Hey everyone! I've got a gaming desktop running Windows 11 with a powerful GPU, but I also have a laptop mostly for portability where I'd like to dive deep into Linux. While I enjoy gaming, I'm also trying to get a better grip on networking through tools like Packet Tracer. I'm really into Linux Mint and EndeavourOS but I'm torn on how to set everything up. Should I just go for a bare metal install of Linux and run Windows in a VM for any games or software that won't run on Linux? Or would dual-booting be a better solution? I've struggled with Wine and other compatibility layers for certain apps, and it's starting to get overwhelming. Any advice?
2 Answers
One solid approach is to grab an inexpensive older computer, maybe under €100, just to play around with Linux on. This way, you can experiment freely without risking your main setup.
When I first transitioned, I bought a low-end used i5 PC to run Linux. I installed my favorite distro, played around with desktop sharing, and whenever I had to do something on my main Windows machine, I’d see how to replicate it on Linux. The trick is to take it slow and not do everything at once; focus on learning one task at a time. Eventually, I migrated most of my tasks over to Linux, and it worked out really well for me.
Totally agree, starting slow means less overwhelm!