Thinking About Switching to Linux: Dual Booting, Distros, Gaming, and Security

Linux gaming is pretty good now. Most Steam and many indie games work through Steam Play/Proton, and itch.io games usually work if they have Linux builds or run properly through a compatibility layer. Games with strict kernel-level anti-cheat are the main problem; examples often include competitive titles such as Valorant, Fortnite, some Call of Duty releases, and League of Legends. ProtonDB and AreWeAntiCheatYet can help you check specific games, and Heroic Launcher is useful for some Epic and GOG libraries.

Yes, keeping Windows and Linux on the same computer is called dual-booting. When the machine starts, a boot menu lets you choose which system to launch. Using separate storage drives for each operating system is generally safer and easier to manage, and you should back up important files before changing partitions or installing Linux.

Mint and Ubuntu are both reasonable starting points. Mint often feels familiar to Windows users and is lightweight, while Ubuntu tends to support newer hardware well but may include more preinstalled software. The best choice is partly personal preference, so you can try either one from a bootable USB drive before installing it. If gaming is your main priority, a gaming-focused distribution such as Bazzite is another option worth considering.

Linux has strong security defaults, but it isn’t magically immune to malware. You still need to avoid suspicious downloads and links, install software from trustworthy sources, keep the system updated, and think carefully before running commands or programs. Most distributions include firewall tools, and browsers such as Firefox paired with an ad-blocker can improve everyday privacy and safety. Linux’s security also benefits from its permissions model and the smaller amount of malware targeting it.

You can switch distributions later. Usually that means downloading another distribution’s ISO, writing it to a USB drive, and installing it, so make backups first because a replacement install can erase the existing system. You can test distributions from a USB without installing them, and you can also change desktop environments without replacing the entire distribution. Moving between distributions is possible, but it is not always a simple in-place upgrade.