I’ve been quite happy with my Steam Deck - both as a gaming console and as a secondary computer when it’s docked, but for newer titles I picked up a Rog Zephyrus M16 (2023) last year.

Now that Windows is going off the deep end with AI, I’m looking to dual boot/trial Linux on this laptop with the goal to give Microsoft the boot.

It’s a beefy laptop:

  • 13th Gen i9-13900
  • 32GB Memory
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
  • 1TB NVMe (Windows)
  • 2TB NVMe (Linux)

I added the second drive to avoid any issues with dual-booting with Grub/Windows Bootloader - instead making the Linux device the primary boot device and spamming Esc if I want to change to the Windows drive.

For distributions, I’m most familiar with Debian/Ubuntu - it’s the daily driver for my work laptop, and the vast majority of my home lab VMs are Ubuntu. With the Steam Deck, I started to get more into Arch with the Steam Deck, and now it’s the OS of choice for my HTPCs for simple streaming/Plex media player. I’ve also messed around with ZorinOS (basically a fancy skinned Ubuntu).

I need some advice on what to throw on this laptop - and some suggestions on how to squeeze the best performance out of this (Optimus vs. Proprietary NVIDIA vs. Open source drivers).

  • loo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    My first distro was Ubuntu and I’ve been very happy with it. Many hate it for being bloated or because of the snap package manager, but in my uninformed opinion I think it’s a solid choice for beginners, since everything is already set up and ready to go. On my laptop I’m trying out NixOS, but I’m having more trouble setting that up and it’s better for advanced users, I believe. Many also recommended Linux Mint, which is also good for beginners, but doesn’t have the snap package manager like ubuntu does.

  • derbolle@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    I switched from ububtu to fedora kde about a year ago. really solid for gaming and the differences are not that big.

    for work I also use debian and it is really cool to be able to understaand deb and “enterprise linux”(fedora/suse) differences

  • RayOfSunlight@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    (Reposted)

    I highly recommend Linux Mint, foe the most important reasons:

    • The Driver manager allows you to install any non-libre drivers you’re missing from the internet

    • Comes with Flatpak already set up

    • It counts with LiveCD(Like Ubuntu) to test the distro before installing it, you want to spend some time here before you fully commit

    Also, watch this video before switching to Linux, it’s the most honest.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvkc5WzciHw

  • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    Personally I suggest Fedora with KDE.

    It has a great update cadence time frame, and good hardware support (indirectly backed by IBM). And games really well in Steam/Proton.

    That’ll get you the most Windows like experience on Linux, for an average user who doesn’t like to tinker much and just wants it to work out of the box.

    Just make sure to accept third party libraries / apps when you first install. It’s a single checkbox that you click.

    Anti Commercial-AI license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

  • steersman2484@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    I daily drive Arch for about 7 years, therefore I’m clearly biased. But I love Arch for the AUR and the ease of getting packages. For me, it is the best OS on desktop to get things done. For other use cases, I would probably choose a different OS, but desktop is Arch all the way.

    But you’r mileage may vary.

    • Fecundpossum@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      1 month ago

      No. I suggested Arch and its variants for years, and I see the error of my ways. Merging pacnew files and resolving issues are well over the head of most newbie users. Arch is a great place to end up, not a place to start.

      I recommend Linux mint to start, and Fedora after you’ve learned a bit. Nobara is cool too, but it’s a version behind Fedora, so I don’t use it at the moment. Linux mint is hands down the best place to start your journey.

      • keyez@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        1 month ago

        I will say I have an RTX 3080 and AMD CPU and had issues gaming with fedora, Nobara and PopOS just a few months ago, endeavorOS is the only thing that hasn’t had or caused issues. Been running it for a couple months now

        • Fecundpossum@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          1 month ago

          My experience with endeavour was much the same, I switched after building a team red system. Endeavour and Arch are wonderful distros, but eventually something breaks if you don’t closely follow release notes. You either gain that level of awareness and competence to fix things yourself, or it breaks and you just wipe and reinstall.

          Not a good direction to point a fresh Linux user.