I use Arch btw
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I'm on the verge of switching my gaming PC to Linux, the bloat of windows is becoming too much. I'm fairly PC literate but don't know anything about Linux or distros. It is intimidating to commit to a platform where I know so little. Does anyone have any tips regarding distros or learning the basics?
Look at ProtonDB to see what games you own will run on Linux.
Pop OS: is a good Ubuntu based distro.
The Nobara Project: is a Fedora based gaming distro.
Drauger OS: is another good gaming specific distro.
Each of these has their own pros and cons depending on your needs and hardware. Google is your best friends here. You will have issues with a game not working like you want. Again Google will be your best friend here.
My biggest suggestion is to embrace the challenges. Understand that in the last two years alone gaming on Linux has improved dramatically. Stay with it Linux is always maybe a better experience overall even if some of our games don't work right now.
With Redhat going kinda closed-source, will its derivatives like Fedora remain viable?
Don't remember how Canonical shit the bed, but I'm wary of using Ubuntu derivatives.
What would you recommend for a distro that keeps on top of security updates and is at least acceptable in terms of running games like AoE2 DE or The Outer Worlds?
As a Linux home user that uses windows for work, I recommend you start by debloating your windows. I prefer the Powershell script found here. There are multiple options for debloating windows on github, some also include tools to disable telemetry. I prefer more control over what telemetry gets disabled, and use O&O Shutup to manage that separately.
Then install a few Linux distros in a free hypervisor (Hyper-V/VirtualBox/VMware Player) on your lean windows. Note, Hyper-V is only avaliable on Pro versions of windows. Experiment until you find a Linux distro you are comfortable with. Build your confidence before you take that jump, and you'll be more likely to stick with it.
If you still find you may occasionally need windows, you can always dual boot, or run windows inside a hypervisor on Linux.
installing something goes slightly awry
system still runs fine but there are a couple empty read-only folders on the drive
"Oh no! My perfect system is BORKED!"
reinstall the os
If it doesn't feel clean I need to redo everything!
A part of me hates how accurate this is XD
Spending more time making an install script to put everything in the right place than using Linux itself
I'm at the point where I actually don't want to reinstall anymore, because it's a pain in the ass. I'm still on Ubuntu 20.04, even though the new LTS version has been out for more than a year by now. Ubuntu's current direction doesn't exactly give me an incentive to update, either, but to actually rectify that situation I'd need to reinstall as well.
If you ever do decide to jump, I recommend PopOS. Based on Ubuntu, no snaps.
I'd rather switch to Debian, TBH. Derivative distros (or rather double-derivative) like PopOS don't feel all that safe to me.
Debian with the wonder of containers! Of course for my laptop I'm just going to have to run something very modern but that's not really debians fault.
Backup all your config files, reinstall OS, restore config files. Done. When I do it, the whole process takes a half hour tops. Let me know if you need help with that.
I've reinstalled OSs before, there's generally a lot more to it to get it running like before. For starters, half the config files don't work properly on the new OS because the application versions are different, unless you're just switching between Ubuntu flavors.
I switched from Fedora to Arch, restored my config for i3wm, polybar, firefox, brave, picom, ranger, vifm, and a whole bunch other apps, no issues with version compatibilities. Which apps did you have problems with?
Because my laptop has no screen, thus I'm blind until the Nvidia driver loads.
Sounds about right, especially with AMD drivers. Windows 10 messes them up and nukes the os, leaving linux as the only thing that works on my PC lol
Rolling release means I never have to reinstall linux. Unless it breaks and I don't know how to fix it. So far It's been 1 year on Arch.
What does the release cadence have to do with that?
A rolling release Linux distribution continuously provides updates as they become available, without the need for an OS re-installation to get the latest released version.
You can update a standard release distribution just fine, no need to reinstall anything. It does basically the same thing as a rolling release, just not as often and more packages at once.
6 years on Arch with no re-installs. Most reliable distro I've used. 👍
That’s impressive! What’s your setup like, I’m assuming you don’t have too many unnecessary packages installed to minimize the time spent troubleshooting issues?
Very subtle "arch btw"
Me after my fifth dkstro hop
Accurate, distrohopping is quite the hobby
I had a perfectly working Debian desktop a year ago but I still wanted to try out fedora. I thought I found the perfect distro. Fast forward 3 different distros later. I'm now on MicroOS. I promise this will stay for a while. (Will it?)
Started with Slackware 1, then RedHat 4 (non-el) and when that needed a re-install on a major upgrade, switched to Debian. (In '95-'96). Only re-installs I did since then were after failing hardware or on new systems. (Tried Ubuntu once, that system runs Debian now ;) )
Rolling upgrades are great, but leave a mess, which is why I do a clean install on new systems. (Unless the laptop dies and the storage still works, then that is transplanted with the idea of just copying data and ends up main disk until the setup dies)
I have been going through this dance for the last year, and I swear if not for clip studio I would have already dumped windows a long time ago. I have found an alternative for almost everything else (OneNote, Premiere, etc) but dammit, those vector layers are like a lifeline for me.
Blender's grease pencil is looking very appealing, but it's sheer scale e scaring the shit out of me lol
I've been thinking of going back to linux off and on again. The last time I did it, the games I wanted didn't work on Linux but that was, primarily Halo Infinite, but at this point most of those games suck. I'll have to check if Diablo will work and I'll especially be upset if Started doesn't work, but Linux is very enticing again.
The other issue I had last time was seeing fan curves was a nightmare, so I'll just have to find a good tool for that.
Since switching to Arch Linux distros I've never felt the need to re-install. Arch has also been the most reliable distro for me which flies in the face of convention that rolling distros can be unreliable.