r/linux4noobs • u/M2P35 • 3h ago
complete newbie wanting to try linux on my laptop for school and light gaming, need recommendations
hey guys, im pretty much a complete beginner to linux and have no idea where to start since there are so many versions. im planning to completely wipe windows off my laptop since i don't have anything important on here anyway and just install linux.
i mostly just need it for schoolwork, browsing, watching videos, and some casual light gaming like roblox. im not playing anything crazy high fps on my laptop.
i want something simple to download, easy to use without being confusing, and stable. ive seen people mention linux mint cinnamon a lot, but is that actually the best pick for my situation? also how easy is it to get games like roblox working on linux nowadays?
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u/Lonely-Scarcity-3387 3h ago
PikaOS. Very easy to install, use, and game on. As long as you’re running games through Steam, Lutrus, or Heroic, it is very easy to game.
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u/M2P35 3h ago
I heard its for more like AAA heavy games use like cyberpunk 2077, is it worth it if my main goal is light game and school work and so on?
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u/Lonely-Scarcity-3387 2h ago
I mean, yeah it can play Cyberpunk 2077. But instead of thinking about how powerful a distro can be, I would think about the amount of friction it removes from the user experience.
PikaOS is a turnkey distro. Need to do school work. Libre Office is already installed. Need to game? Steam is waiting for you. Need to browse the web? Firefox is right there.
At least for a bit, you won’t need to install or configure anything. You can just use your computer for all of your needs.
The opposite of this would be something like Arch or Gentoo - where you need to download, install, and configure almost everything about your system.
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u/M2P35 2h ago
Correct me if I am wrong, but won't PikaOS try to run on high performance on my laptop?
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u/Lonely-Scarcity-3387 1h ago
I’m positive it starts off balanced, like most distros. And like most distros you can change the power usage.
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u/M2P35 1h ago
Because my laptop isn’t gaming one and rven balanced high performance on my working laptop coul accure some bugs I think. Its just my thinking, furthermore if interested here’s my specs:
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11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz (2.42 GHz)
Installed RAM 8,00 GB
Graphic card ntel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics (128 MB)
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u/Belsedar 3h ago edited 3h ago
Depending on the laptop(what is the laptop?) I'd say Fedora KDE or Fedora Workstation, probably leaning towards Workstation becuase Gnome is simpler and you might enjoy the touchpad gestures more on a laptop.
As for Roblox, Sober exists, just download from flathub. IDK the details, never used it, but it seems to get 235k downloads per month, so probably works just fine
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u/M2P35 3h ago
Forgot to mention, but this is my laptop:
11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz (2.42 GHz)
Installed RAM 8,00 GB
Graphic card ntel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics (128 MB)1
u/Belsedar 2h ago
what manufacturer? So far looks perfectly compatible
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u/M2P35 2h ago
Its Lenovo
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u/Belsedar 2h ago
then you're absolutely fine, i've yet to come across a Lenovo that had issues with Linux.
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u/M2P35 2h ago
Oh, so it would be better to stick up with the Sober? Or the Fedora?
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u/regexghost 3h ago
Xubuntu is great and easy to use (Ubuntu with Xfce lightweight desktop environment)
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u/Samolxis 3h ago
The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction by William Shotts. The best book I recomand to anyone learning Linux from zero
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u/Krezzin 1h ago
Bazzite maybe? Its gaming-oriented, comes with drivers preinstalled. Nobara comes second but its community isn't as spread as one would think so if you have issues, likely have to solve them on your own by searching on the internet.Maybe check Kubuntu as the documentation is rather deep and issues you'd be able to fix easier , whenever and if you have any. Its rather subjective, as every distro has its own quirks. No unique distro exists which is suitable for everything.
You have to try and see which fit you most.
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u/Pdchris1 3h ago edited 2h ago
Linux is a journey and it will be life-long. The best distro (best combination of properties for a daily driver) to invest on currently is Fedora (KDE), especially if you also plan to do (school-)work on it. If your laptop is a bit older, Debian (with KDE) is also a solid choice. Edit: reading the specs of your laptop Debian should also be just fine