I'm building a new PC and have just bought a 5070 Ti graphics card. I'm ready to switch to Linux, but I'm stuck between Pop!_OS and Mint. While I plan on doing some light gaming, my main focus will be on art and animation using Clip Studio Paint and Blender. I'm concerned about hardware compatibility as well—I'm considering an MSI X870E-P Pro motherboard with a Ryzen 9 9950X, but I haven't found much info on whether it works well with Linux. I noticed the Gigabyte X870E Aorus Elite has been reported to work with Linux. Should I just go for that upgrade to be on the safe side? Are there any other hardware compatibility concerns I should be aware of?
4 Answers
Why not try out Catchy OS or Bazzite? They have custom optimizations specifically for Nvidia GPUs, which could help with your gaming and creative tasks.
If you're working with a 5070 Ti and a new X870E board, consider using CachyOS instead of Mint or Pop!_OS. It's tailored for gaming and handles Nvidia support more smoothly on newer hardware, making it suitable for heavy tasks like Blender. Mint is reliable but not optimized for the latest GPUs, while Pop!_OS is decent but takes longer to update. Just make sure to check your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chipsets for compatibility—some of the Realtek or MediaTek stuff can be tricky on Linux.
For brand new hardware like yours, you might find that both Pop!_OS and Mint could be a little outdated since they are based on older Ubuntu LTS versions. I usually recommend going with AMD GPUs unless there's a smashing reason to stick with Nvidia. New Nvidia hardware and older distros don't always mix well, so it's something to keep in mind.
How familiar are you with Linux? As mentioned, dealing with newer hardware might have its quirks. If you're not very experienced, trying out Linux on a virtual machine or using a live USB on older hardware might be useful. This way, you can get comfortable without risking anything.
I'm pretty novice with Linux. My plan was to use a USB boot to explore, but I'm not sure what I'd learn from an older setup aside from the basics.
I couldn't find either of those distros. Since I'm quite new to Linux (apart from dabbling with Ubuntu a few years ago), I've heard that Mint and Pop!_OS are often recommended for beginners. What special features do those other distros have for Nvidia? It could be worth exploring.