so I've bought a new rig and am currently waiting for the last few parts to arrive.
I've always been a MS sheep out of convenience but seeing how stupid win10 is and the fact that I'm not 12 anymore, I really want to replace it with gnu/linux.
the problem is, I have no idea what distro to pick.
I mainly use the PC for either playing games or working on game projects, as well as webdesign for work.
I've read up some shit and watched comparison videos and saw that some linux supported games run faster and better on ubuntu 15.x.x compared to win10, however I really dislike the touch and feel of ubuntu.
Since you guys know a thing or two about gnu/linux distros, I figured I might as well ask for your oppinion
>inb4 back to /v/
>>52346515
Ubuntu 15.10
Xubuntu 15.10
Linux Mint 17.3
Fedora 23
Manjaro 15.12
Remember to read the man pages and Google your queries. These mainstream distros are widely covered and many people have resolved issues faced by beginners.
Arch
>>52346642
There is always that guy recommending Arch to newbies.
>>52346642
I'm new, not retarded
>>52346633
appreciate it, I'll look into them!
>>52346633
Also OpenSUSE
>>52346515
Depends on what you want.
Mint if you want to have a typical windows install's equialent of stuff available to you without installing anything extra.
Arch or Gentoo (I'm being serious) if you want to actually learn about using it properly and not just copypasting commands.
>touch and feel
is so unspecific that I don't know what exactly you even mean. If you mean that you don't like Unity's dock and stuff, Xubunu and Mint are probably more comfortable to a Windows user.
If your main use is playing games and working on game projects, you should make sure your games and tools are available for Linux.
>>52346689
I have never personally tested openSUSE as I could never get past the boot screen of the installer. So I don't know.
>>52346705
yeah it's mainly the unity dock. while I do think it's useful, it's hideous to say the least
>you should make sure your games and tools are available for Linux
yeah done that, they are, luckily
>>52346633
This is a OK list, except Fedora and Manjaro might make it more difficult for you to find solutions to stuff for beginners because you might not know the differences between repositories and package managers. Best to use debian based distributions like Linux Mint with either Cinnamon or MATE, Ubuntu, Lubuntu (I use this one), Xubuntu, Ubuntu Gnome or possibly Deepin Linux which I have never tried but looks good for beginners as well.
These all have a easy install and you can dual boot (have both microsoft and linux on the same machine, something you might want to do to use the games that is not on linux, just choose which one when you start the computer) very easily. This is not so easy with Fedora, have never tried it with Manjaro.
Even though you dislike the touch and feel of ubuntu you might like another version or look. All the ones I mention have Steam easily installed and won't have a hard time with drivers most likely.
>>52346705
>Arch or Gentoo (I'm being serious) if you want to actually learn about using it properly and not just copypasting commands.
see that's the thing. If I knew what the fuck useful I CAN do in gnu/linux, I'd be happy to learn how to.
>>52346515
most ubuntu derivatives are the best place to start. They're very noob friendly.
If you like the look and feel of ubuntu go for ubuntu gnome edition
If you like kde go for Kubuntu
If you have a PC with low resources go for xubuntu
Each one is basically ubuntu at its core but with a different desktop manager on top of them.
Don't fall for the arch meme just yet. It's going to be confusing as fuck if it's your first distro and you'll want to give up pretty quickly.
There is an option to install 3rd party plugins when installing ubuntu right at the beginning. Tick that.
Then once installed runsudo apt-get update<- gets a list of all the latest packages]sudo apt-get upgrade<- downloads and installs any newer packages.
If you are looking for software, make it your mission to install it from the repositories. If it is not in the repo, find a PPA. Don't let the windows habit of downloading an exe follow you into Linux.
If you really need to run games, you can just install winesudo apt-get install wine
This is generic and will work for most games. Sometimes you will need to tweak wine a bit to work with a specific game but playonlinux can automate that process for you (figure out how to install it via the official repos).
Otherwise, give us a shout if you need help. Most of the time people get slammed because from their questions you can see they've done no research and immediately want somebody else to just solve their problem.
>>52346747
Yeah I forgot Lubuntu and Deepin, I am not up-to-date with the distro scene.
>>52346515
Here is a fun thing you can do to play safe with your Windows install.
Use Virtualbox VM and install Ubuntu base. Then through terminal download all the flavors like KDE, Xfce, Gnome, Cinnamon, LXDE to see which you feel comfortable with. Just select the DE session you want at the login screen before you go to desktop. That way you don't have to install multiple distros to test them. Once you are satisfied with a build, get the proper ISO for that and install it alongside Windows to dual boot.
>>52346817
>Then through terminal download all the flavors like KDE, Xfce, Gnome, Cinnamon, LXDE to see which you feel comfortable with. Just select the DE session you want at the login screen before you go to desktop.
don't the config files of all of these end up fucking each other up? Would it not be wiser to run each as a different Linux user?
>>52346775
this is an amazingly helpful post! thanks a lot!
>If you are looking for software, make it your mission to install it from the repositories. If it is not in the repo, find a PPA. Don't let the windows habit of downloading an exe follow you into Linux.
yeah I've been told this was a bad practice. might take some getting used to but I'm sure I'll do just fine
>Otherwise, give us a shout if you need help. Most of the time people get slammed because from their questions you can see they've done no research and immediately want somebody else to just solve their problem.
yeah I know that issue well from various forums and my former job, so I always try to find solutions to issues on my own and come to places like /g/ as kind of a last resort (or for oppinions as in this case)
>Use Virtualbox VM and install Ubuntu base. Then through terminal download all the flavors like KDE, Xfce, Gnome, Cinnamon, LXDE to see which you feel comfortable with. Just select the DE session you want at the login screen before you go to desktop. That way you don't have to install multiple distros to test them. Once you are satisfied with a build, get the proper ISO for that and install it alongside Windows to dual boot.
cheers!
I'll make sure to save these posts
>>52346844
I did it with Arch Linux as base and it worked fine. Maybe Ubuntu may have some issues.
>>52346763
>see that's the thing. If I knew what the fuck useful I CAN do in gnu/linux, I'd be happy to learn how to.
You can install them later. First time I installed Arch I had a guy helping me who had done it before and it took like 20 hours of problem solving to get up and running. Neither wifi or ethernet worked in the beginning. And after it was installed it barely worked and did not boot into a graphical interface, It booted into command line and I had to write "startx" to make it boot, but I did not want to mess it up. I attempted to dual boot windows at the same time, but the windows partition was ruined and would not boot. Arch is a piece of shit, and the wiki assumes that you have done all the exercises in Donald Knuths 4 volume "The Art of Computer Programming" and does not explain anything. If you dont have a MA in computer science then the wiki is a waste of time. But great package manager.
>>52346515
>GNU/Linux
>>52346850
Its cool that you are curious and want to experiment with Linux but I wasted several years of my life distro hopping looking for that Windows like experience and sometimes going balls deep into ricing.
It is depressing, made me suicidal and wasted so much of my time in the process. Avoid falling into this trap.
I am now back to Windows 10 and finally in control of my life again.
I'd say Fedora is safe.
Also, OP. Invest into a spare HD and gut out the HD with Windows installation in it to put back in regret. Attempting to dual boot with modern Windows and modern UEFI is just too fidgety for beginners.
>>52346850
I'm glad you found it informative.
>>52346873
Maybe I should try that now that I have arch installed but ubuntu definitely fucks shit up quite badly sometimes
>>52346775
>If you really need to run games, you can just install wine
I have tried using wine several times on many games and applications for many many years and it has only worked once. It is a waste of diskspace. Better to use a VM or dual boot if you have to use windows. Wine does not work.
>>52346515
you could start a partition and try lubuntu (basically light-ubuntu). blazingly fast, nice features, cool looking, doesn't take up much hard drive space. enjoy linux!
>>52346873
>Maybe Ubuntu may have some issues.
Debian based distro tend to have unexplainable issues with multiple DE's for whatever reason. Not being able to log in again after adding another DE is common.
>>52346918
Arch is not meant for noobs
>>52346956
Yeah, when I installed Cinnamon alongside Unity, all my icons disappeared and my taskbar was just a white patch.
>>52346936
>I am now back to Windows 10 and finally in control of my life again.
>control of my life again.
You, or Microsoft and the NSA?
>>52346948
>I have tried using wine several times on many games and applications for many many years and it has only worked once. It is a waste of diskspace. Better to use a VM or dual boot if you have to use windows. Wine does not work.
I know this is going to be a "works on my machine" post but literally; I've had the exact opposite experience.
I installed it and just started randomly running games
>bioshock
>fallout 3
>far cry 4
>Company of Heroes
>Civ 5
All just worked out of the box.
If you don't want to dive into Arch then try Archbang
>>52346957
I can install Arch Linux in 10 mins now, at one point it felt like a CS project. All you need is a beginner video guide on Youtube where you can follow step by step with commentary on how to install Arch Linux.
I had a notepad and I wrote down the steps that applied to my hardware mix and created a personalized guide. Now its like a walk in the park.
>>52346973
I don't know anon, sometimes I think control is an illusion.
>>52346948
>Wine does not work
Not without PlayonLinux because you can't figure out what components to install manually. PlayonLinux is underrated, it has a complete database of all the supported applications that run perfectly. It automatically downloads the necessary Visual C++ libraries, directX and other necessary parts to ensure the application runs properly.
>>52346918
Rule number one, never install Arch on a laptop. Just don't, or atleast google it first.
Laptops and linux in general still are hit'n'miss.
>>52346992
still, I would never suggest it to somebody who is not familiar with Linux
>>52346957
I had used linux for a couple of years at the time.
>>52346918
yeah not gonna try this
>>52346937
yeah I'm buying a 2TB HDD, 240gb SSD and using my current HDD for security windows boot
>>52346948
good to know, I'll probably still try it kek
>>52346951
cheers! will try it out
>>52346951
Lubuntu rules, I did not use it because it is sold as a "lightweight" distro. But it has tons of capabilities. You can make it look pretty much however you want. It is great.
>>52347027
used it as in ran servers, had custom configs, compiled source code from the ground up etc?
Or used as in, I installed ubuntu/debian/opensuse and emailed people, worked on documents and shitposted on /g/?
>>52347025
That's true, I already had exposure to many distros and done troubleshooting through terminal and editing config files for several months before I touched Arch. After a while it feels more comfortable than Windows.
>>52346515
Linux Mint 17.3 with the Cinnamon DE, a very sane and well thought out DE.
Games running faster on Linux is a very, very rare exception. Most run worse.
I'm telling you right now that you'll either end up dual booting just for the games, or not using GNU/Linux at all.
>>52346957
>Arch is not meant for noobs
Noob is a very loose term. Anyone with half a brain and a will to learn can successfully use any of the distros out there. People who care about nothing but instant gratification and media consumption, i.e. facebook and gaymerfags, need not bother. Learning anything of value takes time and effort.
>>52347042
Of course, if your "bios" supports it, you could change the boot disk there and just leave the Windows disk inside, then be damn sure what device file Linux assigns it to.
>>52347081
stop picking at straws. Literally everyone will understand what I mean by that statement.
>>52347012
>Not without PlayonLinux
Not with playonlinux either... I have spent hundreds of hours fiddling with configurations on I am sure several machines. I have installed tons of C++ libraries, direct x shit and all sorts of crap, nothing. Not even simple keygenerators work, and anything based on .NET? Forget about it. With PlayonLinux and without playonlinux. It does not work. better to use a VM or dual boot.
Wine and PlayonLinux is overrated and you are just going to waste the time of beginners.
>>52347069
>Games running faster on Linux is a very, very rare exception. Most run worse.
This. But the reason is GPU drivers. Wine with PlayonLinux actually provide a better environment to run games without Windows services interfering, Dota 2 runs smooth as fuck on Linux because Steam is native now.
It all comes down to proprietary drivers from manufacturers like Nvidia, AMD, Mediatek, Broadcomm who don't cooperate with Linux devs and they have to reverse engineer the device and write drivers themselves, which is very hard to do. Give credit where its due.
>>52347081
>any of the distros out there
Somewhere goes the line though, I wouldn't use Slackware for anything that required installing and maintaing lots of desktop applications.
>>52347048
I installed ubuntu/debian/opensuse and emailed people, worked on documents and had custom configs, scripts and that sort of thing.
I felt comfortable on the command line, knew how to look up information AND I had the help of someone who used and had previously installed Arch.
>>52346683
>I'm new, not retarded
kek
>>52346763
Installing programs. Butthurt windows users act as if it's hard on linux, but once you get comfortable with a package manager you'll never want to google for installer exe again.
No shareware bullshit. I have literally never used a program on linux that complained about trial periods or upgrade to pro version crap. I've been told some exist, but I've never needed one.
Most everything is modified through simple and human-readable text files. You don't need to be a programmer to do big changes on your system.
Text files made comfy. Just learning the basics of grep and sed makes you basically a beginner programmer. No need to download some toolbar-ridden Russian bloatware from cnet to change your task bar icon order.
Updating stops being a pain in the ass. I routinely update my system and actually gain a few megabytes of space. When's the last time Windows Update freed up space?
>>52347104
>Nvidia, AMD, Mediatek, Broadcomm who don't cooperate with Linux
There are the closed drivers of course, but even those, at least with NVIDIA are, what we call, "monday pieces".
>>52347113
>I wouldn't use Slackware
Heh, you got me on that. I was actually feeling like I was lying a bit when I posted, because I thought of Slackware specifically too.
Take it to the friendly linux general faggot
>>52346747
Know why they call it Deepin?
Because the PRC government will be deep in your ass.
I've been getting on great with kubuntu.
Whilst plasma is buggy as shit, if you behave with it, it seems to play nice.
>>52347160
What do these companies have to lose by giving the driver source code to the free software devs? Not like they make money off drivers. Has M$ signed an under table deal to shut off Linux?
>>52347104
I'm not saying it's a limitation of the OS. If it's any consolation OS X has even worse OpenGL performance.
But in practical terms for the users it means Windows is still king for video games.
>>52347161
Yeah, but picking a obscure novelty distro was a dick move on my part.
There used to be others, like the ones that made dractical changes to the directory hierarchy or had some bright idea on on the future of the package management. I haven't kept up with the trends, but seems this stuff happened more often about 10 years ago. Gobolinux comes into mind.
>>52347158
>No shareware bullshit. I have literally never used a program on linux that complained about trial periods or upgrade to pro version crap. I've been told some exist, but I've never needed one.
this is important to me. I used to be fine with that as a kid because it was stupidly easy to fiddle with trial versions to get the full version (disconnect internet connection, install, enjoy) and shit like that
but nowadays having to download random iswearthisissafeKeyGen.exe annoys me
>No need to download some toolbar-ridden Russian bloatware from cnet to change your task bar icon order.
kek
>Updating stops being a pain in the ass. I routinely update my system and actually gain a few megabytes of space. When's the last time Windows Update freed up space?
oh? this sounds great
the automatic win10 updates are even more retarded then in XP and win7.
>>52347160
how are AMD GPU drivers on linux? is it better to go nvidia?
>>52347184
>Has M$ signed an under table deal to shut off Linux?
Basically yes, but I understand it has more to do with the fact that the drivers have many generic components on the device managent that would work under both OSes with minor modifications, but due discolosure, Linux drivers need to be made a new from a scratch.
>>52347239
>how are AMD GPU drivers on linux? is it better to go nvidia?
Bad, unfortunately. This *may* change, but I wouldn't count on it.
Nvidia's drivers are better at the moment.
>>52347271
damn. I initially opted for the r9 390 because it performs better on higher resolutions than the 970
I know I know, 3.5gigs VRAM thanks obama
but it still is a pretty good gpu for this price range (which is the most I want to spend on a gpu at the moment)
>>52346918
>wiki assumes that you have done all the exercises in Donald Knuths 4 volume "The Art of Computer Programming" and does not explain anything
Really? Please show which part of https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners'_guide was too hard to understand and how it relates to Computer Science?
>It booted into command line and I had to write "startx" to make it boot
Did you not know this prior to installing Arch? That is a thing you should know before you attempt to install Arch. Also, it's starting the GUI, not booting.
>but I did not want to mess it up
How exactly would starting up the graphical window manager mess anything up?
>windows partition was ruined and would not boot
I cannot imagine how that could happen unless you carelessly overwrote the partition or just didn't have the bootloader probe for installed OSs to detect Windows and allow booting to it.
I'm not trying to make fun of a newbie here, but did you seriously try and install Arch Linux without finding anything about it first? Nobody's exactly trying to hide the fact that it comes only with the bare necessities installed by default and that you have to pay some attention when installing it. That hardly means MA in computer science.
>>52347104
DirectX is also faster than OpenGL
>>52346642
Seconding this. Might as well take the hit of a steep learning curve to be able to do it right afterwards.
I started at a lot of friendly distros but if I had to do it again I'd start reading documentation on things instead of searching Google and using shotgun surgery to fix problems.
Arch's beginner guide will get you up and running with the ability to fix your problems yourself in a decent manner in 2 days.
>>52347308
Things might change with AMD finally taking drivers more seriously than before.
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amdgpu-2016-details&num=1
You can also find benchmarks here.
>>52347315
>I cannot imagine how that could happen unless you carelessly overwrote the partition or just didn't have the bootloader probe for installed OSs to detect Windows and allow booting to it.
My pet PV with Linux installation is that they so light-heartedly overwrite the Windows bootleader. Mess it up: unbootable machine. It's not like people have Windows bootdisks ready at these days.
>inb4 recovery partition
>>52347330
I get more fps OpenGL than in DX (9 or 10) in Dota 2 and this was also the case with Warcraft 3. So where did you get that from?
>>52347352
this looks like a shimmer of hope, thanks for the link!
I'll hold off on buying a new gpu for now then since my 750Ti is doing okay and I don't really have too much time playing games at the moment anyway
>>52347394
750Ti is still fine if you don't mind not playing on the highest settings.
Besides AMD's new architecture they'll release this year looks very promising, so I'd wait for that.
>>52346515
Xubuntu, Mint and Elementary OS are the best for beginners
test
>>52347337
>at a lot of friendly distros but if I had to do it again I'd start reading documentation on things instead of searching Google and using shotgun surgery to fix problems.
Siberia teaches.
>>52347440
>750Ti is still fine if you don't mind not playing on the highest settings.
yeah it's doing suprisingly good to be honest. and since I don't play the newest Desert Shooter IV: Shoot Russians and Muslims Edition Part II anyway, it's running anything I play on medium to high settings.
the biggest bottleneck my current setup has is the cpu being a 6 year old phenom II x4 925 so the upgrade to the i5 6600K will be massive
>Besides AMD's new architecture they'll release this year looks very promising, so I'd wait for that.
thought as much
>>52347461
thanks, getting similar replies from pretty much everyone, I'll be sure to check each out individually and settle for what suits me most
>>52347469
are you serious?
>>52347583
trying to find my old script that let me have naem like this
Pretty sure I had named it 4chan_autofill.user.js
>>52347616
makes more sense
>>52347461
how smart is it to use the standard torrent client provided with mint 17.3?
