I want to get some experience with Linux before win 10 goes end of support. I won’t be using this machine for work. Gaming primarily but also 3d printing and possibly some light piracy. Is there any reason not to install steam os?

Thanks in advance kind and wise nerds in my phone.

  • @[email protected]English
    5•6 days ago

    Proton, which is the main enabler for Linux gaming given that not many games are released with a native Linux version, is provided via Steam already with no need to install SteamOS. If you are coming into Linux brand new from windows I’d recommend installing a very popular distro like Ubuntu, or Mint. Learn the basics, and make sure to learn how to backup your data on Linux. If you are a) frustrated with missing some feature or software in your current distro or b) just curious about tweaking your system, start learning about how to work in the Linux shell (start with bash). Then come have some fun on a distro like openSUSE Tumbleweed (my current distro), where you always have access to the latest software and can change tons of things about your system in exchange for having to put in some more time to manage it. If that still doesn’t satisfy your needs and you have decided you love Linux and are never going back, then check out Arch Linux or its derivatives where you have nearly unlimited freedom but the highest time investment.

    • OptionalEnglish
      1•6 days ago

      hehe. Agree Ubuntu is probably your best bet for ease of install and getting up to mischief quickly.

      OpenSUSE is not for beginners. Neither is Gentoo. Nor Slax. I mean - don’t let that stop you - but I tried all three recently and . . . it was more frustrating than fun. They’re powerful, yes, and I know some old heads that won’t go near anything else. But for beginners? Noooooo.

      Edit: Sorry, OpenSUSE is probably fine, they didn’t have a 32bit version so I didn’t try it. Also, elementary os 8 is pretty slick. And PopOS. Both have very easy install & setup wizards.

      • @[email protected]English
        2•6 days ago

        Agreed of course, just letting them know the choices they have haha… my path was long, from Windows to Ubuntu to Lubuntu on an old PC, then dabbling with Qubes (daily driving was too painful) which introduced me to Debian and Fedora, back to Windows for gaming, dipped my toe back into Linux gaming with Fedora, and finally settled on openSUSE Tumbleweed for all my machines. It was all worth it tho!