Linux

After contemplating for 3-4 years about switching my main rig to Linux, I did it on Friday just gone.

Note for the below, I have a full AMD system.

• I went with Garuda Dragonized distro as it is gaming focused and has all the game related stuff included.
• took me less than 30mins going from gaming on Win11 to Linux, but I did the research before.
• there are a few tweaks if you use Steam but you have Lutris to help you.
• of the 35 ish games installed, all of them work without issues, but they need updating once you enable compatibility to Proton.
• the default theme is too flashy but you can select to bring it down a few notches

Technical

• if you have secondary SSD or HDD, dedicated to games or files like I did, it is advisable to have them backed up to an external drive as you will need to re-partition them from NTFS to use them properly in Linux
• with Garuda Dragonized Gaming, all drivers are installed but follow the Wizard at the beginning and check all that apply to you. It will save you time.

Good luck and looking forward to having you on Linux!

If you're planning on gaming, and you have an NVIDIA card, then I would like to recommend Bazzite. I've been using it for months, and I'm very happy with it. Have it installed to my Steam Deck as well as my PC.

The hardest part is when you need to use tools from windows, or to develop a program for that system. Also, many things require good amount of configuration, and with that, expertise at what you doing. I'm currently struggling with solving bug as to why VSCodium will not debug in external terminal.

If you encounter problems you can't find information on, do Ubuntu LTS next and use askununtu.com, help.ubuntu.com and wiki.ubuntu.com. The existing documentation and the largest community is what makes this the easiest option. Once you gain XP for a couple of years that XP is transferrable to Debian.

I can see why you want to dual boot, given your use case. For gaming and MS office, Linux is not better than Windows. That said, Linux is fun to learn and you can experiment and gradually move everything over from Windows.

If you want the absolute easiest transition from Windows, I think Linux Mint Cinnamon is the best. It looks like Windows out of the box and is organized similarly. Its like going to a familiar grocery store where you know where to find the things you need. It is stable, there are rarely any weird conflicts or updates that break the system, and it comes with all the codecs you'll need for media. In terms of installing new software, the software "store" is so simple, it makes installing software much like installing apps on Android (without all the bullshit marketing, of course). Shit just works. Steam, spotify, etc. are right there and install flawlessly. Many Steam games are native Linux and you'll be able to install the Linux version of any game you own. For Windows-only games, you can gradually experiment with Wine, etc. and see how that works for you.

MS Office is obviously the elephant in the room, but office apps are pretty standardized at this point. You can use MS 365 online apps. Or, it is an easy transition from Word, Excel and Powerpoint to LibreOffice. Much more intuitive than using Google apps, for example. Write a few papers in LibreOffice and just save in Word format for submission (although most profs will accept Open Document Format as well, which is also supported by MS Office). Double-check formatting in Windows or the online Office 365 apps if you are worried. It is pretty easy to get used to if you use Office like most people do.

But don't take my word for it. Make a bootable live usb and see for yourself. https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

@Nokinori www.tromjaro.com/