Many people quit Linux right away because of the challenges they face. Avoid POP OS if you want a smoother experience!
Many people quit Linux right away because of the challenges they face. Avoid POP OS if you want a smoother experience!
Thanks for the feedback! It's surprising how many people still mention Pop_OS as a target audience, even though it's not commonly used for beginners. I hadn't realized how often it's used as a recommendation. I personally haven't tried GNOME, but I can see how extending it can be tricky sometimes. Regardless, since it focuses on power users and programmers, having everything ready out of the box isn't always essential—people just need to know how to manage it themselves.
Individuals abandon Linux because they feel it's just like going to a restaurant that never gets any customers.
Don’t rely on Debian-based systems. You can benefit greatly from cutting-edge distros for performance based on your hardware. If I were you, I’d set up a brand new Arch, build the latest stable tkg-linux, add the NVIDIA 495 beta drivers, switch to Gnome 40 running on Wayland, and stick with it (pay attention to the sequence). Steer clear of distributions that bundle NVIDIA drivers if you’re a power user—they can cause issues when you make changes.
Nvidia drivers version 495 work with Wayland. Xorg struggles with monitors that have varying refresh rates. A 60 Hz and a 240 Hz monitor will sync properly, but a 240 Hz display will receive a 240 Hz signal repeatedly as the desktop updates at 60 Hz, four times in a row.
Linux skills often raise doubts because of several issues. In the past, I used Gentoo and Arch when Arch offered a single configuration file and an easy installer. Nowadays, I barely bother—spending time on wikis isn’t worth it. Most things should function smoothly. My current setup is mostly Xubuntu, which works fine but still has minor problems. Video playback appears in odd sizes, KDE applications behave poorly or are missing icons due to missing dependencies, and the Manjaro installer struggles with EFI partitioning, forcing manual configuration changes. If you have a Nvidia card on a laptop or PC, using a newer distro like Nouveau often causes crashes or excessive fan noise. Open source isn’t always reliable; unstable drivers are a big issue. Reading reviews online shows every distribution has its flaws—something breaks, the user interface feels poor. Finding a high-quality distro is difficult. I tried running WSL2 on Windows to move my Kubernetes dev setup, but USB pass-through isn’t available, which complicates microcontroller projects. I also hoped Google would support ChromeOS workstations, but that hasn’t happened and may not be possible soon. Overall, the Linux landscape feels fragmented and often lacking in stability.
uhh, Thankyou... Finally smeone who gets it, I am a computer hobbiest so all I know about computers are self-thought, I had similar experiences where pop was weird, and Ubuntu was just such a breath of fresh air. Help is easy, mods are easy, everything works out of the box. i like Manjaro better, but ubuntu is just less bug ridden.
Hello everyone, I spent roughly a week with Mint... I rated this distribution an 80 for gaming, hoping it reaches 100 once the Steam Deck arrives. Here’s my take: It excels in certain areas but falls short in others. (I can only speak for what I tried.) My verdict: "for Linux Mint"
GAMING
80% – Hopefully it hits 100% after the Steam Deck launch.
*If your setup is purely gaming, skip this right now and wait for all the updates from the Steam Deck. AAA games will need a KVM pass-through plus kernel tweaks. It took me about 15 hours to get Rainbow Six Siege and Battleye running with KVM and a kernel fix… I managed to hide it. Most users would find this setup frustrating because it lacks straightforward solutions. Tools like Lutris, Wine, Wine64, PlayOnLinux aren’t as simple as they seem. For example, installing Starcraft 2 with Lutris failed – the Battlenet Agent wouldn’t work, and I had to reinstall my NVIDIA driver. It took a long time and felt like a hassle. This kind of complexity is a major hurdle for newcomers.*
PROGRAMMING
200% – Just need more experience with the OS to be fully comfortable. This was what drew me in… Debugging a cheated game’s memory inside KVM without writing bypass code was a win. Don’t get upset if I’m not perfect – I develop cheats but delete them once it works. I don’t play games anymore. A few quick hits and that’s enough. I rarely test anything for more than five minutes, usually just compiling or decompiling something else.
*If you’re into programming or hacking, you’ll be fine. I fixed two complex W2S projects, ran OpenGL ESP in KVM for Rainbow Six with minor delays, and even adapted C++ code for Linux. I can compile and run most projects without issues. Some oddities popped up with C# (like a password character issue), but it’s manageable. Linux offers great tools – Visual Studio Code, JetBrains, G++, CMake, etc. – though I’m used to Windows. Just remember that things like #include windows.h require extra effort.*
JUST USING THE COMPUTER
50% – Browsing, YouTube, music, etc.
*Without Windows’ privacy features, I’d avoid Linux beyond hosting big servers. I have to admit, smooth performance on Windows is impressive – dragging a window without lag is unreal. Running any OS on my hardware feels great, but some tasks still struggle. This isn’t fair when compared to Windows 7, 10, or 11.*
*Also, certain features don’t work consistently across distros. Creating software in Mint might not translate perfectly to Arch or other distros without adjustments. It’s a challenge.*
FINAL THOUGHTS
I love Linux – it has huge potential. If all Linux developers collaborated on one unified OS, it could easily outperform Windows. But right now, differences in coding styles and hardware support make it hard to guarantee perfection. Anyway, thanks for the feedback! I’m planning to reinstall Windows 10 soon – Visual Studio is a must-have. There’s no IDE in Linux that matches its power.*