I run linux on my gaming rig. I've had the best luck with performance of graphics cards with manjaro and pop. I am not a huge fan of gnome and prefer kde (FWIW, gnome works fine, I just prefer the feel of kde).

With the above in mind, I really like the newness of the packages on rolling distros like Manjaro/arch. Yes, it can break things but Manjaro tends to be a bit behind Arch on releases -- maybe this helps? The AUR is awesome. I also like several of the gui tools Manjaro has implemented to make graphics driver installs simpler.

Pop worked really well and was simplier for gaming -- especially on devices with hybrid graphics.

That being said, I haven't used Mint since the forums were hacked. I haven't used Ubuntu since they started devaluing their users (integrated Amazon?, forcing snap?). Fedora is nice but I found pop/manjaro better for gaming due to graphics support.

My advice to you -- what you are asking is one of the main benefits of linux -- personal choice.

So... get out your USB stick and try them. Use the forums to help you with the nuances and make each work for your needs. Then see what you prefer. Then donate to that project and its base project.

It's awesome to have choice.

I don't know much about the console and such magic which probably makes me not exactly predestined for an Arch-based distro with the AUR where I feel like you can break more than in some more common ones like Mint. Despite that, I have been on Manjaro for years now, still learned only the very basics, but have not found a more stable distro that works so well out-of-the-box with some of the newer hardware I have (or had, it's hardly new anymore). Also, I did in fact find the repos combined with careful use of the AUR to be satisfying.

I did distro-hop a lot especially in the beginning of my Linux adventure and was on Mint for a couple of years as well. And that's what I generally recommend to the other non-tech-savvy folks around me as well: Just try a bunch of the top distros on Distrowatch for a couple of weeks. They all have their advantages and disadvantages but eventually you'll figure out what it really is that you want from a distro and which ones work properly with your hardware – and you'll learn about some fixes for common issues which helps the learning about Linux in general.

There are probably folks who know much more than me who can tell you if Manjaro is objectively better than its bad reputation but from my personal experience as a fellow Linux noob: I found it very stable, decently accessible and the KDE spin with its many themes absolutely beautiful.

It's been good for me. It has broke a couple of times, but it seemed pretty in par for any Linux distro. For me it was time to re-install. It has a cool package called "gnome-layout-switcher" that mimics popular desktops.

I moved because Debian was somewhat boring, Ubuntu was busy trying to make stuff nobody wanted. RPM based distros were bought by Oracle or IBM and felt like "old hat", ha ha sorry. Arch was the goal but I was feeling lazy so Manjaro it was. I'll probably try another Arch based distro because pacman tools are pretty good.

distro for noobs