ve unfortunately already ignored this advice but hey, all my important files are backed up ;)

No worries! Others have piped in with suggestions and I’ve found a distro that I think will work for me!

I am very curious about trying Arch. But Solus has really caught my attention, too.

It was an N word…

Thank you for that point about Bazzite. I was worried about having locked-down system files, because I’m really not at a place where I’m breaking my distro all the time.

I’ve been eyeing CachyOS since another user suggested it. Love the idea of rolling releases, so Solus seems cool too! What sets ya’ll apart from the other distros that have been discussed?

Good to know, thank you.

Hey, thanks! The flashiness of Garuda was putting me off a bit, this seems a much better way to dip my toes into Arch again.

Hmm, that’s a serious downside for me ngl. I tried to set up Mod Organizer 2 when I had Steam installed through Flatpak on Pop!, and I had to switch to the Ubuntu repository to get it to recognize my Steam install.

I was reading into atomic distros just now. Is the rebase feature the main thing that sets atomic desktops apart?

I’m not too worried about having to troubleshoot. Nobara has been appealing to me because it’s developed by the Proton guy.

How does an atomic distro help teach containerization and data security as compared to a traditional distro?

See, I haven’t had any issues with Pop!_OS, but I also don’t use apps outside of Steam and LibreOffice much. To add to your point, I will say that for how much they hype up the Pop! Shop, it kinda works terribly.

I haven’t tried Bazzite, but Fedora-based distros are starting to pique my interest.

Yes, go for it.

The two distros I recommend for beginners, these helped me start using Linux:

1. Kubuntu

Kubuntu uses the KDE Plasma desktop environment, which is the closest experience to Windows 10 imo. Very good for easing you in. Plus, it’s based on Ubuntu - the most commonly used distro. So if you have issues, just google “(problem) Ubuntu” and you’ll find a fix.

2. Pop!_OS

Pop!_OS is preconfigured for gaming. If you have anything Nvidia in your PC, just start with this one. Nvidia doesn’t play nice with Linux, and the company that develops Pop!_OS has a specific version with Nvidia drivers. Driver configuration can be annoying, you don’t have to worry about it with Pop!_OS.

Both of these distros will work for gaming out of the box pretty much (provided you use AMD products). Steam’s Proton tool is insanely useful, and it’s not too hard to figure out how to tweak games that are still having issues after it works its magic.

Basically, your choice boils down to:

Kubuntu - an easier time with the PC side of things

Pop!_OS - an easier time with the gaming side of things

As for being a tech wizard, don’t worry about it. If you know how to look up your problems, there’s always some guy on a forum with some commands you can copy/paste into the terminal and fix everything.

I"m the opposite. I bought it immediately and I’ve been loving it! Wouldn’t have even noticed the leveled loot if someone hadn’t pointed it out lol. It just sucks that they left that in after fixing the character leveling system.

Haha that happened to me. Maybe we’ll get a patch for some of the stuff that actually breaks the game. I love some of the quirks they left in though, like the voice acting screwups.

Didn’t realize they didn’t fix this. I knew there was a catch to this remaster…