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.
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.