Hey everyone! I'm considering diving into Linux for the first time after seeing a ton of videos on different distros. I'm on the lookout for one that I can use for my daily tasks and might end up replacing Windows entirely. My laptop is mainly used for schoolwork, but I rely heavily on an Android emulator for accessing my notes, which is pretty much non-negotiable for me. I also enjoy gaming during my downtime, so solid driver support would be a big plus. My laptop is a TUF A14 with a Ryzen 7 8845HS and an RTX 4050, and I'm planning to install Linux on a separate SSD from Windows. Any suggestions on what distro I should go with? Initially, I'm leaning towards Fedora or Zorin OS, but I'm open to insights! I'm a tech enthusiast who enjoys tinkering, so I'm fine with a bit of hassle in installation or troubleshooting, even if I'm still a beginner. Thanks in advance for your help!
3 Answers
If you're looking for a beginner-friendly option, I'd recommend Mint or Ubuntu. Once you get the hang of things, you can explore other distributions from there! They both have good community support and are pretty easy to get started with.
Fedora and openSUSE could be great choices! If gaming is your main focus, you might want to look into Nobara, which is super optimized for that. Just be aware that Gentoo can be quite the challenge if you're up for it!
I've been using Fedora and really like it! But, I haven't used an Nvidia GPU with it yet. I've heard Nvidia can be tricky on Fedora due to frequent kernel updates that can mess with driver compatibility; it's often more straightforward with AMD or Intel. But don't let that discourage you; many people make it work!
Thanks for the insight! I’ve heard similar things about Nvidia support on Linux. It’s good to know it can be done, though.