I recently faced a power failure that corrupted my Windows 10 installation on my desktop, so I'm considering switching to Linux. Thankfully, my data is safe, but I need an operating system that can smoothly interact with my files.
I've dabbled with Linux briefly in a Debian VM and have worked on Raspberry Pi projects using piOS, so I'm somewhat familiar with basic commands like cd, ls, mv, and touch.
I have a complete AMD setup and juggle various tasks including coding in VS Code, drawing in CSP, electrical engineering with KiCad, gaming on Steam (including VR with my Valve Index), as well as using FreeCad for 3D modeling and Creality Print for my 3D printer.
Some friends recommended Linux Mint with Cinnamon, but it seems like it might have issues with SteamVR compatibility. Can anyone suggest a suitable Linux distro that meets my diverse needs?
1 Answer
You might want to check out Big Linux. It's designed for beginners and gamers and is based on Manjaro. However, Valve seems to have had issues with SteamVR on Linux for quite a while, so it's a bit hit or miss. There's also Nobara, which focuses on being gaming-friendly and is based on Fedora.
As for Linux Mint, I don't see why it wouldn’t work for VR, but many think SteamVR support is just lacking on Linux in general. I had some success with VR titles like Beat Saber and Ultrawings 2, but there were definitely some that just wouldn’t play well.
I heard that the SteamVR page indicates that Ubuntu support isn’t great. You might want to double-check that before making a decision.