Which Flavour? (SOLVED)

Software & Operating Systems Linux
1

Hey All, after years of Windoze only machines I have decided to jump into Linux see how I like the water to going into full time open source OS flavour and take control back, but as I've never really tinkered with Linux before I'm pretty much going in blind so I am seeking out some advice, do's/don'ts and general guidance.

So in no particular order:

*Which flavour of Linux is best (I know I know this is subjective I;m more after a general consensus)

*Would it be best to run in a VM while getting to know the nuts 'n bolts so to speak before I dive in full time

* I do a lot of gaming as well as study on my machine so that is why I haven't really jumped in yet as all my games and programs are Windows based

*See above is there some avenue ala Bootcamp/Dualboot so I can still game with Windows based games.as well as programs which are not yet ported or have an equivalent.

^And Disk formats will I have to backup all my programs and games before I transition (I do have all my media on a FreeNas box so are not in the main rig)  

Apologies if this all seems a bit vague but I have so many questions but do not wish to spam the forums, and the above is a rough guideline of my most important aspects.

Specs of the PC are:

AMD FX 9590

Crosshair V Formula Z Mobo

Radeon 6850's

16 GB Corsair Dominator Ram 

All advice and scolding most definitely appreciated.

 

Kind Regard

p5ych00n5

 

2

You have to take into consideration the way you learn, i only learn under pressure, so i forced myself to learn by ditching windows from all my computers, if you like it slow, then you should use a VM and start to learn some stuff. I like Manjaro as a starter distro, its pretty and easy to use, just stay away from Ubuntu...

I hope that was useful, good luck man!

3

Cheers for the quick reply, hahaha yep I got that feeling from others re: Ubuntu so I'll give manjaro a crack.

Also had a quick squizz at Robolinux which I have a guide to setup as a dual boot so I can still do my schooling and play around with Linux.

 

Kind Regards 

p5ych00n5

4

Linux Mint is the one I generally like to use the most - it was the second Linux distro I ever used (second to Ubuntu), and it's the one that's stuck with me the longest. In particular, I like the Cinnamon DE since it looks good and performs well out of the box. I do like XFCE because of its customizability, but it can't beat Cinnamon's efficiency of utility in my eyes. Again, probably because I was an early user to start with.

Manjaro is also a very good distro out-of-the-box, next to LM in included applications (LM has a USB formatter and image writer - if Manjaro included those by default, I'd be sold). They both have their benefits and drawbacks - LM is definitely better for beginners, I'd say, though Manjaro isn't bad if you don't have to touch the base. The AUR is probably the best feature over Linux Mint.

5

My List goes like this

Pure power over your system - Arch Base/Manjaro


Built for your PC only - Gentoo Base


Gamers paradise - Sabayon/Manjaro


Super beginners - Manjaro/Mint/Elementary


To learn quick - Arch Base


To learn super quick in an environment that you wont understand unless you have played with Linux for a while - Gentoo Base

 

As you can see from me Manjaro/Arch are highly recommended, why is this? I will point some things it has over other systems.

AUR - Arch User Repos, You can build almost any package known with this system, Cant build it? Give it time ;)

ABS - Arch Build System - Dont like something in your Kernel, Change it, want to build your own, Do it.

Pacman - One of the most powerful managers around, I am currently stuck between RPM and Pacman as the best, Its stupidly simple and stupidly powerful.

Yaourt - Easy package building, just read what it says and Yaourt will do everything for you.

Easy Kernel Switching - Ubuntu is designed for New users, but Arch will allow new users to change the internals of their systems with 1 simple command, Dont like Linux3.13? move over to LTS or something else, and it wont break

Complete Control - I am dam sure somewhere in Ubuntu there is some close source code, Come to Linux for freedom in your software, Arch will provide that easily, no Kernel taint or anything at Base, Manjaro does but only for its Driver support.

Conclusion.

So as you can see I like arch and with good reason, But dont let my points force you into it, there is a distro for you, may not be arch, Maybe tiny core, Maybe Gentoo, but only you can find out, I just gave some of the best points from Arch, these also carry over into any distro based on it, Arch is very modular and wants you to use that to create something for you, It is very bleeding edge so expect latest software, there is only 1 distro above for bleeding edge and that is Fedora/Rawhide.

If you where to take my advice though, Get Manjaro XFCE, tweak her and make your PC sing, and dont go back to Windows, eventually you will see why Linux users hate Windows ;)

 

1 Like
6

Thanks for all your quick replies guys, I have decided to go with Manjoro, but I'm playing it safe until I feel comfortable by installing to an external and have a play round in there without corrupting/mushroom clouding anything (although knowing myself I'll end up diving into it headfirst within a few hours), it is a pity all my games/schooling is Windows based otherwise it'd be au revoir to Windows forever.

 

On a sidenote and please excuse my ignorance does VMWare work within Linux, if so I will probably forego Gaming for a while just to rid myself of the Windows Taint

Currently on Manjaro Openbox, went for the headfirst option and backed up all my documents/photos and the such and went completely Linux.

Feck it's fast takes roughly two seconds to boot from Post (SSD), installed Steam already and having a bit of a play around.

7

A few links for you

What If I want everything (Zoltans post about VM/Windows) - !!!HERE!!!
He highly recommends KVM over VMWare or Vbox, you do get more control with them, You also have Xen Hypervisor.
Reason why I recommend that over VMWare is hardware passthrough, it can be better controlled via qemu-kvm and you can simulate more hardware than what you actually have (Quad core to be an Octo)

Gaming is becoming better, hell we are getting Witcher 2 soon xD there is also Wine and Play on Linux, its better to learn Wine as its more up-to-date than Play on Linux.

Also what apps does your school use? if its Office just use Libre Office, if its programming like VS, Use eclipse or go pro with Vim ;) Photoshop - Gimp, Lightroom - Darktable, Illustrator - Inkscape etc etc.

Hope this helps!

 

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There's a setting in playonlinux to change the wine version, as far as i know, you can use even the latest one...

 

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Hmm I did not know this, Thanks :)

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A big thank you again to all who've gently guided me, for now I've settled on Manjaro KDE for Linux full time, I realise that is probably the slowest of all flavours but it is visually pretty and hell of a lot quicker than Windoze so it is a good compromise, although I do have Arch and Manjaro XFCE all ready to go once I am more familiar. In the case of fairness I did give Ubuntu a run, looks pretty but was a bit "Meh" for my liking so straight back to Manjoro for this little black duck (plus it refused to install Steam, so that's a big no-no :D)

n00bs thoughts so far:

Yegods the snappiness, it's overwhelming especially as I have it installed on a SSD it's opening programs even before I click on the Icon.

Visually very nice, not quite as "polished" as mainstream OS and even Ubuntu but it does not burn my retinas.

With programs such as wine it's a lot easier to convert over from Windows, that was the main reason I hadn't  come over yet as I do love myself some gaming, now with Linux support for Steam, Steam OS and programs like Wine, Giggidy.

Now with Micro$oft having halfbuilt that garden wall to keep out those pesky smelly system hackers, no better time to give them the middle finger :P

And most of all FUN, I'm all like a giddy schoolgirl, I haven't had this much fun since I voided my warranty on my SIII within the hour of getting it by rooting and installing Roms and such.

And I will apologise now, as I will have some probably n00b/annoying questions coming your way, but as I learn and discover I can give back as well.

 

Kind Regards

p5ych00n5

11

Welcome to Linux, man!

It's funny, even one of the heaviest DEs is faster than Windows. Don't be afraid to ask noob questions, Linux is all about the community! I'll be happy to help you everytime i can :p

12

Hey,since you are starting out with Manjaro,perhaps you could use this Manjaro users thread that i started a while back. I think we could help each other this way. I'm pretty much a newbie myself.

https://teksyndicate.com/forum/linux/manjaro-users/171942

13

Sorry mate, I've had to defect over to Mint as my School uses Horizon View Clients for remote access to courseware and I couldn't for the life of me find a client that would run on anything but Ubuntu, unless someone could point me in the right direction.

14

There is a package in the AUR called vmware-view-client...

15

negodark you legend, I will give it a crack, but at the moment I'm currently in love with Mint, it just feels like home if that makes sense, all the prettiness of Ubuntu without the spyware nastiness (I even tried purging Zeitgeist, but lo and behold it wasn't installed in 16)

DERP, currently downloading Manjaro XFCE

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I'm leeching of this thread, thank you all for the helpful advice, and thank you, p5ych00n5 for asking!

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No worries Mr Penguin, I'm glad I can be of help in any scenario.