Which Linux Distributions Are Best for Gaming and NVIDIA Graphics?

Fedora with KDE is the top choice for my Optimus laptop (integrated Intel and NVIDIA graphics). Ubuntu and Debian gave me some hibernate troubles with NVIDIA drivers, but Fedora worked like a charm after a bit of setup.

I’d suggest going with Fedora Linux with the KDE desktop. Since you're studying computer science, you should be able to follow some documentation or YouTube tutorials to sort out any initial issues, especially since the proprietary repositories aren't enabled by default. For your NVIDIA drivers, you can install them from the hardware section in the package manager after enabling the extra repositories, but you might need to manually set that up first through RPM Fusion. Just watch a tutorial, and it should be smooth sailing after that!

For the 5070, I would recommend going with Pop!_OS or Cachy, both of which should handle your needs well.

If you're looking for user-friendliness, Pop!_OS is an excellent choice, especially for systems with both iGPU and dGPU like yours. Linux Mint is a solid option too for general use. But if gaming is your main focus, PikaOS could be worth checking out!

I have a great experience running Ubuntu with graphics cards similar to yours. It works flawlessly!

For an easier experience, I recommend OpenSUSE Leap or Tumbleweed, as they have partnered with NVIDIA for driver support, which should work well with your Lenovo setup. You can find more info on their website about the NVIDIA drivers installation.