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🔍 Windows-to-Linux

A record to help me keep track of possible software alternatives and solutions to make the experience reasonable, otherwise the switch will not happen.

The goal is to try and plan the best route before making the switch, to not hop back and forth between operating systems.

I'm not well versed in Linux, so all the information I have is by doing research and comparing results. Errors, bad choices and mistakes are possible.

💻 System(s)

🔩 Main Secondary
CPU AMD Ryzen 9800X3D Intel i7 3770K
RAM 32GB DDR5 32GB DDR3
GPU Nvidia RTX 5070 Nvidia GTX 660
Notes ✔️ Modern hardware, should work fine on distros with Wayland only. ❌ Uses old driver that doesn't work on Wayland. Open source driver works, but tested performance on GPU makes even surfing web intolerable.

🐧 Linux

Distributions (Choose One)
Name Website Note
Debian debian.org Pure Debian, requires manual configuration, most-likely cli. Outdated (stable) software, unless testing or unstable branch used
Ubuntu ubuntu.com Based on Debian, user friendly experience with GUI tools for drivers and such, but mainly with commercial goals (Canonical)
Mint linuxmint.com Based on Ubuntu. Main differences seem to be: Cinnamon DE focus, stability, user friendly and no Snaps
Fedora fedoraproject.org Same as Debian, as in it's not based on another distribution. Difference is that it has more frequent updates to software and packages, almost cutting edge
Bazzite bazzite.gg Based on Fedora, comes pre-installed with Steam and other game focused optimizations, and has GPU specific ISOs for an easy out of box experience
Nobara nobaraproject.org Same as Bazzite. Difference is, as far as I can tell: philosphy and method
Desktop environment: Gnome or KDE
Switch status: ❌

✒️ Process

I tend to use open source and FOSS software a lot, which in the most part is available for many platforms or an alternative exists already.

Setbacks (cons)

The following issues are not Fedora or Debian specific, they seem to be a general occurance within Linux.

It is common to suggest "just use online/web version" as a solution, but that is not effective, it's simply a forced compromise, unfortunately.

  • Outdated Software:
    • Due to policy and the fact that in some cases it's about volunteer based work, some packages are outdated
    • Fedora seems to be balanced, from what I've seen it's mostly Debian based distros and indpendent package support (ie: flatpak, rpm, apt, deb), sometimes none (ie: mpv)
    • An alternative would be to build/compile packages yourself, which in itself a huge setback and a chore, from a user experience standpoint, especially ones new to Linux
  • GPU Drivers:
    • I keep stumbling upon comments about GPU issues, especially when it comes to Wayland
      • Some have opted to switch back to X11, since old drivers work well on it. Though many DEs and distros are dropping XORG one after the other, for good reasons but bad for older GPUs
      • There are detailed guides. The downside is that it's a lot to take in as a user, compared to Windows' "just works". [#notes]
    • Some other comments here and there, mostly solvable by tinkering with a config or a setting that sometimes have a label of "at your own risk". Still, a bothersome chore
  • Cloud:
    • No alternative or method for iCloud Drive
    • Rclone is a huge learning curve, even with a frontend like Rclone Browser
      • Having auto-sync and mount (local copy) access with my cloud services would definitely be an annoying chore
      • Affects Proton Drive, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive
  • Flatpaks are sandboxed by default, which can result in mis-matched themes, no access to folders and such
    • Use dnf/rpm/apt/deb/binary for installing a package if available and maintained officially, otherwise, use verified Flatpaks
    • Use Flatseal to resolve sandboxed issues, if any
      • As far as I can tell, sometimes the name of the related environment variables are needed, which is a chore, since I'll have to research them when needed
  • Internet Download Manager (IDM) alternative [✔️ solved-partially:listed]
    • Specifically its browser extension integration to capture videos and download them
    • ABDM is a close match, waiting on feature progress, if any
      • Feature is added, but unfortunately it does not work half the time. Needs to mature, hopefully
    • XDM was a possible choice, but development halted for a long time now [reference]
    • yt-dlp offers a static list, so it's not a viable alternative
  • WhatsApp [✔️ solved-partially:listed]
    • Not really an optimal solution, just using PWA, which would make some features unavailable (ie: calls)

💾 Software

💡 Useful

📝 Notes

By far the biggest setback on Linux is GPU driver. Not Linux's fault, just companies refusing to provide proper support and updates.

It is actually easier to have older hardware work on Windows than Linux sometimes, especially with hardware like Nvidia and Broadcom.

Which is sadly a big deal to people that want to migrate. Most just want things to work, easily. A lot of people looking to migrate run older hardware, and the out-of-box experience it could cause, would definitely make it a stopping point.

The other notable issue is gaming. Many games will not work due to how their anti-cheat methods are applied. Companies can provide patches to make it work. hopefully it happens soon.

A good list to check for games compatibility on Linux: https://www.protondb.com/explore

Nvidia Drivers: [#setback]

Look into enabling non-free options (ie: ffmpeg):

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A list to track and help me switch to Linux, or not

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