I used Windows for most of my computing, but I've been learning Linux and have tried Debian-based systems and CachyOS. I recently installed CachyOS on a new drive and accidentally selected multiple desktop environments, which left me with several duplicate applications—multiple terminals, calculators, image viewers, and so on. Removing the extra desktop environments did not remove everything they installed.
I'm also having problems with my microphone, which only records static, and browsers and games such as Rocket League have crashed. I'm considering switching to Fedora because it seems stable, privacy-conscious, and suitable for gaming. I use an Intel Arc GPU, so I'd especially like to know about gaming and driver support, as well as how much setup is required for optimized performance. Does Fedora provide convenient gaming packages, or would I need to install everything manually?
I'm also curious whether Bazzite adds more gaming-related software than I need, and whether I should try a tiling window manager such as i3 or niri. I'm planning to test Fedora from a live USB first. My current desktop environment is KDE Plasma, and since the CachyOS installation is still new, changing systems would be relatively easy.
4 Answers
Switching to Fedora is reasonable if you prefer a more conservative release model, but it will not automatically fix every configuration problem. Fedora KDE should be a good general-purpose choice, and gaming tools such as Steam, Proton, Vulkan packages, and graphics drivers can be installed without too much trouble. Intel Arc support generally improves with newer kernels, Mesa, and firmware, so keeping the system updated matters.
Before committing, test the live environment with your microphone, display, Wi-Fi, and a few applications. If Fedora behaves better on your hardware, install it. If not, a clean CachyOS installation with one desktop environment is also a valid solution.
The duplicate applications are probably mainly because multiple desktop environments were installed together. Each DE brings its own default utilities, and uninstalling the DE later does not always clean up every application or dependency. A reinstall with only KDE Plasma selected and a minimal package set would give you a much cleaner CachyOS system. You can always add the programs you actually want afterward.
For the microphone, check PipeWire and a mixer such as pavucontrol or pwvucontrol. Make sure the correct input device and profile are selected before assuming the distribution is at fault. Intel Arc performance is also heavily dependent on the state of the graphics drivers, not just the distribution itself.
I didn’t notice a minimal-install option the first time, but I’ve decided to try Fedora anyway. I’m more comfortable learning new things than dealing with a rolling-release system that keeps becoming unstable.
Don’t choose Bazzite solely because it is marketed for gaming. In many games, the performance difference between a regular Fedora-based system and a gaming-focused distribution is small, often only a few frames per second. Bazzite can be convenient, but it also has a more opinionated and immutable setup, so standard Fedora may suit you better if you want to choose every installed component yourself. Nobara and other gaming-oriented systems can also include more preinstalled software than you need.
i3 and niri both require learning keyboard-driven workflows and configuring things yourself. i3 uses traditional tiling, while niri uses a scrolling layout and tends to feel more modern out of the box. Niri may be easier to understand if its scrolling model appeals to you, but neither is as immediately complete as KDE. I’d get the base system and audio working first, then experiment with a tiling compositor later rather than changing several major parts at once.
I’m not against learning Linux, but several things on the current installation broke while I was trying to configure them. I’ll compare both systems from live USB sessions and go with whichever is more reliable on my hardware.