What type of Linux should I install? (Solved)

[made zos ion]

           I recently pulled my old desktop out of the box and dusted it off, I then noticed it had better specs then my current PC. So I then got the power cord for it and plugged it in and powered it on. The PC booted to windows 7, I thought why not try out Linux? I loaded a trust able website and saw so many versions of Linux, if someone is an experienced Linux user and knows whats a better value, please tell me. 

[Slottr]

Ubuntu will be a good starting point

[JamesTheFolf]

3 minutes ago, made zos ion said:

           I recently pulled my old desktop out of the box and dusted it off, I then noticed it had better specs then my current PC. So I then got the power cord for it and plugged it in and powered it on. The PC booted to windows 7, I thought why not try out Linux? I loaded a trust able website and saw so many versions of Linux, if someone is an experienced Linux user and knows whats a better value, please tell me. 

I'd recommend Ubuntu

[made zos ion]

oh OK, also do you guys need the specs of my PC?

[Windows7ge]

The most popular versions of GNU/Linux I see for new users are PopOS, Ubuntu, & Manjaro. If you're looking to game on Linux PopOS or Ubuntu using Proton will probably give you the easiest time to setup and get working.

[aisle9]

8 minutes ago, made zos ion said:

           I recently pulled my old desktop out of the box and dusted it off, I then noticed it had better specs then my current PC. So I then got the power cord for it and plugged it in and powered it on. The PC booted to windows 7, I thought why not try out Linux? I loaded a trust able website and saw so many versions of Linux, if someone is an experienced Linux user and knows whats a better value, please tell me. 

Mint might as well have a "my first Linux" sticker on it, and for good reason. It's an excellent OS. Any of the various flavors of Ubuntu will serve you well as a daily driver, and Mint is actually built on Ubuntu.

[made zos ion]

Just now, Windows7ge said:

The most popular versions of GNU/Linux I see for new users are PopOS, Ubuntu, & Manjaro. If you're looking to game on Linux PopOS or Ubuntu using Proton will probably give you the easiest time to setup and get working.

OK, also is there certain specs I need to run them? 

[made zos ion]

Also which version of Linux is the easiest to install?

[Slottr]

2 minutes ago, made zos ion said:

OK, also is there certain specs I need to run them? 

No, if that pc was running W7 you're far from in a bad spot

[Windows7ge]

Just now, made zos ion said:

OK, also is there certain specs I need to run them? 

Most of the time you're OK to run any of them on any remotely modern hardware. Usually GNU/Linux is less resource demanding than Windows too so if the hardware is handling 64-bit Windows (7/8/8.1/10) fine it should handle most of the basic Linux distros too.

 

One issue you may run into is drivers though. Some distributions of Linux don't support Realtek Ethernet adapters very well if at all which were or still are common on AMD motherboards.

[made zos ion]

1 minute ago, Slottr said:

No, if that pc was running W7 you're far from in a bad spot

Thank god, thank you so much. 

[Windows7ge]

4 minutes ago, made zos ion said:

Also which version of Linux is the easiest to install?

Any of the mentioned distros have GUI installers like Windows. Burn the .ISO to a USB and it's easy to get setup with a user account and password.

 

Even the server distros that are CLI only have GUI's for the setup process like Ubuntu Server and even CentOS.

[made zos ion]

1 minute ago, Windows7ge said:

Most of the time you're OK to run any of them on any remotely modern hardware. Usually GNU/Linux is less resource demanding than Windows too so if the hardware is handling 64-bit Windows (7/8/8.1/10) fine it should handle most of the basic Linux distros too.

 

One issue you may run into is drivers though. Some distributions of Linux don't support Realtek Ethernet adapters very well if at all which were or still are common on AMD motherboards.

Well my PC actually has Realtek integrated audio, could that be a compatibility issue?

[Windows7ge]

1 minute ago, made zos ion said:

Well my PC actually has Realtek integrated audio, could that be a compatibility issue?

I'm running Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS on my main desktop which uses a Realtek S1220A audio controller. I've not had any issues with stereo audio. Haven't tried 5.1 or 7.1 surround so who knows there could be issues there.

[made zos ion]

Just now, Windows7ge said:

I'm running Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS on my main desktop which uses a Realtek S1220A audio controller. I've not had any issues with stereo audio. Haven't tried 5.1 or 7.1 surround so who knows there could be issues there.

Oh, thanks for information it really helps. ill burn a copy of Ubuntu on a flash stick.

[ProjectBox153]

22 minutes ago, made zos ion said:

OK, also is there certain specs I need to run them? 

No, not really. A lot of Linux distributions run well on even older hardware, so you're fine. I would personally recommend Mint if you're new to Linux. It should be pretty easy to learn how to use and would make a good starting point for you.