Need Advice on a Distro for Gaming/Programming and Media Server
Alright guys, I'm going to do it. Today I'm ditching Windows and trying to run Linux exclusively as my daily driver.
Over the past few days I've been reading up a lot about different Linux distros and DEs with their unique quirks and update philosophy. But since I'm more drawn to some rather niche distros that might suit my needs, I still have some questions, because a lot of more in-depth information has been nuked in the reddit fallout.
Basically, I'm looking for the best out-of-the-box experience for my specific needs, because I don't really have the time to customize my OS from the ground up and have little Linux experience outside of docker. I also don't want to spend months distro hopping, because I need to get some productivity done.
So anyway, here's what I need from the distro out of the box:
Gaming:
Bleeding-Edge Nvidia driver support
VRR support for Multi-Monitor-Setups
Programming:
mostly web development, so no real needs other than an intuitive DE with a good workflow
Media Server:
I'm running Plex with Sonarr, Radar etc. with multiple streaming devices around the house and VPN remote access, since I'm doing this in docker anyway, this should hopefully not cause any problems no matter the distro
Tinkering:
while I want something that just works out of the box, I want freedom. My goal is to tailor the system to my needs and keep learning for months to come.
So, what it has come down to is that I'm currently looking at the following distros with their pros and cons, let me know if I go anything wrong here:
Pop! OS:
it's pretty and feature-complete out of the box
I actually like their spin on Gnome DE and its productivity features
probably the closest I'll get to "it just works" coming from windows
it's not bleeding edge, drivers might not be the newest and bugs might persist for long periods
their own version of Gnome has no VRR support
seems to be more of a locked-down environment and less "open" than other distros. Getting heavy Apple vibes
Nobara:
Everything I need for Gaming OOTB
Dev seems to have an insanely good reputation
It seems to be pretty open and basic, as it doesn't brand itself and is basically just fedora with pre-installed packages so you can just get going
VRR support for Gnome out of the box
As far as gaming and Nvidia support goes, probably closest to Bleeding-Edge you can get without going Arch
Fedora appears to be more limited for tinkering with a smaller selection of software and extensions
I don't really like the default customizations or lack thereof
Garuda
everything I need for Gaming OOTB
even more gaming and file system optimisations than Nobara does offer
most open environment of the three with endless amounts of customization
useful features to roll back problematic updates
does come off as "too playful" and bloated and thus untrustworthy, dunno how to explain. Seems more like a playground than a serious OS
EndeavourOS:
Basically lets be do whatever the fuck I want and doesn't hold my hand while at least providing a basic UI
Basically lets be do whatever the fuck I want and doesn't hold my hand while at least providing a basic UI
So basically, I'm looking for a distro that just lets me game with all the features (especially VRR) and do my work straight away but is as open as possible to customize and learn about Linux environments. It's going to be Arch (btw) isn't it? đŹ
If you have little Linux experience it makes no sense to use a niche distribution. You have a lot less people to ask for help, you will find less documentation and support and you will be frustrated really fast, because your niche distribution is doing something different than everyone else, which will break something and you cannot repair it. If you are a beginner go with one of the big ones.