Which Linux OS should I use?

Savi

Gawd
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Nov 11, 2009
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Hey, Building a new system based round 7700k and Asus Prime Z270-A, it has 2 M.2 Slots, and Really want to Dual Boot Win 10 and Linux, each on its own M.2 Drive. Just not sure which Version of Linux

I mainly Play Games, watch Vids, surf the web, etc. But I also want to make my own small Games, and mess around with programing and graphics. Want to make Linux my main for daily use and just use Windows for games that wont run as well on Linux or at all.

Which version is easier to start with and has a good app store....app repository I think its called?

Oh did valve give up on SteamOS? have not heard anything about it in a year or so

Any help be nice, total noob when it comes to Linux, last time I Tried it was about 15 years ago
 
I totally recommend an Ubuntu based distro, ie:

- Vanilla Ubuntu with Unity.
- Lbuntu.
- Kbuntu.
- Ubuntu Gnome (although I found Gnome a little restrictive TBH).
- Linux Mint.

And my favourite:

- Ubuntu MATE.

When it comes to dual booting, I recommend pulling one of your M2 drives when it comes to installing Windows and then pulling the Windows M2 drive and swapping it with the other when it comes to installing Linux - Switch between boot drives using the boot manager built into your PC's UEFI. It's the easiest, most trouble free way of doing things as I've found Windows to play havoc with other partitions when dual booting using GRUB.
 
I recommend Nvidia hardware if you plan on gaming under Linux, AMD drivers are improving, but at this point in time Nvidia is still the way to go under Linux.
 
Using a GTX 970 atm so should be ok there, Been Team Nvidia for years now, less problems usually

Might just have to try a few versions for a bit and see which I like. Ubuntu MATE and Mint MATE both seem nice, Not in a rush the parts for the new PC are coming next week so will do some more research Seems like a good idea to just use the UEFI to switch when needed. Will try that out
 
Using a GTX 970 atm so should be ok there, Been Team Nvidia for years now, less problems usually

Might just have to try a few versions for a bit and see which I like. Ubuntu MATE and Mint MATE both seem nice, Not in a rush the parts for the new PC are coming next week so will do some more research Seems like a good idea to just use the UEFI to switch when needed. Will try that out

If you are going to be developing/coding then debian. It will give you the most stable platform with the widest variety of software that will "just work" as it were.

Debian can be a bit much for a new linux user to setup and configure so if you just want to try it out I would recommend MX-16. That distro is based on debian stable with crazy easy setup and basically push button install of your nvidia and wifi drivers.

I have that same video card and I can tell you it works perfect on Fedora, Debian, and OpenSUSE.
 
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Hey, Building a new system based round 7700k and Asus Prime Z270-A, it has 2 M.2 Slots, and Really want to Dual Boot Win 10 and Linux, each on its own M.2 Drive. Just not sure which Version of Linux

I mainly Play Games, watch Vids, surf the web, etc. But I also want to make my own small Games, and mess around with programing and graphics. Want to make Linux my main for daily use and just use Windows for games that wont run as well on Linux or at all.

Which version is easier to start with and has a good app store....app repository I think its called?

Oh did valve give up on SteamOS? have not heard anything about it in a year or so

Any help be nice, total noob when it comes to Linux, last time I Tried it was about 15 years ago

The best thing you can do is try different distros out to see which fits you best. If you are looking for something similar to Windows in look and feel then Linux Mint, Ubuntu Mate, Open Suse are all good options. if you want something that will be a bit tougher to master but gives you more options then try Manjaro or Arch. If you love OS X then try Elementry OS. This is the best part of Linux in my opinion, all the different options and choices.
 
I have always been a big Slackware/Fedora fan. That being said, Ubuntu and Mint are both nice as well.

Really, the "best' one is the one your most familiar with, as you can always change/add/modify whatever piece of software you want to work.
 
I have always been a big Slackware/Fedora fan. That being said, Ubuntu and Mint are both nice as well.

Really, the "best' one is the one your most familiar with, as you can always change/add/modify whatever piece of software you want to work.

I've been meaning to throw Fedora 25 on my test system to see what I think of it. I've heard mixed things about it. Some call it the next coming of Jesus while others say it is buggy and unstable.
 
I've been meaning to throw Fedora 25 on my test system to see what I think of it. I've heard mixed things about it. Some call it the next coming of Jesus while others say it is buggy and unstable.

From everything I have seen and been told, if you are going to be coding and actually working in a linux environment you should be learning and coding on Fedora. If you are just coding for general Linux use you should be on Debian.

Also something something mumbling OpenSUSE, although I really like SUSE linux.

I stand by my earlier post though.
 
1.CentOS

2.OpenSUSE

3.Debian

But like Simmonz said, try different ones and see what suits you. Also note that a different Desktop Environment can make or break a distro no matter which one. I have found several distro's much more usable by using a different DE.

It's all like a LEGO set really. Just mix and match the little parts you want.
 
I've been meaning to throw Fedora 25 on my test system to see what I think of it. I've heard mixed things about it. Some call it the next coming of Jesus while others say it is buggy and unstable.

I really wanted to love Fedora but it seems that while each new edition comes with nice candy it tends to be broken in a nasty way somewhere.
 
I use Linux Mint 17 on laptop and my home PC with GTX 1080 and UltraWide Samsung 34 inch monitor. It works great and I can recommend it any day. I use it for SW development mostly but media consumption is also very good with it.

All devices I attached to it work great. So far big Brother color laser printer + ultrwide monitor + Artemis G933 headphones + Nvidia GTX 1080 + Logitech G502 mouse all works.
 
I've got some HP keyboard that I scored from a job I did, it's nothing fancy but I really like the feel of the keys. It has a FN key like a laptop to allow the function keys to offer additional functions like volume up and down, mute, sleep, etc. Under Ubuntu Mate all those keys work perfectly, I was most impressed.
 
I've got some HP keyboard that I scored from a job I did, it's nothing fancy but I really like the feel of the keys. It has a FN key like a laptop to allow the function keys to offer additional functions like volume up and down, mute, sleep, etc. Under Ubuntu Mate all those keys work perfectly, I was most impressed.

I have some no name keyboard with media keys and all those also works under Linux Mint :)
 
The only major problem I know of with Mint is the inability to use usb thumb drives effectively. It's a problem with Nemo that has been there since Mint 15...
 
You know what would be fantastic: Microsoft open sources direct X or even windows for that matter. Then I'd leave windows for linux and have gaming but it's a pipe dream: it'll never happen.
 
You know what would be fantastic: Microsoft open sources direct X or even windows for that matter. Then I'd leave windows for linux and have gaming but it's a pipe dream: it'll never happen.

That's the point of Vulkan.
 
Like so many have said, try a few and see which one you like. There are so many variations of potato out there. Personally I prefer Debian or Linux Mint Debian Edition. I haven't used it myself, but you could try SteamOS as well, since it's supposedly made for gaming.
 
Step 1: Put each of the recommended options on individual scraps of paper.

Step 2: Mix them all up in a hat (preferably a red fedora) then draw.

This is the one you should use, until you decide to try another in which case repeat Step 2.
 
I'm an Ubuntu fan, but also like Mint. It took me a while but I'm ok with Unity these days. Other options, as mentioned above are centos (if you want to get a feel for RHEL), any of the debian (ubuntu/mint) derivatives or centos/fedora for redhat. I personally don't know a single person that uses anything that isn't a redhat/debian derviative as far as linux goes. I think I know more people that use freebsd & openbsd...
 
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