Thinking about switching from Windows to Linux for privacy and gaming—what should I expect?

You’ll generally need to reinstall your applications because Windows programs aren’t automatically usable on Linux. Many common apps have Linux versions or alternatives, but Microsoft Office, Adobe software, specialized hardware tools, and some professional applications may be difficult or impossible to run properly. Research the programs you depend on before wiping Windows.

Linux may leave you with somewhat more free RAM at idle, but don’t expect that alone to transform gaming performance. Some games perform similarly, while others can lose a little performance or have compatibility issues. Before changing operating systems, check whether background browsers, overlays, or other programs are using your memory. Whatever you choose, make a complete backup to an external drive first, and avoid running games directly from an NTFS Windows partition if possible; a Linux filesystem such as ext4 or Btrfs is generally more reliable.

Linux Mint is a very approachable choice for someone coming from Windows. It has a familiar desktop and generally avoids making the transition unnecessarily complicated. Other options, such as Fedora KDE, Kubuntu LTS, or Bazzite, can also be good depending on whether you prefer newer software, longer-term stability, or a gaming-focused setup.

You don’t necessarily have to redownload every Steam game. You can copy the game folders to another drive, install Steam on Linux, point it at the library, and let Steam verify the files. It may still download updates or repair a few files, so a clean reinstall is sometimes less troublesome. Steam Cloud should preserve supported save data, but back up important saves and personal files separately.