What version of Linux and why

First of all, sorry for being such a noob. I want to start off using Linux like Wendell recommends, but I do not know what distro/desktop edition is better. Also which one preforms best for gaming. If you have a recommendation please state the reason why its better than the other (I have no Linux experience). I don't want to hear any fanboyism so please keep everything objective. Thank you in advance.

I am newer to linux myself, I started on Mint 17.1 but ran into problems with cinnamon and such moved to Ubuntu gnome as logan has. there is lots of documentation and support for both, however some of the guts of the two are older. Others might recommend that you start on fedora.

Being newer to actually using linux I can't say for sure what you should use, I would wait a bit to see what some of the other people chim in on.

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The best way to try out linux in its many flavours is to use a virtual machine. VMware player is easy to get and setup. Virtualbox is another choice. Then just get your ISOs and try them out.

Make sure you have virtualization turned on in your bios if you go down this route.

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There is no better distro. It all about what distro fits better your needs. That why they exist anyway. Because a team of people thought that something was missing from the Linux environment and made a distro to fill the gap.

I think that Mint 17.1 for a noobie is the best choice. Basically because most things work out of the box, cinnamon is a great GUI while being very familiar for people coming from Windows, its ubuntu based thus ubuntu packages work in Mint also and provides good control over the OS updates making it easier for a noobie to maintain. But there are many user friendly distros out there that you might like. check this thread: https://forum.teksyndicate.com/t/1-year-linux-challenge/74682

You can always try them in a virtual machine to see which one seem better for you in terms of feeling at least.

Gaming performance would more or less be the same. If anything makes any difference would be that a distro that uses resources more efficiently than another one might leave more of them free for use for the game. But it would not make so much of a difference.

Personally I use MINT for my home desktop and CentOS and Debian for my work for stability, performance and some software support I need. I would not recommend the other for new users though because they need more effort to setup.

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I honestly want to try Ubuntu because Logan and Wendell use it. But I cannot get my head around all the versions. Like out of these what are the differences they are all Ubuntu.
- Kubuntu11 (KDE)
- Ubuntu6 (Unity)
- Ubuntu GNOME53 (GNOME3)
- Ubuntu Mate3 (GNOME2)
- Xubuntu8 (XFCE)

Those are all Ubuntu that has a different default Desktop Environment.

KDE
Gnome3
Gnome2
XFCE

are all environments so they have a different feel and layout of the applications, think of them like windows 7 vs windows 8 vs windows 10 vs windows xp

OK, so they have no performance difference. Just the way it looks.

Some do have a bit better performance but that is because they are not as "flashy" as the others. XFCE is very quick because its lightweight but also looks kinda basic starting out, but overall the gaming performance is relatively speaking the same on them. XFCE is basicly like taking windows 7 and turning off aero.

Ubuntu gnome or mint. Enjoy.

Ubuntu versions aren't numbered like that.

https://forum.teksyndicate.com/t/explaining-ubuntu-version-numbers/78583

For you :)

Thanks guys I will try vmware with different versions and see which is best for me but i'm thinking Ubuntu because of Logan and Wendell's recommendations.

Thank you a lot Kia.

The latest version obviously, Linux 4.0

:p

For a serious answer someone already pointed out all those versions of Ubuntu are just Ubuntu with a desktop environment installed by default. You can install Ubuntu and install any other desktop environment you like on the same OS.

Its a good idea to try a few on a virtual machine but the best way in my opinion is to pick one of the main ones, Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE which are all fairly new user friendly and stick with it full time for a week at least. Even if that means you dont play your favourite games for a week, its just a week.

Remember that GNU/Linux is a completely different OS from windows, there's going to be a learning curve, your going to have to relearn how to do things, your going to get annoyed with it and stuck becuae you dont know how to do something that should be simple and it probably is you just dont know how yet. But you will. Keep in mind when you first used a computer your experience will have been the same just like all new things. But its will be worth it in the end.

Ask questions. Come on IRC and hang out and talk about Linux as well if you like :)

If you are up for the 1 Year Challenge lmk!

Yea so far im liking gnome more but i got some others to try out

mee too. plz and thank you.
i have a buncha hdds and windows already,
and im looking for something as close to that user interface as i can get
im mainly just a gamer.
only have one gpu.
one screen.

id really like someone to sit down with me,
and basically hold my hand,
where to find the image
how to install it from a usb stick
get the basics up and running
for instance whenever i install a new windows my first stop is NINITE.COM
that has most of the basics that i use.

i had wanted the idea sorta to be.
have linux as the nice and stable platform
then find a way to emulate windows or something to do all my normal day to day stuff
and if it crashes
or becomes virus ridden to the point of hastle
i could just Boop
load state back a week or whatever. just like i would if i fucked up in an emulated super nintendo game.

or maybe dual boot for a while ? idk
call me Ground ZERO. step zero

You are free to use what ever you like, but I can tell you right here and now that you should not do it because logan and wendell are using it.

If you are brand new to linux, you will run into issues eventually. By the time you run into what ever problems you might encounter, you are going to be wayyyyyyyyyy beyond the scope of the tek linux channel.

My recommendation would be for you to find a distrobution that you actually like.

And just to add to what was said above. You can install multiple desktop environments ontop of ubuntu like gnome and KDE and basically run all of those "distrobutions" off of one distro.

There are hundreds of videos on youtube that do just that.

Here is a video for you. The only difference is that you will be downloading 14.04 instead of 12.04. That is literally the only difference.

Try them all. You'll eventually find one you like. Your only cost is time. No distro is really better than another - imho they each have their pros & cons and user base. Ubuntu, Mint, Luna are all very nice and friendly.
Here is a distro picker - seems to come out with good results.
http://tuxradar.com/content/distro-picker-0

edit and Zorin as well. The core edition is sweet but the cheap (<$15) ulitmate edition is very very nice...