this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2023
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Trying to find the right Linux distro: What do you think I need to research more? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by confusedwiseman@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.world
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Good morning everyone. I've got the age old question of what distro should I use. I got started with Ubuntu and eventually moved to Linux Mint Cinnamon. I'm pretty happy with using it as a daily driver, and it's worked reasonably well with my NVIDIA graphics card. I enjoy a bit of the "it just works" I've experienced here, though there's been a few things I've had to address with light usage of the terminal; using the right audio out by default, and disabling HDMI video sources I'll never use. I'd say I'm probably somewhere in the beginner-moderate capability for use of terminal.

I've got Fedora, Debian, Majaro, Gentoo, Ubuntu, and Kali (not a daily driver) installed in virtualbox as VMs. Linux will be used as my daily driver and must accommodate occasional steam gaming. I don't want dual boot windows on my machine, it living in a VM is adequate for any one-off needs.

I think I'm going between Debian and Fedora, though I think Debian might be the way I'm leaning, as I want to get further upstream in the communities. I don't know how to explain it, but I feel a bit "bored" with mint. I think I'm eyeballing some of the fun stuff that exists in KDE.

This machine is my daily driver and used for work, so as long as I can get the basics in place to connect to my work VM through Horizion I'm OK. I do have a backup device to use for work in a pinch.

Laptop/setup overview:

  • 9th gen intel I7 processor
  • 64GB RAM
  • NVIDIA GForce RTX-2060
  • Generic style USB3.0 DisplayLink docking station
  • Secondary display link device
  • I'm running two 34" 4k monitors (3440x1440) side by side, another output on an HDMI duplicator running a 27" and a 55" 4k tv (,1920x1080) and the laptop display (1920x1080) is the 5th screen) so far working as intended, but I can't get only the built in display to run at 125% scale without affecting the others.

Should I be looking at ways to better customize Mint, or am I on the right path looking at Debian and Fedora? Are there other disros I should be evaluating?

EDIT: I think what I'm wanting is something that gets new features more frequently, yet doesn't become unstable. I feel drawn to the desktop eye-candy that I see getting featured with KDE desktops. I seem to believe I'm missing out on something, but can't directly state what.
Ultimately, I think I simply want to move to a more core/upstream version of Linux so that I get new functionality faster. I'm trying to find what I desperately need but never knew it existed.

EDIT2: Thanks everyone I really appreciate all the info and it's given me a better perspective on what to do next on my learning journey. It's fun, because there's so much to choose from and each has its own sprit.

EndeavorOS has been installed as a VM, and Fedora's KDE Spin in progress!

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[–] PrinzMegahertz@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think people will need some more user requirements from you than „not as boring as Mint“. I have no idea what it is you want ans assume that people will just recommend their favorite distro

[–] confusedwiseman@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Very good point! I made an edit to attempt to better answer, but in reality, I don't think I know exactly what I want. I've seen a lot of distros labeled as beginner-level, but I think that primarily means that there's more capability around UI available to support configuration and package management. Am I limiting myself and what I can learn by staying where I am? Maybe I'm just in decision paralysis because I already could do ANYTHING what with I've got, I just need to figure out what I want to do.

[–] ipacialsection@startrek.website 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If you really want to learn Linux, you can use any (actively maintained desktop) distro to learn just about everything. Beginner friendly just means the default software is enough to do everything a typical user wants to do, in a way that is likely to be intuitive even if they recently switched from Windows or OS X. Installing and configuring something like Arch or Gentoo can be a good way to learn more about how Linux works, and some distros like Debian or Arch are better as a starting point for customization than a beginner distro, due to having less pre-configured cruft to work around. But you aren't limited by using Mint, unless you choose to limit yourself.

[–] throwawayish@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

EDIT: I think what I’m wanting is something that gets new features more frequently, yet doesn’t become unstable. I feel drawn to the desktop eye-candy that I see getting featured with KDE desktops. I seem to believe I’m missing out on something, but can’t directly state what. Ultimately, I think I simply want to move to a more core/upstream version of Linux so that I get new functionality faster. I’m trying to find what I desperately need but never knew it existed.

Thank you OP for clarifying! Distros that are closer to upstream, but still accomplish 'stability' (often through hand-holding) and on which KDE has great support would be (in alphabetical order):

  • Fedora's KDE Spin: Has a semiannual point release cycle, but still continues to get updates to kernel etc almost as soon as they come. Therefore it's sometimes referred to as semi-rolling release. In the middle out of these three in regards to how close it is to upstream.
  • openSUSE Tumbleweed: Sets out to be the stable rolling release; thus receiving a constant stream of updates without foregoing stability. Perhaps surprisingly to some, it accomplishes this rather gracefully. Being on a rolling release enables it be the closest to upstream between these three.
  • Ubuntu (their KDE flavour is more popularly known as Kubuntu): Also has a semiannual point release cycle, but mostly foregoes updates besides security-related ones and the ones received for snaps. It is the furthest away from upstream out of these three.

A lot more can be said concerning the differences between these three distros. However, working with them either from inside a VM or through a Live USB is probably a lot more valuable. All three are great picks, so you should be fine regardless.

Please feel free to inquire if you so desire!

[–] confusedwiseman@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thank you for this. I'll definately check out Fedora's KDE spin. I have used Kubuntu in the past, but it was back a bit and I got attached to Linux Mint.

A lot of negatives seem to come up around Oracle and Canonical being involved with SUSE and Ubuntu, but probably isn't a huge deal in the greater picture.

[–] throwawayish@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

A lot of negatives seem to come up around Oracle and Canonical being involved with SUSE and Ubuntu

Fedora also has connections to Red Hat, so yeah 😅. I didn't even know Oracle had anything going with SUSE before the recent 'alliance' of sorts in reaction to what Red Hat has done recently. Was that what you meant or has SUSE being working with Oracle for a longer time?

[–] JTskulk@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Just pick Debian or endeavor.

[–] confusedwiseman@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Thanks, adding endeavor to the list to try out.

[–] Thyrian@ttrpg.network 3 points 1 year ago

Kde is a good choice if you enjoy configuring you Desktop. Also it works nicely with some extra desktop tools like cairo docks.

When you try KDE yoi should definitly try out KDE Connect, it is a nice way to connect you phone and your Laptop.

If you are just looking for something modern looking, you could also try deepin. (but dont use original distro because of privacy).

[–] goffy59@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Fedora SilverBlue is pretty amazing and stable. Be sure to use flatpaks. Itd an immutable distro so there are some differences in usage. I layer a couple rpms over the base os but other than that its all flatpaks. I love it. I usrd to use regular fedora workstation and before that popos which i also love. Gnome is the way to go... If you like windows style use dash to panel ext and arcmenu and desktop icons ng ext. Nobara is alsp a solid choice if you specifically like to game. You can game on all distros tho. But nobara is super sexy option. Popos is great too. My recommemdation is fedora silverblue.

[–] ipacialsection@startrek.website 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Most of what you can do with Debian and Fedora, you can also do with Mint. You can even install KDE on Mint, and configure it however you want. Debian is a bit nicer to customize, though, because it's extremely stable and most of its apps keep their "vanilla" configurations, or at least a configuration unlikely to cause bugs.

[–] throwawayish@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You can even install KDE on Mint, and configure it however you want.

Personally, I'd advice against this as KDE is not supported on Linux Mint. While this doesn't have to mean much, it does mean a lack of polish and sophistication you might expect on Kubuntu or Fedora's KDE Spin or openSUSE (on which KDE is the default DE). This might result in some edge-case bugs and other mishaps that might trample your experience; thus giving you the wrong idea about KDE. Instead; consider booting into a Live USB of any distro that comes with KDE by default.

[–] confusedwiseman@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thank you for calling this out in advance. I likely would have encountered this as I try to take the approach of research, then do.

This is the first time I've ever posted for Linux help/or guidance. Searching forums has historically lead me to an answer close enough to resolve my not-so unique issue.

[–] throwawayish@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

I likely would have encountered this as I try to take the approach of research, then do.

Props to you mate 👏 ! That's the way 😉 .

This is the first time I’ve ever posted for Linux help/or guidance.

Thankfully the community is very helpful in general, so you're in good company :blush: !

Searching forums has historically lead me to an answer close enough to resolve my not-so unique issue.

Yeah lol, we've all been there 🤣 .

[–] confusedwiseman@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Thanks, I'll give this a try with Mint, and I'll bet if I experiment in a VM first, I'll enjoy life a lot more when tying to do so to my core install. I don't know why I never really thought about putting a different DE on Mint, but it seems obvious once mentioned. It might be the easiest way to get a fresh feel in a baby-steps approach.