hi, i was considering dualbooting or even switching to linux (from windows), and would like to try arch or an arch based distro and was wondering what would be a good fit for me, my main hobbies are gaming and programming. i've tried endeavouros with a good amount of DE's like kde and gnome. if possible i'd like to make it look like windows or mac (or even a combo of the two) but without all the spyware and bloatware in windows.
#help finding the right distro
eternal kite
my main gripe with endeavour is that i felt like installation and navigating my filesystem was super complicated, and the themes just didnt look that great
i love the way cutefish os looks
heady echo
In what ways was navigating the filesystem complicated
Also what DE or WM did you choose that you didn’t like the themes for?
eternal kite
In what ways was navigating the filesystem complicated
ive always been used to windows it just felt odd i cant give you a great reason tbh
heady echo
The way the filesystem is laid out will be basically the same on every distribution. It can take some getting used to coming from Windows.
It’ll make sense after you use it for awhile
eternal kite
Also what DE or WM did you choose that you didn’t like the themes for?
kde felt kinda sluggish if that make sense? and gnome just feels like im using an android phone on my computer
heady echo
kde felt kinda sluggish if that make sense? and gnome just feels like im using a...
Others exist. I like XFCE.
I don’t like either of those for pretty much the same reasons
There’s also Cinnamon and MATE, which are both good
eternal kite
oh yeah i liked xfce
is there a way to replicate this blur type look that garuda has? i was going to install it but i heard its not great
heady echo
That’s just a setting in the terminal’s config. You can do that in any environment if you have a compositor installed/running.
And yea I don’t recommend Garuda.
heady echo
It’s generally pretty good, especially since the Steam Deck became a thing.
Most games will run fine, but you may still want to keep Windows around for the rare case when you need it (or if you play VR)
You can use https://www.protondb.com to get an idea of how your experience with certain games will be. Most games with anticheat won’t work.
Here’s the link to the Linux Gaming server if you have more questions about gaming
eternal kite
i already know the programming scene is great
i like the idea of owning my os and not paying to borrow it but i like how easy it is to get things done in windows
thats my main fear
it felt harder to get things done in linux for some reason
heady echo
it felt harder to get things done in linux for some reason
It’s another aspect that you start to get used to after awhile, but yes, in some cases software availability can be an issue.
By you get used to it I mean you learn how things are done on Linux
eternal kite
i think i'm gonna try dualbooting for a month or two and if i like it i'll continue dualbooting and if i don't i'll just give windows back the full partition
actually is it possible to format an actual storage drive and dualboot off of that or does it have to be like bare metal
heady echo
actually is it possible to format an actual storage drive and dualboot off of th...
That would be bare metal. I’m not sure what your question is.
heady echo
Between what and what
heady echo
Not bare metal would be any kind of virtualization
eternal kite
my bad i misunderstood
eternal kite
That would be bare metal. I’m not sure what your question is.
i have an external storage drive laying around and i was wondering if i could install arch or something onto it instead of shrinking my windows partition
heady echo
You absolutely can if your system supports booting from USB, which most modern systems do.
Flash drives have relatively low write endurance, so I wouldn’t do that long term, but that’s a great way to get started.
eternal kite
yeah it does
eternal kite
Flash drives have relatively low write endurance, so I wouldn’t do that long ter...
its not a flash drive its a western digital drive with like 1tb i think
heady echo
It’s probably still using relatively low-endurance flash chips
Most external SSDs do, unless its an internal SSD in a sled to use it externally.
eternal kite
oh okay
heady echo
In any case, it’s still a great way to get started in your first month or so. Linux is also tolerable on spinning hard drives (unlike Windows) if you’ve got a spare one of those.
I’m gonna log off. Feel free to ping me if you have any other questions.
eternal kite
alright, tysm!
dapper plover
alright, tysm!
tldr, just use arch. and plasma is a nice desktop, nowadays it uses 600 mb on idle, tho you can use anything you want
with arch you'll get latest packages, compared to mint
also mainstream kernels and more stuff