u/Brenzuke

I have a laptop with the following specifications:

• Intel Core i5-12450H
• RTX 3050 6 GB
• 16 GB RAM
• 512 GB SSD

I use my laptop for both programming and gaming, so I'd say my usage is split about 50/50 between the two.

Most of the games I play are from my Steam library. As for programming, it's primarily for learning and personal projects rather than professional work.

I've looked into several Linux distributions, and the ones that caught my attention the most were CachyOS and the Universal Blue family. However, I'm still undecided between Bluefin, Aurora, and Bazzite.

Which one would you recommend for this type of usage?

I have a laptop with the following specifications:

• Intel Core i5-12450H
• NVIDIA RTX 3050 (6 GB)
• 16 GB RAM
• 512 GB SSD

I used Windows for around 14 years. While I didn't witness its rise, I've definitely noticed what feels like its decline, mainly because of increasing telemetry, built-in ads, unnecessary features, and Microsoft's growing insistence on requiring a Microsoft account to use the operating system.

I bought this laptop in 2025 with Windows preinstalled and activated. At the time, I saw that as an advantage, but looking back, I consider it one of my biggest regrets. It was a good lesson, though, and I don't intend to make the same mistake again. I've also decided that when I eventually build a desktop, I'll most likely go with AMD, since Linux support is generally better than it is for NVIDIA GPUs.

Over the past few weeks, I've tested several Linux distributions, focusing on those that support Secure Boot. Out of all of them, Fedora has been my favorite so far. However, I'm still unsure about the differences between the Workstation (traditional), Silverblue (Atomic), and Everything editions.

A couple of points that might help explain my use case:

• Gaming: Exclusively through Steam, since that's where the vast majority of my game library is.
• Software development: I prefer an environment that is well organized, predictable, and, above all, isolated.

I installed Fedora Everything and want to set up a minimal GNOME installation with only the essential components, without any extra applications. Which packages and commands do I need?

I installed Fedora Everything and want to set up a minimal GNOME installation with only the essential components, without any extra applications. Which packages and commands do I need?

Pessoal, estou avaliando uma arquitetura para separar completamente jogos e desenvolvimento e estou em dúvida sobre qual abordagem seria mais prática.

Opção 1: Windows como host

• Windows exclusivamente para jogos (Steam, Blizzard, Discord etc.).
• WSL2 com Arch Linux exclusivamente para desenvolvimento.
• Nenhuma ferramenta de desenvolvimento instalada no Windows.

A ideia é que todo o ambiente de desenvolvimento fique restrito ao Linux:

• VS Code instalado no próprio Arch via WSLg.
• Extensões, configurações e cache em ~/.config, ~/.vscode e ~/.local.
• SDKs (.NET, Node, Docker, Git etc.) apenas no WSL.
• Projetos em /home/usuario/projects.
• Nada de .vscode, .nuget ou outras pastas de desenvolvimento em C:\Users\Usuario.

Na prática, o Windows seria apenas a plataforma de jogos, enquanto o Arch no WSL funcionaria como um ambiente Linux praticamente independente.

Opção 2: Linux como sistema principal

• Fedora como host.
• Distrobox para os ambientes de desenvolvimento.
• Aplicativos via Flathub.

Minha principal dúvida em relação ao Fedora é a experiência com os drivers NVIDIA em termos de compatibilidade e estabilidade.

I'm evaluating an architecture to completely separate gaming and development, and I'm unsure which approach would be more practical.

Option 1: Windows as the host

• Windows exclusively for gaming (Steam, Battle.net, Discord, etc.).
• WSL2 with Arch Linux exclusively for development.
• No development tools installed on Windows.

The goal is to keep the entire development environment inside Linux:

• VS Code installed directly in Arch via WSLg.
• Extensions, settings, and caches under ~/.config, ~/.vscode and ~/.local.
• SDKs (.NET, Node, Docker, Git, etc.) installed only in WSL.
• Projects stored in /home/user/projects.

No .vscode, .nuget or other development-related directories under C:\Users\User.

In practice, Windows would be nothing more than a gaming platform, while Arch running under WSL would behave like an almost independent Linux environment.

Option 2: Linux as the primary OS

• Fedora as the host.
• Distrobox for development environments.
• Applications installed via Flathub.

My main concern with Fedora is the NVIDIA driver experience in terms of compatibility and stability.

I'm evaluating an architecture to completely separate gaming and development, and I'm unsure which approach would be more practical.

Option 1: Windows as the host

• Windows exclusively for gaming (Steam, Battle.net, Discord, etc.).
• WSL2 with Arch Linux exclusively for development.
• No development tools installed on Windows.

The goal is to keep the entire development environment inside Linux:

• VS Code installed directly in Arch via WSLg.
• Extensions, settings, and caches under ~/.config, ~/.vscode and ~/.local.
• SDKs (.NET, Node, Docker, Git, etc.) installed only in WSL.
• Projects stored in /home/user/projects.

No .vscode, .nuget or other development-related directories under C:\Users\User.

In practice, Windows would be nothing more than a gaming platform, while Arch running under WSL would behave like an almost independent Linux environment.

Option 2: Linux as the primary OS

• Fedora as the host.
• Distrobox for development environments.
• Applications installed via Flathub.

My main concern with Fedora is the NVIDIA driver experience in terms of compatibility and stability.

I'm looking for a really good distro, but it ends up becoming an addiction that's hard to stop. I tested everything from Ubuntu and its derivatives to CachyOS, but I ended up sticking with Fedora because I was impressed by its Secure Boot support, the very active community, the excellent documentation, the latest packages, and its focus on development/programming.

I tested Workstation, KDE Plasma, and even the Atomic versions, but I was truly impressed by Fedora Everything. I liked it because it follows the YAGNI principle, and that's exactly what I was looking for: the ability to customize the system according to my needs.

I would like to know why it isn't talked about as much?

I've tried several Linux distributions on my laptop with an RTX 3050, especially those that support Secure Boot and their derivatives, but I'm still undecided between Fedora and Fedora Atomic. In practice, what are the main differences?

From what I understand, since it's an immutable system, it's generally more resistant to breakage and issues caused by system modifications. For those who use it daily, how has your experience been? Is it worth it?

As I understand it, this is a chain of trust. The UEFI trusts the Microsoft certificate embedded in the motherboard and therefore executes Shim, since it is signed by Microsoft. Shim, in turn, contains or recognizes Fedora's certificate and verifies whether GRUB, the kernel, and the kernel modules are signed by Fedora. If the signatures are valid, the boot process continues; otherwise, execution is blocked.

I currently have Fedora installed on my computer, but let's say I install Ubuntu tomorrow. In that scenario, I have a few questions:

• Will Fedora's key remain registered in Shim, or will it be removed automatically?
• Can this create any kind of "clutter," such as certificates accumulating after multiple Fedora or Fedora-based distribution reinstallations?
• Is it possible to clear this information and restore the original state, as if Fedora had never been initialized on the UEFI, removing any knowledge of certificate?

From what I understand, Secure Boot is a UEFI security feature that allows the system to boot only if the boot software has a trusted digital signature, preventing unauthorized modifications or malware from running before the operating system loads.

Since I was a Windows user for many years, I never looked into this topic much. I would just buy a laptop and use it. However, this week I decided to install Linux and found that several distributions have restrictions related to Secure Boot.

For NVIDIA users, it can also be more cumbersome because you may need to manually create and enroll a certificate using MOK.

So, here's my question: for a personal laptop used only for gaming and programming, is it worth keeping Secure Boot enabled, or is it better to disable it?

As I understand it, this is a chain of trust. The UEFI trusts the Microsoft certificate embedded in the motherboard and therefore executes Shim, since it is signed by Microsoft. Shim, in turn, contains or recognizes Fedora's certificate and verifies whether GRUB, the kernel, and the kernel modules are signed by Fedora. If the signatures are valid, the boot process continues; otherwise, execution is blocked.

I currently have Fedora installed on my computer, but let's say I install Ubuntu tomorrow. In that scenario, I have a few questions:

• Will Fedora's key remain registered in Shim, or will it be removed automatically?
• Can this create any kind of "clutter," such as certificates accumulating after multiple Fedora or Fedora-based distribution reinstallations?
• Is it possible to clear this information and restore the original state, as if Fedora had never been initialized on the UEFI, removing any knowledge of certificate?