Jokes aside - I was planning to do a Linux build, does that mean I should skip Ubuntu and go Mint? I’m going to be using the build for media and gaming (emulation)
Edit: I would like to thank you all for the responses, just goes to show how lovely the Linux community is! Will be trying Mint :)
There aren’t many reasons at all to use Ubuntu over Mint, and in fact there are many downsides to Ubuntu these days (package management and installation being the worst). Get a USB drive with at least 4(?) gb of space and make a live install of Mint then give it a whirl. Odds are it will meet your needs without a lot of effort.
I prefer mint over ubuntu. Also, I dont know about anyone else, but for me transition from windows to mint was easier than transition to ubuntu or pop os
I’d recommend Mint. Cinnamon is a great DE, and everything works out of the box. It’s a Debian-family distro, which means it can install DEB packages. Overall a great experience, and my personal favorite.
Mint is great if you want a Linux experience that works with minimal hassle. It uses the Cinnamon desktop environment that is similar to Windows UI. It also has lots of apps and settings that imitate Windows, so it should be intuitive. Ubuntu is also an easy transition for new Linux users, but not as intuitive as Mint, and it has been getting some critique lately for decisions made by the distro’s developer (Canonical). The decisions are likely not going to make much difference in your daily use as a new user, so I wouldn’t worry to much about that specific issue because Ubuntu is a great distro for new users as well. In fact, Mint is based off of Ubuntu. Additionally, Ubuntu Server is one of the most popular server builds because of its ease of use. If you are unsure, you can make a Live USB of each and try them out for a few days.
Tip: As a new user, it’s possible that you will eventually make a mistake or change to your build that you would like to undo. To undo easily when the time comes, make sure you set up Timeshift when you first install your build. It takes snapshots at whatever regular intervals you would like so that you can revert back to one when the time comes. It has saved me lots of frustration.
It hardly matters which distro you choose. I’ve been using Linux for almost 3 decades. I’d say there are a few categories you might consider.
If you like the older Windows looking UI, look for distros with DE’s that have that look.
If you don’t care about stability, then you might be okay with a distro that has a rolling release model.
Most distros have several DE’s that you can install and switch to, though the options are limited for some distros. That doesn’t mean you can’t do the work to get the DE built and installed yourself. Hardly anybody does that, but the point is it’s possible.
I go with a point release and then switch my kernel to update with the mainline and I do that with Mesa drivers as well for gaming. I think it’s better than going with a rolling release who’s stability is unknown at any given time.
For my work machine I go with the LTS Ubuntu. Then I enable live kernel updates. I’m a software developer and it seems like anything developer related is almost guaranteed to be packaging for Ubuntu. I can just add, for example, postgresql’s apt source to my apt source list. This gives me the latest postgresql tools even though I’m on the LTS version that is a couple years old. So, I’m stable with the latest tools and my kernel is updating live so I never have to reboot.
Anyways, all that to say, don’t worry too much about the distro you pick. You can generally just make them your own. You probably just want to pick a distro that gets you near what you want. That should save you from having to distro hop.
I’ve now tried Mint and Nobara KDE and Gnome variants. With Gnome 47, the scaling issue is fixed so it’s the nicest looking and with Nobara Gnome I’m getting solid performance too. Just one final thing I need to - HDR!
I hear you on that. My TV and SteamDeck support HDR and I can’t believe what a difference it makes. I’m not even one to care about such things, but I definitely noticed. Apparently HDR is experimental with the right vulkan extensions in Gnome 47. We are almost there. The devs at Gnome spend so much time debating everything and over analyzing things.
edit: I’ve not tried Nobara, and I’m not sure what you use your machine for, but if it’s the normal, boot computer to login screen, login to account, load Gnome, play games, desktop experience. Then you could add a Gamescope desktop session to your login screen. Instead of choosing gnome at login you would choose Gamescope. Just have your Gamescope session launch Steam BigPicture like the Steam deck does. Of course, if you don’t play your games through Steam then it’s kind of pointless. Also pointless if you are using your machine for productivity and work, haha.
Yeah I’m still familiarising myself with Linux at the moment, the choices are endless! I’m using the os for gaming and productivity. So essentially setting up Plex and Emulator plus Steam based gaming. Lutris has been amazing.
Nice. Sounds like you are getting your feet wet pretty good. When the next Gnome version drops, I might have to check out HDR. I saw there were mixed opinions on HDR for work and productivity.
tbh if you don’t plan on modifying your system much, you shouldn’t go with either, an immutable distro is pretty much unbreakable and is rapidly becoming the modern standard for a reason.
I agree, Linux Mint has been well done.
Mint isn’t well done, it’s full on congratulations
Jokes aside - I was planning to do a Linux build, does that mean I should skip Ubuntu and go Mint? I’m going to be using the build for media and gaming (emulation)
Edit: I would like to thank you all for the responses, just goes to show how lovely the Linux community is! Will be trying Mint :)
There aren’t many reasons at all to use Ubuntu over Mint, and in fact there are many downsides to Ubuntu these days (package management and installation being the worst). Get a USB drive with at least 4(?) gb of space and make a live install of Mint then give it a whirl. Odds are it will meet your needs without a lot of effort.
I prefer mint over ubuntu. Also, I dont know about anyone else, but for me transition from windows to mint was easier than transition to ubuntu or pop os
I’d recommend Mint. Cinnamon is a great DE, and everything works out of the box. It’s a Debian-family distro, which means it can install DEB packages. Overall a great experience, and my personal favorite.
I use LMDE btw.
Mint is great if you want a Linux experience that works with minimal hassle. It uses the Cinnamon desktop environment that is similar to Windows UI. It also has lots of apps and settings that imitate Windows, so it should be intuitive. Ubuntu is also an easy transition for new Linux users, but not as intuitive as Mint, and it has been getting some critique lately for decisions made by the distro’s developer (Canonical). The decisions are likely not going to make much difference in your daily use as a new user, so I wouldn’t worry to much about that specific issue because Ubuntu is a great distro for new users as well. In fact, Mint is based off of Ubuntu. Additionally, Ubuntu Server is one of the most popular server builds because of its ease of use. If you are unsure, you can make a Live USB of each and try them out for a few days.
Tip: As a new user, it’s possible that you will eventually make a mistake or change to your build that you would like to undo. To undo easily when the time comes, make sure you set up Timeshift when you first install your build. It takes snapshots at whatever regular intervals you would like so that you can revert back to one when the time comes. It has saved me lots of frustration.
Thank you so much!
i went from windows to mint, having a good time with it. This isn’t my first attempt at making the switch, but it is the last.
One of my previous attempts was with Ubuntu, and it looks like it would be easier if I was familiar with mac.
It hardly matters which distro you choose. I’ve been using Linux for almost 3 decades. I’d say there are a few categories you might consider.
If you like the older Windows looking UI, look for distros with DE’s that have that look. If you don’t care about stability, then you might be okay with a distro that has a rolling release model.
Most distros have several DE’s that you can install and switch to, though the options are limited for some distros. That doesn’t mean you can’t do the work to get the DE built and installed yourself. Hardly anybody does that, but the point is it’s possible.
I go with a point release and then switch my kernel to update with the mainline and I do that with Mesa drivers as well for gaming. I think it’s better than going with a rolling release who’s stability is unknown at any given time.
For my work machine I go with the LTS Ubuntu. Then I enable live kernel updates. I’m a software developer and it seems like anything developer related is almost guaranteed to be packaging for Ubuntu. I can just add, for example, postgresql’s apt source to my apt source list. This gives me the latest postgresql tools even though I’m on the LTS version that is a couple years old. So, I’m stable with the latest tools and my kernel is updating live so I never have to reboot.
Anyways, all that to say, don’t worry too much about the distro you pick. You can generally just make them your own. You probably just want to pick a distro that gets you near what you want. That should save you from having to distro hop.
I’ve now tried Mint and Nobara KDE and Gnome variants. With Gnome 47, the scaling issue is fixed so it’s the nicest looking and with Nobara Gnome I’m getting solid performance too. Just one final thing I need to - HDR!
I hear you on that. My TV and SteamDeck support HDR and I can’t believe what a difference it makes. I’m not even one to care about such things, but I definitely noticed. Apparently HDR is experimental with the right vulkan extensions in Gnome 47. We are almost there. The devs at Gnome spend so much time debating everything and over analyzing things.
edit: I’ve not tried Nobara, and I’m not sure what you use your machine for, but if it’s the normal, boot computer to login screen, login to account, load Gnome, play games, desktop experience. Then you could add a Gamescope desktop session to your login screen. Instead of choosing gnome at login you would choose Gamescope. Just have your Gamescope session launch Steam BigPicture like the Steam deck does. Of course, if you don’t play your games through Steam then it’s kind of pointless. Also pointless if you are using your machine for productivity and work, haha.
Yeah I’m still familiarising myself with Linux at the moment, the choices are endless! I’m using the os for gaming and productivity. So essentially setting up Plex and Emulator plus Steam based gaming. Lutris has been amazing.
Nice. Sounds like you are getting your feet wet pretty good. When the next Gnome version drops, I might have to check out HDR. I saw there were mixed opinions on HDR for work and productivity.
tbh if you don’t plan on modifying your system much, you shouldn’t go with either, an immutable distro is pretty much unbreakable and is rapidly becoming the modern standard for a reason.
Try out bazzite, i highly recommend it.