Just wondering as ive been told many os’s online and then told to not use certain one aswell, i feel confused on what linux os to try someday. i come from windows 10 and i always find i need windows on atleast 1 device, and put linux on the “outdated” devices, but i keep hoping around, i cant seem to make up my mind.
I’ve been using MX for years, stable reliable Dedian distro, regardless of which kernel, KDE Plasma desktop keeps workflows clean & familiar. If I was a total newbie in 2026… I’d try ZORON… it’s impossible to goose that up and can use ubuntu store.
Linux Mint. It was specifically created for this use case. It just works. That’s it.
And it’s still great once you know what you’re doing. If you just want your computer to work, Mint is a fantastic option.
Ubuntu or Mint is quite okay, I have used both of them in the past and set it up for a friend with little money, little time, and very little PC expertise. Worked perfectly for them for over 10 years without a problem.
Today, if you can get a little help with setting up, I’d recommend Debian stable with either GNOME or KDE. It is more stable and has longer and better long term security support, which did become more important.
Also, it is now easy to set up with disk encryption, which matters for keeping private data secure on Laptops which can get lost or stolen.
Upvotes for Ubuntu. Bazzite is also pretty spiffy these days.
People keep saying Mint, and now that it runs on Wayland at least they will be able to watch a movie without screen tearing. But I do feel like KDE Plasma is a much better first impression, since it doesn’t look like a desktop from 2013 (no offense), and has so many customization options that showcase the freedom of a linix desktop.
So for gamers, Bazzite, otherwise Fedora KDE or something
What’s so new about Plasma’s desktop paradigm? I would expect that about GNOME’s, but Plasma’s? It’s a polished and consistent UI, that it is.
Also, customization in Plasma is overwhelming, and I know KDE since version 2.
Hannah Montana Linux
To friends I usually recommend the distro I run myself, as I’m most familiar with it and troubleshoot it the best.
If it’s someone who won’t get constant tech support from me, I’d probably go with Mint.
As a power user Ubuntu sucks, but if you’ve never used Linux before it could also be a good starter distro. The vast amount of tutorials online are made for Ubuntu.
I started my wife on fedora about 10 years ago, and my kids have grown up using fedora
I’d say Mint as many others. But any major distro (except Arch) would do the trick if you’re willing to learn.
If you’re willing to learn arch will (probably) work too
The learning curve is steep and the terminal reliance is too much for people who are not used to it. Once you get used to the terminal then… yes
Red Star OS
Debian with MATE desktop: Learn it, Use it, Love it.
There are 3 answers and only 3 answers:
- New and casual users: Mint.
- Gamers: Bazzite.
- Power users: just try a bunch and see which one(s) you like, you people are exactly why there’s are so many distros.
CachyOS or PikaOS. Nothing Fedora-based for god’s sake
Why not Fedora?
They apparently support fascists and fascism-supporters (Framework i.e.), and also have a shitty user treatment (remember all the shit with their licensing that made life impossible for AlmaLinux and the like). They also support AI. And they’re the main ones, with GNOME, trying to bury X.org.
The hell did framework do
Supports Omarchy 💀
Goddamnit man
Long time arch user, and I’ve recently switched to bazzite because maintaining an arch system reminds me too much of my actual job. Bazzite is great for daily use and has excellent support for gaming. I would recommend it as its update system makes it exceptionally hard to break your system and has built in stable rollbacks. As a new Linux user I would say just get stuck into either mint or bazzite. Try to learn more about how updating software works to decide between those, the, UI is entirely customizable and separate to the OS. The main Linux desktop UIs are gnome and KDE, both look nice and don’t really need strong resources. KDE used to be really hungry but they’ve made it a lot leaner in recent years.
You’re gonna get “this is my favourite distro and this is why it should be just fine for any purpose including …what were we talking about again?”
On older PCs use Linux mint but I don’t recommend it on newer PCs I have saw a lot of problems with them
