To those who think linux isn't as good as windows (and may have even used linux before): linux has evolved a lot in the last decade. 2014 linux isn't current year linux. Linux can play virtually all your windows games with Proton (which is built in to Steam), and a ton of windows programs with Wine / Bottles.
Most "just werks"/beginner distros are easier than windows with less troubleshooting (i'd sooner give linux mint to my grandma than windows). Linux gives you options. If you dont like something you can change it. It's almost always free as in beer and as in freedom.
Linux is safer, faster, more sensible, more freeing, and more efficient (ex. downloading software from a distro's software store, converting files, being fast and responsive, being respectful to the user, not breaking, usually not needing to restart after updates, and thousands of other tiny things.)
Using windows again (which i've done recently for reasons below) is infuriating. You don't know how much windows sucks until you don't have to tolerate it anymore.
You do not need advanced knowledge of the terminal/command-line. Most of the distros can be demo'd from a live-USB without install. They'll be slower this way, but it can let you try linux before you go through with it. You can also try linux in a virtual machine, but that will also be slow.
Linux will come with learning pains, just as any new workflow will, but after it clicks you'll never want to go back.

Who is linux NOT for?: The ONLY people i do not recommend linux to are:

  • VR users (for now) (particularly oculus. If you're fine being on an older version of SteamVR, linux is fine.)
  • Users of games with kernel level anti-cheat that disallow linux
    (check Are We Anti-Cheat Yet to see if your game has anticheat, and protondb to see if your game has any available fixes (anti-cheat or otherwise), note that not all games with kernel level anti-cheat have this issue (for example, Rocket League, Fall Guys, and VR Chat are linux compatible). Most old windows games are easier to get working on linux, too.
  • Those looking to use the adobe creative suite software
    if this is you, you may want to stick with windows or MacOS (except photoshop, which has viable alternatives like Photopea, and Gimp 3. old versions of PS even works in wine with some elbow grease). If you'd like a premiere alternative, check out DavanciResolve (easy linux installer). Blender, Krita, and more are also great and work on linux, too.
  • Users of certain DAW or CAD software
    There are some that work on linux (DAWs, CAD software), but if you have one you absolutely need on another system, then use those. Though note Ableton has Silver compatibility, FLStudio has Gold compatibility, and Audodesk Fusion has Bronze compatibility in Bottles.
  • Those who need windows or mac for niche proprietary work/school software which might not work in wine or a virtual machine
    Try it first, wine may just work for the program. You can test it in a live demo with the distro running off USB without installing. If the software doesn't need a lot of system resources, then you may also be able to use a VM just fine.
  • blind users who rely on NVDA for accessibility
    Those who use NVDA will have trouble using linux outside of a virtual machine. Since NVDA relies on propietary windows APIs.

A Note for the Future:

  • VR will improve very soon (valve is rumored to be working on an oculus quest competitor which is linux based, which will lead to massive improvements in SteamVR on linux, as was the case with proton and the steamdeck).
  • Games with kernel-level anti-cheat that opt to ban linux players are unlikely to allow linux players to play any time soon, however new games that come out are likely going to want to support the steamdeck. Newer games which use kernel level anti-cheat seem to be made with linux in mind now. Fortnite, Roblox, and League of Legends are forever games though, so we'll see how it goes.

I either Duel-Boot windows or run it in a virtual machine for the above rare use cases.

Anyways, if you dont fall into any of the above parties, linux will work for your use case, i promise. Sometimes (rarely) it'll take some elbow grease to get something working on linux. However, more often than not it takes elbow grease to get something working on windows where it takes little or no effort on linux. Other times what you're looking to do is just impossible on windows.

A bonus note, all distros are kinda the same, but kinda not: The truth is, a lot of distros are the same and just provide different out of the box experiences.
Linux is open, so if you really want something, few distros will get in your way when you want to change things. It's really just about the updates you're getting, and what the out of the box experience is like. Pay attention to the Desktop Environment (which can always be switched out, technically. Though I like when they have good integration with the distro.) Xfce and cinnamon are kinda like windows, GNOME is kinda like MacOS, as is Cosmic. KDE is its own thing. see which you prefer.
Also, pay attention to if an operating system is based on arch, debian/ubuntu, fedora, etc. These are the only major things you really have to worry about, especially as a beginner. If you even choose to worry about them, anyways.
If you dont want to think about it, just get pop_os if you have a nvidia gpu, and pick between mint or pop_os if you have an amd gpu.
Just whatever one seems nicer to you.

Edit
Pub: 23 Jan 2024 08:02 UTC
Edit: 29 Apr 2025 11:40 UTC
Views: 74