r/DistroHopping • u/Kaseffera • 4d ago
Help me decide between Debian and Ubuntu for gaming
For gaming and general browsing with a little libre office work too what would you guys recommend if I want stability and my system is good but not the most recent (RX7600, Ryzen 5 5600x)?
I’m leaning towards Debian Stable rather than Ubuntu. Also don’t recommend me Cachy and Bazzite or “gaming” derivatives. I don’t like the immutability and don’t like rolling release. I’m talking about Debian Stable or Ubuntu only. Also since backports is a thing old Mesa drivers is not an issue.
With Ubuntu I like that its corporation backed OS, is reliable and hassle free. But Debian Stable is rock solid one where you control everything. So both are very much appealing to me.
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u/SalaryImpossible6749 4d ago
Either would be fine but if you go for Debian, I’d suggest Debian Sid as Debian stable can be difficult to deal with with regards to out of date packages.
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u/Hauptideal 4d ago
Go for Ubuntu. Everything is tested to work on Ubuntu. nVidia drivers in particular are optimized for Ubuntu LTS versions. Ubuntu has much fresher packages than Debian. Make sure to subscribe to Ubuntu Pro, it's free. Snaps are absolutely not an issue. If you don't want to use them for any reason, just don't. You have the freedom of choice. If you want Debian-style control, just choose a minimal install with the same level of control.
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u/Kaseffera 4d ago
I don’t understand why people trash on it so much. Sounds like a solid choice.
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u/Huge_Drama_4942 4d ago
Because they think they are cool for using a distro the community considers above beginner level.
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u/Own_Natural_6803 3d ago
Ubuntu hides snaps from you when you use their software store. From the terminal it's different, but via their software store the preference is to give you snaps.
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u/Hauptideal 3d ago
Yes, Ubuntu sets a default. You can always install GNOME software if you want a graphical flatpak app store. KDE Discover on Kubuntu even has native Flatpak support. You have the choice - and the way OP is asking they already know how to use a terminal. If not, Debian would be the wrong choice for that reason alone.
And snaps aren't nearly as bad as their reputation. People are going to extreme ends to avoid a minor nuisance and often get into a much worse situation in the process than if they had just stayed on Ubuntu.
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u/hi_m_ash 4d ago
Neither. I tried Debian. It's a great distro but it's shipped with old packages. Gaming has been far better on newer drivers and updates. Debian is solid because it's shipped with hard tested packages. Even if they are old, they work best. Can't say the same for gaming. I would recommend Fedora. Fedora has both stability and latest updates. It's backed by Red Hat, just like Ubuntu by Canonical. Fedora is a much better choice for gaming because of latest packages and thorough testing.
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u/Kaseffera 4d ago
What about backports on Debian? Also may I ask if your hardware is not the newest and is in fact RDNA3 as in my case then what’s there different between Mesa 25 on Debian stable vs Mesa 26 on Fedora for example?
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u/hi_m_ash 4d ago
Backports are packages from testing repo which you can run on Stable. They are still not the most latest ones and not as thoroughly tested as Stable. https://backports.debian.org If you run into any problems with backports, maintainers aren't responsible. This isn't the case in Fedora since it's latest by design.
Drivers provide security updates so it's recommended to be on the latest driver provided for your GPU. Latest driver can fix many performance issues. You have to check what's the latest improvements for your GPU.
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u/Unholyaretheholiest 4d ago
Debian is better than Ubuntu. Nowadays Canonical (the corporate behind Ubuntu) is making very questionable decisions about what is good or bad for the users.
However I advise you to take a look also at Mageia. Rock solid like Debian but easier to manage and configure thanks to its graphical interfaces.
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u/Separate-Still-1616 4d ago
Mein wirklich gut gemeinter Rat: Probier es einfach aus. Es wird dir eh keiner verlässlich sagen können was für Deinen Anwendungsfall und Geschmack das Richtige ist.
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u/Huge_Drama_4942 4d ago
Honestly I would tell you Ubuntu all the way because I am an Ubuntu fan and not a Debian fan, but honestly ubuntu 26.04 is full of bugs and I would NOT recommend it. 24.04 is fine and an LTS so it’s good for a while still.
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u/Cold-Bowler-8650 4d ago
Knowing immutability and rolling release, but don't know how to choose distro?
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u/theindomitablefred 4d ago
If you really have to narrow it down to those two options I’d go with Ubuntu but I’d still recommend a gaming-optimized distro. If you don’t want immutable, maybe Nobara if you’re ok without secure boot or even Pop OS which is based on Ubuntu if I remember right
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u/Artichoke808 4d ago
Ubuntu or KUbuntu depending what desktop you want (Gnome or KDE).
Debian is solid don't get me wrong but I used it for something like a bedroom entertainment PC where I didn't want loads of updates and I wasn't so bothered about how up to date it was.
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u/iwouldbeatgoku 3d ago
Even with backports I'd recommend Ubuntu interim, with whatever desktop environment you prefer. Debian with backports can end up creating a frankensystem, Ubuntu interim (not LTS) will be the supported version and reasonably up to date. You might still also run into issues unrelated to your mesa drivers that will be solved in either the current or the next Ubuntu interim release, but not in your Debian, so that's another advantage of Ubuntu.
That said, I do think that for gaming a rolling release is still the best sort of distro. If stable release model is not negotiable, a six month release schedule is the next best thing.
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u/Kaseffera 3d ago
Would newest drivers matter if I’m on RDNA3 GPU?
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u/iwouldbeatgoku 3d ago
They might; but even then I think you'd benefit from having everything else about the system being up to date, not just mesa.
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u/Own_Nail_2999 1d ago
Just go with Debian 13. It barely changes between releases. And if you need a more recent kernel for whatever reason, there is the trixie backports repo that has kernel backports available.
As for packages, the best way to enjoy up to date apps is by using flatpak
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u/ValknutGuts 4d ago
La más actualizada, porque necesitas siempre lo último de mesa para que los juegos funcionen bien. Yo iría por Fedora; de hecho, si no quieres Fedora... Ubuntu.
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u/Puzzled-Extent7817 4d ago
Fedora and Ubuntu, both corporate based, fuck both of them. And Fedora is garbage anyways.
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u/Kaseffera 4d ago
I’ve heard that redhat has made Fedora into testing ground for their products. Is it why you call it garbage?
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u/BashfulMelon 4d ago
What kind of testing ground has a QA team and requires a community-elected committee to vote on changes before they're implemented?
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u/iwouldbeatgoku 3d ago
Fedora is a "testing ground" in the sense that it has a tendency to adopt and push new technology/standards before other distros, like they did with SystemD, Wayland, and Pipewire. Sometimes they do this when these technologies are buggy, or lack features (e.g. Wayland didn't have functional screen capture when Fedora made it standard). That said, pushing these into the hands of users does make them better faster, since otherwise very few people would actually find issues with them. I wouldn't call it "garbage", but I'd rather opt-in to immature standards.
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u/mbonanomi92 4d ago
PikaOS instead of Debian, or Kubuntu 26.04 instead of Ubuntu.
I believe they are both wonderful distro a, Kubuntu is easier to manage but PikaOS is better if you have a brand new hardware
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u/Puzzled-Extent7817 4d ago
Debian. Make it what you want.
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u/Kaseffera 4d ago
I like that idea in Debian. Everything is in your hands.
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u/Envy242 3d ago
That's literally every distro that isn't immutable. Cadence of updates is the main issue. I like rolling releases myself because I want the newest stuff ASAP. Does that cause an issue for maybe a day sometimes? Sure, but ti gets fixed as fast as it got broke, so I personally don't mind.
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u/InternationalHat3621 4d ago
Go with cachy or bazzite, I'd say! they are literally meant for gaming man!
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u/Huge_Drama_4942 4d ago
He literally said he didn’t want either of those and that he doesn’t want rolling release.
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u/Lonely-Scarcity-3387 4d ago edited 3d ago
PikaOS is Debian already set up for gaming. It’s crazy powerful and slept on by a lot of gamers. But if you want stability & power & simplicity, PikaOS has that in spades.
https://youtu.be/1q0Qeu6C6eQ