I’m sick of Windows, and especially what it’s become, and the way its trending looks like it will only get worse. I’ll be building a brand new PC this summer and want to choose a Linux Distro instead. In preparation, I’d like to try out a virtual machine with a Linux distribution. I am solidly familiar with Ubuntu, but I think it’s time to try something that may cater to my specific needs more.
I use my machine for work and gaming (mostly Steam). I am a fullstack software developer and use a second MacBook as well for my daily work needs.
I’ve had Manjaro, and OpenSUSE recommended to me by a friend who likes both of them but he doesn’t game much and doesn’t need various software development tools.
Are Manjaro or OpenSUSE good choices? I know there’s a tonne of distros out there, and I’m trying to narrow things down a bit. Hopefully this community has some helpful advice.
Thanks in advance!
The problem with alternatives is that every step towards another alternative loses a huge number of distro users, leading to insufficient manpower. If I were you I’d stick with recommending Manjaro. But if Manjaro’s untrustworthy then maybe something even more mainstream.
I typically recommend pop!_os over Manjaro
Realistically, though, most distros will work well for gaming if you install steam, proton-up, and maybe lutris so long as you don’t need Nvidia drivers
Most distros will work well with Nvidia drivers too.
Yeah I mostly said that because some distros have different difficulty getting them last I checked, but the wording was unclear to say the least
You make a good point about users. Mint, Ubuntu, Arch and Manjaro top the Steam Survey usage stats but Arch and Ubuntu have double the users of the other two, and it drops off very sharply after that.
It’s a sad phenomenon.