Tired of distro hopping or don't know which distro to choose?
Hello all,
I recently answered a post with the same topic as the title. It got a bit of attention and I decided to make it's own place so it doesn't get deleted if someone else deletes their post.
This post implies that you know what a distro and Desktop environment is. If not, there are plenty of websites on that topic.
These steps might help you find a distro you like the most and the one that is most compatible with your machine. The order of importance is the way numbers go:
- find a desktop environment (DE) you like the most (GNOME, KDE, XFCE,...) and stay with it
- narrow down the things you need from your OS: lightweight, better compatibility, newer updates vs stability, with gaming distro check how your favorite games behave with it, does distro have the software you need...,
- testdrive a distro at https://distrosea.com/ taking into consideration what you gathered in the previous 2 points
- install a distro on a usb and try it live without installing it. This is to test the compatibility and stability with your system. One of the options is using Ventoy to install multiple distros on a single usb pen drive, as long as the capacity allows it.
- finally, install a distro taking into consideration what you learned above.
After you go through all of the above, DE and distro you choose will be the best for you - not guaranteed, but it will be pretty close. They will suit your needs and be the most compatible distro with your system.
Stay away from FOMO! Other people have different needs and they don't apply to you. I've seen people distro hopping just because one distro is more discussed in their feed than the other, making it more popular. More popular doesn't mean better for you and your machine.
The truth is, the UI is what will influence your satisfaction with the system the most. Other part is compatibility of the distro with your system. The first one is preference, the other one is to have the least amount of work after the installation. These will decide whether you want to stay with a distro or Linux all together.
There isn't one distro to "rule them all" and if someone is telling you one is better than the other, it all depends on what I wrote above.
There are 3 major distributions from where all other distros stem from, and they all have a different approach(the list is not exhaustive but these are the biggest ones):
- Debian: stability, large software repository, compatibility but slower and older updates
- Arch: the bleeding edge, the newest updates, a synonym for "build your own Linux" distro but requires experience and knowledge the most
- Fedora: frequent updates, lots of software I was looking for was supported on it but I read that every major version update is not a pleasant experience for its users.
Depending on what you need, choose one of the three families to narrow down your search. Also remember that LINUX IS NOT WINDOWS and some learning curve is expected.
So, keep a cool head, and have fun trying out.
I hope this helped someone.
