I've been inspired to switch to Linux as my daily driver after watching some videos, particularly from LinusTechTips, and I want some guidance on this. Here's my system: I have an Intel i5 12400f processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, an RTX 3060 graphics card, and a solid storage setup with a 500GB NVMe and 1.3TB of HDD cold storage (with no Windows-specific data).
What I'm looking for:
- **Gaming:** I enjoy FPS games, but I also love story-driven games like Red Dead Redemption, The Last of Us 2, and Grand Theft Auto V & IV.
- **Productivity:** I mostly use SketchUp with Twinmotion, Solidworks, and I'm currently learning Blender.
- For editing, I'm good with Davinci, Affinity V3, and Adobe Photoshop.
I need help picking a Linux distribution from the following options: Arch, catchyOS, Pop!_OS, or Debian. Also, any general advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading my post! I've previously tried Linux on an old laptop and found lightweight distros like Zorin OS Lite to be better suited for that setup.
4 Answers
You really need to consider whether you’re ready to learn and adapt to Linux. If you're open to that, then go for it! But if you’re hesitant, staying with Windows is perfectly fine too. Just be prepared for a learning curve!
Absolutely, yes! I'm enjoying my Linux experience more on my PC than my laptop. I'm currently using a VM, but I’m excited to dive deeper into Linux as my main OS.
That's great to hear! You’ll love it!
Try making a bootable USB with Ventoy to test your applications on Linux. If everything works fine, then go ahead and switch. You can always fall back on Windows if needed!
Great suggestion, I'll give that a shot!
I started with Bazzite and later moved to Fedora for better customization. It had a smooth learning curve for me, and while there might be some trade-offs for FPS gaming, it’s manageable. Just pick a distro you like and follow guides to get started!
Thanks, I really appreciate the insight!

I enjoy challenges, but I've heard using Linux with Nvidia can be tricky. I’ve set up a VM for now, and I'm actually starting to enjoy it!