Best linux distro

[The_Regrettables]

i am new to linuz and am wondering what the best distro would be i know linux isnt like one OS there are different ones i dont really get it but which one is the "best"

[Needfuldoer]

Ask 50 people online what the "best" Linux anything is, and you'll get 53 answers.

 

Most of the beginner tutorials you'll find online will be written for Ubuntu, so just pick the latest LTS build of whichever Ubuntu derivative comes with the desktop environment you want to try out first. (Personally I like MATE.) 

 

Install it on a spare machine or a VM first, until you're comfortable using what you picked. That way there's no stakes if you want to try something else or you accidentally break something. 

[RONOTHAN##]

You ask 10 different people, you'll get 10 different answers. Generally my recommendation is going to be plain Ubuntu since it's pretty stable, easy to use, and has a ton of guides available for how to do basically everything. 

 

There isn't really one that's the best all around, they all have their pros and cons. Arch is very up to date and lightweight at the expense of being bleeding edge and easy to break, while on the opposite end of the spectrum is Debian which pretty much gets only security patches and once setup will run near indefinitely. Everyone has preferences for what to use in different applications (my servers almost always run some sort of Debian derivative, while for desktop applications I tend to pick Fedora), and the only way to figure out what you like and what you don't is to try them. 

[soccermomisqueen]

1 hour ago, The_Regrettables said:

i am new to linuz and am wondering what the best distro would be i know linux isnt like one OS there are different ones i dont really get it but which one is the "best"

Not too be too redundant, but I will agree with @RONOTHAN## and @Needfuldoer. Ubuntu is sort of the de facto-standard for new users due to the massive community built around it. I know a lot of people who are starting our, really enjoy Linux mint (it is a Ubuntu derivative, so there is good software support for it as well).

In terms of testing one out (find out what suits your needs), I recommend using virtual box (it is free and relatively easy to use) with a with a VM of 50GB disk, half of your RAM, half of your CPUS to give you a general idea of how it will feel installed bare metal (just make sure to close all of your other applications before doing this since there could be problems if you dont have a lot of available resources).

Then after you find one that you like, I recommend finding a live boot disk and boot off of a flash drive for a couple of days to have a general feel with only that operating system before you completely yeet your old OS off (just make sure to save the files onto another disk because the files WILL BE LOST ON REBOOT, most of the time).

[masked]

Likely Ubuntu or Linux Mint. The Cinnamon desktop that Mint uses resembles Windows (well Windows, pre-11) a bit more and whether that's a good thing is down to preference and how you use the system. I'm rather fond of a lot of things about GNOME desktop and Ubuntu fixes my largest headache, (it adds the systray back) in its version iirc.

[wasab]

ubuntu if you just want things to work and have the best third party vendor support and questions/answers on the web. fedora if you want the bleeding edge but still stable enough without things breaking

[goatedpenguin]

This is the reason linux is so bad for new users because the linux community cannot represent what is the best "linux distro" which can be very daunting for new comers. There is in fact no such thing as the best Linux distro it varies from use case to use case and from person to person instead what I advise you to do is, is to be focusing what Desktop environments you will be using as it is the main thing to get your work done. My recommendation is to use a distro that does not break easily such as Debian Linux or fedora. Stay away from arch, gentoo, void, slackware distros. Stick to the ones that are well known. I recommend using debain or linux mint with the KDE plasma environment if your migrating from windows just because the user interface will be very similar but try and expirement with other environments such as gnome, xfce4, window managers etc. Before you try Linux maybe consider running a few Desktop environments and a distros on a virtual machine just so you get a feel for it.

 

P.S many ppl recommend using Ubuntu but I don't because they used to have telemetry on the system which is everything Linux stands against and imo there reputation has been tarnished quite a bit to say the least.

 

 

[thevictor390]

Just pick one. You can't get an answer on what is the best. People will never agree. But if people are mentioning one a lot then it's good enough to start. Then when you are more familiar you can decide what you like or don't like.

[SG-O]

Lets not talk about "best" distros but about the right distro for you!

 

My simple advice is to go with Linux Mint (Cinnamon Edition).

 

You most likely come from Windows so the UI will be familiar. It is very stable, has great Software support and all Support articles written for Ubuntu (that's the foundation for Mint) work.

 

I switched from Windows to Mint a few years ago and I still love it. Lately I even got rid of my last Windows VM...

[The Hope]

On 12/6/2023 at 2:39 AM, The_Regrettables said:

i am new to linuz and am wondering what the best distro would be i know linux isnt like one OS there are different ones i dont really get it but which one is the "best"

There is none that is best in all domains. They all have stronger and weaker points.

 

You may want a desktop layout and workflow similar to windows XP and windows 7. Then GNOME from (default) Ubuntu is not the most suitable option. You'd better look for a system that has the best Cinnamon (or LXQt) implementation.

 

LXQt feels to me like a mix of windows XP and windows 7, which are the favorite systems of most windows users.

 

 

The desktop environment can have a bigger impact on your first experience with Linux than the underlying operating system.

[tortellini88]

I distro-hop from time to time. I would say distro-hop yourself but pay attention to what you liked and disliked about an distro. That will help shed light into your pattern of choosing.

 

Example, I like the idea of docks and the window switching where I can see the entire window and it's contents. For this, Plasma KDE desktops are my choice. And distros that come preconfigured this way are Garuda and Kubuntu (currently rocking Kubuntu).

[nasir91]

Using Zorin OS on my school/work laptop, works great.

[it_dont_work]

I like Mint, but my htpc runs on ubuntu, both have been mostly plug and play without worrying about much setup. 

 

Download a few live distros and slap them on a usb to test. 

[DeskLxmp]

If you like to tinker, I really like Arch. Its package manager is nice and there's a user repository which has probably 99% of software you will consider using. The downside is the initial install requires some knowledge of the components of the OS, but if you can get past that stage I prefer it. I think it was easier for me to pick up because I used Linux a lot at work before using it on my Desktop.

[thegreatestarbiter]

The easiest one I have found for people with a MacOS background is PopOS. You can download either the version with Nvidia drivers or not, depending on your GPU. I like it because since it is based on Ubuntu, there is a HUGE amount of online documentation on how to make things work that applies to it (while still not being Ubuntu). Just search: "ubuntu {your question}"

For Windows users, Zorin and Linux Mint are great options, as they have similar layouts to Windows. However, if you are running an Nvidia GPU, sometimes there are issues with the inital boot from driver incompatibility. It can be fixed obviously, but it can be a hassle for a newbie. If you are running AMD, theses are perfect choices.

 

Note on modern Intel CPUs: Sometimes the linux kernel can have issues interacting with the big.little, and can have problems properly choosing which type of cores to use per process. Not a huge issue from what I can tell, but something to keep in mind.