Hey all, I’ve been thinking about making the jump from Windows to Linux as my daily-driver and I’ve been struggling on what distro to use.

On my laptop I’ve been using Fedora’s KDE Spin for a bit but I can’t say I really like KDE all that much. I took that Distrochooser test and 9/10 of the suggestions were all Ubuntu-based or Arch-based for some reason lol.

I would prefer a distro that “just works” but I’m not scared of having to troubleshoot or fix things. I guess I’m just looking to see what everyone else uses and what you all recommend. Thanks!

  • Cwilliams@beehaw.org
    0·
    9 months ago

    Options:

    • Linux Mint (Awesome first distro, but more out of date)
    • Pop!_OS (Great for gaming, based on Ubuntu)
    • Fedora Silverblue/Kinoite (Maybe later if your interested in immutability)
    • EndeavorOS (Maybe later once you understand the value of the AUR, more bleeding edge)

    Don’t use:

    • Ubuntu (bloat, snaps)
    • Manjaro (Don’t get me started…)
  • Ramin Honary@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    Distros that just work (although YMMV): Fedora, Mint, Ubuntu, Pop!_OS with the default desktop environments. I have been using Ubuntu and Fedora both (on different computers) for over 15 years now they each always get the WiFi and BlueTooth drivers right, neither ever has trouble with audio or video, they really just work, and they both are pretty well up-to-date with the latest stable versions of the biggest Linux apps in their repositories.

    I have been thinking of switching my Ubuntu computers over to Mint (Xfce edition, though Cinnamon isn’t bad), which uses the same base operating system package set as Ubuntu, but its ownership model is more collective and community-oriented. Fedora is also collectively owned, while Pop!_OS and Ubuntu are owned and operated by for-profit businesses – that doesn’t make them bad, it just might be something to consider.

    Also, if you don’t mind a shameless plug, I wrote a blog post on how to choose a Linux distro, so feel free to read if it pleases you.

  • SavvyWolf@pawb.socialEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    Imo Mint is the gold standard for a Distro that just works and meets the needs of most people.

      • Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        0·
        9 months ago

        What would you suggest is a better distro for a new Linux user? I’ve found Mint to be great out of the box, and only needs minor tweaks if you want the Microsoft fonts, for example.

      • SavvyWolf@pawb.socialEnglish
        0·
        9 months ago

        I mean, just in general.

        Besides Fedora (maybe) I’m not sure other non-deb distros really are recommended for new users.

        Besides that, like it or not, nowadays most software is distributed as deb files (until Flatpak fixes it). Using something not debian based requires learning how to port .deb files or use manual dependency resolution for tarballs.

  • 🧟‍♂️ Cadaver@lemmy.world
    0·
    9 months ago

    For something that “just works” and feels quite like home, without being KDE, I’d recommend Zorin.

    It’s stable, beautiful to look at and works as expected. I’d not recommend Arch-based distros to begin (but if you want to go the troubleshooting and fixing things way, that would be choice #1).

    Unpopular : I’d not recommend mint.

  • Tio@social.trom.tf
    0·
    9 months ago

    @Canadian_Cabinet www.tromjaro.com/ - you can try our distro. Based on Manjaro it has all you need to just use it. Enabled the Chaotic AUR repos, flatpaks, and our repo, thus you can find any linux app via one single place. Click and install. Plus we have a list of some 700 curated apps on our website www.tromjaro.com/apps/ - apps that are trade-free. Meaning no BS, no freemiums, no limitations, purely free apps.

    We made TROMjaro back in 2018 and kept it up to date since, plus developed our own tools like a Layout and Theme Switcher. See the homepage to get a more detailed idea about it.

    That’s all! :)

  • whaley@discuss.tchncs.de
    0·
    9 months ago

    I like Garuda. I use the dragonized theme and it makes it look similar to mac OS. IMO it’s as easy to use as any other justworks distro but is far prettier

  • jaeme@lemmy.ml
    0·
    9 months ago

    Universal Blue might be what you’re looking for. It’s a Fedora-based distribution based on ostree (same stuff for Silverblue/Kinoite). It has the leading edge system components of Fedora with the reliability of flatpak and ostree updates. I truly consider ostree to be the future of the Linux desktop.

  • Kory@lemmy.ml
    0·
    9 months ago

    Linux Mint and Pop!_OS are the most recommended beginner friendly distros that “just work” in my experience. That being said, before you install, you can try out the look and feel here: https://distrosea.com/

  • discusseded@programming.dev
    0·
    9 months ago

    I like fedora but I’m really loving opensuse tumbleweed on both my desktop and laptop. I have Nvidia rtx cards and support is just a few mouse clicks post-image. I get better FPS now than I did in Windows 11.

    • discusseded@programming.dev
      0·
      9 months ago

      Adding that zorin was great as well but it’s Debian-based so driver support was behind enough that some games wouldn’t launch for me.

  • joojmachine@lemmy.ml
    0·
    9 months ago

    Stick with Fedora, but give a shot to the Atomic variants (Silverblue, Kinoite, etc.) You can always switch DEs back and forth with one command. Even if you don’t stay with Fedora, it will help a lot for you to find the desktop environment that fits your workflow best (although I do recommend sticking with Fedora)