I'm looking to dip my toes into Linux alongside my current Windows setup. I have a Ryzen 5 5600 processor paired with an RTX 2070 Super, mainly using my PC for gaming and light browsing. My plan is to have two separate drives: one for Windows and another for Linux. I came across Nobara, which seems great for gaming, but I learned that it doesn't support secure boot. This got me thinking: if I disable secure boot to try Nobara, will I face any risks, especially regarding malware? I know I can keep Windows for games that require anti-cheat, but I'd rather not mess with enabling secure boot every time I switch back. Is it generally safe to disable secure boot while still using Windows regularly? And are there other distributions that work well out of the box but still support secure boot?
2 Answers
You can definitely run anti-cheat games on Windows with secure boot disabled. If you're worried about secure boot, many Linux distros can work with it if you’re okay with signing necessary drivers, like NVIDIA. Linux Mint is a good option; it just needs you to install and sign the drivers after it's set up!
I usually just turn secure boot off for my home desktop. It simplifies things a lot, and I haven't had any major issues with safety. Make sure you regularly back up your files, though!
So, I’d sign the NVIDIA drivers after Mint is installed, right?