Hey everyone,
I am thinking about installing Ubuntu linux on my computer today. Most of my games are on Steam so Valve’s Proton should have me covered there.
However I am a bit nervous. I have never used linux before apart from one time in the past where I could not install WiFi drivers or graphics drivers.
Ubuntu is a great place to start, they have made installation as turn-key as possible- IMO Ubuntu leads the pack in regards to making the Linux desktop a “one-click” install and adoptable for people of all walks of life. For instance it sounds like you tried to install Debian and ran into proprietary driver issues- Ubuntu makes this a ‘one-click do it for me’ operation. Ironic how the Linux neck-beards/Arch demi-gods scream “why doesn’t everyone use linux?!?” then go on to bash Ubuntu as Linux with training wheels and sh*t on people that use it.
When it comes to making a general PC I choose Ubuntu unless there are special needs- and honestly I often find myself looking for scripts and projects on git that give an Ubuntu install the features that makes me install a different distro. It “just works”, has tons of documentation and support from all sorts of places.
Arch user here 
Nothing wrong with using Ubuntu. As mentioned it should pretty much work out of the box including wifi drivers. GPU drivers should also be easy to install with the Additional Drivers thingy. Ubuntu has a huge ammount of guides, tips and tricks all over the net.
There are always other distros if you feel adventurous but for now I would say just try to stick with any distro for a while if you want to get comfortable using Linux.
tl;dr
be sure to check that install 3rd party software box in the Ubuntu installer to have the best chance of having your drivers installed if nothing shows up on SO
you may have to enable non-free drivers in the Ubuntu software updating tool such as microcode and GPU drivers, be forwarned that these may not be the latest or greatest
if you want most up-to-date GPU drivers, set aside a few evenings…
I’m going to throw out a list of things you should do before you install a distro from experience:
Don’t worry about what distro you’re using unless you need a BSD-based distro for some reason. Most are built on some form of the Linux kernel, so the real distinctions are:
@r3dbastard’s guide above is great. I’m an arch user as well (referring to @drunkenhazard’s comment), although I typically don’t do the whole “I use arch” thing, because I think there are tools for each and every job. There’s no use in bringing a chainsaw to a surgery.
Before you head out into the brave world of Linux, just know that you’ll find some jerks. Ignore them. Ubuntu is a perfectly acceptable distro that is very “set and forget” 99% of the time and when it’s not you can usually find an answer in a matter of minutes.
Make sure to let us know if you need help! 
Ubuntu is quite a good choice. i actually literally just installed Ubuntu on my desktop for the first time recently (I’ve ran the server version on a few different boxes and on my laptop for ages) and it went great.
Very smooth. The only issue I had is my desktop has a really finicky Wireless card (It had issues on Windows 10 on every machine I use it on) but it was very simple to find a fix via the magic of Google for Ubuntu.
If there is one thing Ubuntu has right its really good documentation combined with a large user base so it is usually easy to sort any issue that comes up when they do happen.
Let us know how things go! I’m sure there’ll be plenty of people myself included happy to help if you have any issues.
I fully agree with you there. I was just cheekily/in good humor acknowledging the “Linux neck-beards/Arch demi-gods” comment.
Back to the topic:
There is a nice list of software right here in forums and alternativeto.net may be of use when trying to find Linux equivalent programs.
How long ago was this? I don’t think those things have been issues for years now.
Personally, I would grab a USB stick, format it and make a bootable Ubuntu partition just to test drive it before you commit to installing it:
You can boot from the pen drive.
And you could do the same for other distros too, if you want to test them out. Or perhaps try Ubuntu on a virtual machine.
Personally, I have Linux installed on a separate drive and I just boot to it using the BIOS boot settings, no GRUB.
Kudos!
Ubuntu is a good place to start, and probably stay in. Unless you want to sometime in the future experiment with other distros (well worth the time in my opinion). Most hardware should be recognized and set up properly. Eventually, if you decide to stick with Linux, you may want to look into compatible hardware just to avoid future headaches.
Always nice to see people taking an interest in Linux. An important thing to keep in mind is there will be a bit of a learning curve. While Linux has come a long ways there are still sometimes problems with the adoption of brand new hardware (this has improve a bunch though). The installation of GPU drivers is very easy in Ubuntu since it includes a Graphical utility called additional drivers.
While Proton is indeed very cool it still lacks full support for most games. This will improve in time but there is no telling how long.
Ubuntu is a great first distro, however I would suggest Kubuntu,
it’s essentially Ubuntu but with a different interface (KDE).
Ubuntu comes with GNOME which in my opinion is an extremely drastic change coming from Windows, while KDE is more familiar.
Maybe give them a spin in Virtualbox or VMware Player before installing them on your machine.
I have tried Ubuntu several times, and other than the Unity desktop of the past, I really liked it. Very stable, well documented, good package availability, and good GUI functionality, even with Unity.
I currently run Ubuntu 16.04 headless for my home server. It works flawlessly. I have never had it break from updates…yet
x2, there are a few Ubuntu options that start you off with different GUIs, youtube them and choose one you like more.
To have full disclosure, the only issue I’ve run into with Ubuntu was a headless install as a Splunk indexer- they didn’t play nice together and the documentation I found was basically “don’t try to fix it, use CentOS”, so I went with CentOS. Otherwise its been solid- both as a GUI laptop OS, and as a headless LAMP stack for a website. In fact typing this makes me remember, installing Ubuntu server was like the desktop experience, the installer really holds your hand and does a good job.
One day I’d like to get arch running, but I know I would have to slate days of time to do so. I have to say, the Arch wiki is great though.
ubuntu is a good starter choice as it is easy to install and their forum members are quite helpful, But your choice of distro will develop as you get used to linux.
I use many distros as an instructor but i would honestly say my favourite is peppermint 8
Run Ubuntu in live mode (use the “Try” option after you boot up that install USB). Check to see if your hardware is working. If it is, it will work after you install Ubuntu.
If you have an Nvidia card, you will probably want to use Nvidia’s proprietary driver. This is not distributed with Ubuntu but can be installed via Ubuntu’s “Additional Drivers” tool. (Tap the Super key and start typing “Drivers…”. It’s also a tab on the Software & Updates tool.)
Remember that the applications you run in any Linux distro all come from the same developers.