I was hoping for a bit more of a review of the various options with pros and cons for each.
Largely most distros shake out to be about the same. Anything that runs a more aggressive release cycle (Fedora, opensuse tumbleweed, etc) will support newer hardware better. Slower release cycles (debian, Ubuntu, etc) may not support the latest and greatest.
The more important pick will be your desktop environment (gnome, KDE, etc). This will impact how you use the system more. There’s plenty of information out there but feel free to DM me if you have more specific questions
If your proficiency is one step above clicking “next” on an installer, I recommend Debian.
- Do a default installation. (Or if you’re motivated, do a minimal one and install only what you need to get a GUI and Flatpak running).
- Activate the backports repository and install
linux-image-amd64
from Backports. That’ll give you a newer kernel with newer drivers and support for newer hardware. - Then install all user software you need from Flatpaks.
That way you get a rock solid Debian base, current kernel, and fresh software.
*is whichever you like to use the most
Any Linux distro is best for gaming if you’re brave enough. There’s a video on yt of a guy playing Wrath Aeon of Ruin on steam on OpenBSD machine (on hw, not vm), anything is possible
I’d always say PopOS for newbies to linux with nvidia cards, although admittedly its been a while since I’ve been on pop so I don’t know if that’s changed