I'm considering moving from Windows 11 Home to Linux because the system feels bloated and my heavily modded Minecraft setup performs poorly. The laptop is an ASUS VivoBook 15 X515EA with an 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7, integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 512 GB NVMe SSD. Which beginner-friendly distribution would you recommend, and should I dual-boot or replace Windows entirely?
2 Answers
For a first installation, Ubuntu or Linux Mint would both be sensible choices. Before replacing Windows, boot the distribution from a USB drive and check that Wi-Fi, audio, graphics, suspend, and other hardware work properly. Dual-booting first is a safer way to test everything. Also, 8 GB of RAM may be a bigger limitation for heavily modded Minecraft than Windows itself. Linux can reduce some overhead, but it won’t completely solve a modpack that needs more memory.
Thanks, I’ll dual-boot for now and test it before making any bigger changes.
The exact distribution matters less than people often suggest, since most major options can run the same software. Ubuntu is a straightforward starting point, while Kubuntu is worth considering if you enjoy customizing the desktop. Minecraft should run on Linux, although the official installer can occasionally be troublesome; using a reputable launcher or following a known fix may be necessary.
A lighter desktop such as Mint XFCE or Xubuntu could use a little less memory than Cinnamon or GNOME, which may leave more RAM available for the game.