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Thinking about ditching Windows, finally. Thoughts? (hexbear.net)

submitted 2 weeks ago by joaomarrom@hexbear.net to c/technology@hexbear.net

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Hey comrades, I've just purchased a new motherboard and an MP44L SSD to put my OS and my currently-playing games in. The thing is, I also thought that this would be the perfect time to finally make the switch into Linux and a more FOSS-based approach to the time I spend using my computer.

I tried Linux like twenty years ago and did not adapt to it at all. Nowadays I'm much more knowledgeable about computers in a general way but I have a massive blind spot when it comes to Linux. I want to ditch Windows but frankly don't even know where to start the switch.

So I have the following questions, I hope you can help me figure things out:

1 - Is dual-boot a plausible thing? Like, having a Linux distro installed for everyday usage, and Windows for gaming only?

2 - Speaking of which, I've heard good things about gaming on SteamOS. What's going on with that? Honestly, I'm completely clueless and I thought it was a proprietary OS for the Steam Deck. Is it already available for PCs? Also, is it safe? I don't want to just switch the company that has me under their thumb from MS to Valve.

3 - Are there any pages / youtube channels / other kinds of resources you would recommend, so that I can do some learning?

Thanks!

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[–] trompete@hexbear.net 13 points 2 weeks ago

SteamOS is not really something you want to use on a PC, it doesn't have a good installer and general hardware support. There are couple of distros focused on gaming and that provide a SteamOS-like interface, like for example Bazzite. I have not used any of these, so I'm not going to recommend any. You can game perfectly fine on any Linux distro though, so there is no need to use a gaming distro. They mainly just come preinstalled with a bunch of gaming stuff that you can also install elsewhere, much of which you might not need.

General recommendation for the first time user is to just pick something popular, reasonably stable (i.e. not bleeding edge like Arch), and something that seems well maintained. Unless you like being thrown in the deep end in a sort sink-or-swim type situation (which works for some), in which case wipe Windows and install Arch.

I use and like Debian. If you want to install that read the installation guide at least, it's a bit more involved to install and set up that some others, but really low maintenance afterwards.

Also make a backup before you do anything.