I'm diving into the world of Linux and could use some guidance beyond the regular AI-generated or commercial videos out there. I've done some homework and narrowed it down to a few distros, but I want to make sure I choose the best one for my needs. Here's what I'm looking for: strong security and privacy, lots of options for personalization and customization, good performance for browsing and gaming, and compatibility for coding as I take classes (around 25 hours a month). While I prefer something that's beginner-friendly, I'm open to distros that might require some learning and troubleshooting. The distros I'm considering are Garuda (especially the Cosmic version), POP!_OS, Debian, and Zorin. I'm also curious about any additional suggestions or insights. Thanks in advance for the help!
2 Answers
Honestly, all the distros you've mentioned can handle your requirements, so it’s really about personal preference. Garuda is based on Arch, meaning it's up-to-date but potentially less stable. Pop!_OS is great for gaming, is Debian-based, and very reliable. Debian is the king of stability but lacks the latest features. Zorin is user-friendly and feels familiar to anyone coming from Windows or macOS, but similar to Debian, it runs outdated packages. If I had to recommend one from your list, I'd say go for Pop!_OS. It's both stable and current, while Garuda might give you some bumps along the road. Good luck finding the right fit!
The thing is, most distros are capable of doing pretty much anything you need, so your other requirements - aside from being beginner-friendly - don't really narrow things down much. Customizing the UI, for instance, mostly depends on which desktop environment you choose, not the distro itself. If you're looking for something easy to use right out of the box, those beginner-friendly distros will take care of the maintenance, while the more advanced ones expect you to handle system tasks. Your list is solid, but I’d throw in Fedora and Mint as well. Just remember that the differences between distros often come down to update frequency, what the dev team is like, what's pre-installed, and how you manage packages. Good luck!
Thanks for the insight! On a scale of 1-10, how difficult would you rate the sysadmin tasks? And how much prior IT experience do you have on that scale?