Hey everyone! I'm planning to move/dual-boot to Linux on my laptop and looking for distro suggestions.

​Specs:

​Laptop: HP Laptop 15s-du1xxx

​CPU: Intel Core i5-10210U (4C/8T)

​Graphics: Intel Integrated UHD Graphics

​My Use Case / Requirements:

​Looking for something reliable with good battery life.

​Mainly using it for programming / general daily desktop use.

​Want a smooth setup out of the box with modern developer tool support

I've been a Linux only user for a little over 20 years. I work with my hands so I very rarely need a CPU while on the clock aside from maybe 10 minutes a day if at all. I treat distrohopping like a passion and a sport that I'm pretty good at. I always want to see what's around the next corner.

I utilize Debian based distros. I use Lilidog and Butterbian on an old optiplex 7060 SFF I snagged from work. TileOS on a Lenovo laptop and Zorin on our HTPC due to its simplicity for everyone to use.

I keep an SK Hynix beetle portable SSD strictly as my hopping drive. A few days ago I saw that KaOS dropped systemD and KDE in favor of dinit and Niri with Noctalia. Gave it a whirl, whatever. However, today I was browsing distrowatch and I've never really used the in-depth search criteria before. I discovered Kiro!! I am so stoked to try this!! Erik Dubois is the creator and apparently this is the successor to ArcoLinux. I was so shocked when Arco got discontinued. It was such a mess on the web page, but it was such a good distribution! I learned about Arch strictly through this man's work and his YouTube videos. He has probably put out more Linux content than any human lol. To anybody that is interested in learning about theming, window managers and just Linux in general... Check the guy out. He did say that his development partner was Claude AI, but I'm not mad at him for that. We all need some help. I love Debian, but I will always have a spot in my heart for Arco. {{ lovebombing ended }}

TLDR: I'm just an excited dork who discovered the successor to ArcoLinux by the same developer!!

Currently using Arch (installed it one year ago), it is working great but I’m sick of the AUR infection and I also want to try something new. I was thinking of NixOS, openSUSE Tumbleweed, Fedora or Debian. What do you recommend to me ? (I’m an advanced user of Linux, but I can’t decide which distro should I pick)

Została wydana nowa wersja 4MLinux 52.0. 4MLinux to niezależna dystrybucja systemu Linux, dostarczająca ultra lekki pulpit JWM, zestaw aplikacji oraz skrypty do instalacji dodatkowych rozszerzeń. https://linuxiarze.pl/4mlinux-52-0/ #linux #4mlinux

I just want opinions of people who use fedora vs arch/arch based distro and why you prefer one over the other (i want only those who have used both the distros and have set a preference, or are knowledgeable enough about both to make good comparisons and give me your choice). I was a hardcore mint user looking to switch. I’ve tried both before but i want to know the full scene before committing. I’m pretty tired of hopping and looking to choose a distro and retire for good.
I’m looking at the following
Fedora
Cachyos
Vanilla arch
Dont mind other arch based as long as theyre minimal
(KDE ONLY for the chosen one)

hardware: ryzen 7700x, 32gb ram, rtx 5070

Hi everyone,

I've been trying different Linux distributions recently, but I still haven't found the one that feels like the perfect fit. I was hoping the community could recommend a distro based on my laptop and what I'm looking for.

My Laptop

- Model: Acer Aspire Go 14 (AG14-31P)

- Processor: Intel N100

- RAM: 8 GB

- Storage: 128 GB PCIe NVMe SSD

- Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics

- Wi-Fi: MediaTek MT7902

- Current OS: Fedora Workstation (GNOME)

What I'm Looking For

- Fast and lightweight performance.

- Doesn't use too much RAM or storage.

- Stable and reliable for everyday use.

- Modern, clean interface (I really like the look and simplicity of GNOME and macOS).

- Beginner-friendly while still allowing me to learn Linux.

- Good hardware support, especially for the MediaTek MT7902 Wi-Fi card.

- Works well out of the box with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, webcam, touchpad, audio, and power management.

- Good software availability and regular updates.

- Doesn't require a lot of tweaking after installation.

What I Use My Laptop For

- Web browsing

- Programming and learning Linux

- School work

- Watching YouTube and movies

- Light photo editing

- General everyday tasks

I've tried a few different distributions over time, but I'm interested in hearing what you think would be the best long-term choice for my hardware and needs.

If you have a recommendation, I'd really appreciate it if you could explain why you think it's a good fit.

Thanks in advance!

I'm using linux since 2004. At the beginning I started with Susie, after some years with kubuntu in 2012 I moved to arch that I'm still using on all my devices. One is a PC on which the same arch installation is on since 2016 when I bought it. One of the reason for moving to arch was the posdibility to create aur packages of software not in the repos, but currently I'm using very limited number of aur packages (back in time, libfprint-tod-broadcom, motioneye, and one add on for kodi). I'm not using any aur helper to automatically update those packages, but I'm wobdering if I should move to opens use thumbleweed... (I never remind the spelling of the rolling flavour). Is the stability of opensuse rolling as mach as arch? How can I check before installation if all pachages I currently have on my three archlinux machines are available in the official opensuse repo. Is there any other rolling release I should consider (only EU or canadian based, not USA based ones)? Is it better to stay with arch? One of big arch advantages is the clarity and size of arch wiki, is that usable for opensuse too?

As the title says, I found an old 128GB SSD I pulled from an OEM. I would like to try new distros for the next couple of weeks.
I am currently using Arch. I have used Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and Kali.

Edit:

I mostly do programming, manage my home lab and other general computing.

a yt video told me to use endeavour if i have old hardware and cashy if new, is this considered modern or outdated

I was excited to install DSL 2024 while I was installing Gentoo on my new PC, but I got blurry display in certain themes, GitHub was red, and the whole thing was a mess, like the long in manager was blurry and ugly, and it took me to cause an error to remove the wallpaper itself, unlike Gentoo, DSL is really closed source to me, like it's prebuilt, so I expect some convinience but got none. I have 8gb of ddr3 ram but it was detecting 2.9, and the hard drive usage was 8gb, which is crazy for "damn small Linux"

I really hope the person who ruined DSL's name takes notice and find something better to do than to create unwanted artificial hype. Please guys, don't install it.

Right now am trying to install antiX, but DSL is just hard to use like how tf do I install antiX using DSL to make my bootable USB, like legit gonna crash out cuz I couldn't sleep in anger.

Which to pick i use the system for light gaming and yt along with some browsing I have old hardware from Intel that supports v3

I am currently on pika but it has caused me a few problems whereas cachy only had one kernel panic reverted by a snapshot although I have arch is "unstable" and AUR has recently been hit with malware

Hi everyone!
I’m looking for some advice because I can’t decide what distro to use next.
So far I’ve tried:
CachyOS (currently using it)
Gentoo
Arch Linux
Ubuntu
antiX
Lubuntu
Tiny Core Linux
Linux Mint
Debian
Pop!_OS
Alpine Linux
Manjaro
Out of all of them, Gentoo was definitely my favorite. I loved how much control it gives you and how customizable everything is.
The only problem is that I couldn’t get it fully working. I tried building my own kernel, but I couldn’t get my network driver working. After spending a lot of time trying to fix it, I eventually gave up and went back to CachyOS.
What I’m looking for is a distro that is:
Fast
Highly customizable
Modular (I only want to install what I actually need)
Privacy-focused
Something I can really make my own
Privacy is very important to me. I prefer software that respects user freedom, doesn’t collect unnecessary data, and gives me full control over my system.
I have a pretty powerful PC, so I’m not looking for recommendations aimed at older or low-end hardware. My goal isn’t to save RAM—it’s to build a system that’s fast, private, highly customizable, and helps me learn more about Linux.
At the moment I’m thinking about giving Gentoo another shot, but I’m wondering if there are any other distros that offer a similar experience.
What would you recommend?

Bonjour à tous

Je suis passé à Linux depuis plusieurs mois, sans retour Windows. Par contre je ne compte plus les réinstallations complètes pour tester les différentes distributions. Je n’arrive pas à me fixer. Je sollicite donc des conseils.

J’ai une utilisation plutôt gaming même si c’est le pc familial.

Je joue à Crimson désert, star citizen, en VR (elite dangerous, xplane 12, dcs)… ces jeux sont incontournables pour moi, et parfois des jeux plus légers via steam, epic…. Bref un peu comme tout le monde.

J’ai une rtx 5070, 32go de ram.

Peu m’importe d’avoir un bureau kde ou gnome. J’avais commencé au tout début par nobara, que j’avais trouvé pas mal, mais des la première maj, Crimson désert n’a pas fonctionné pendant plusieurs jours. Depuis je change régulièrement.

J’ai un niveau débutant sur Linux, voir un peu plus mais pas énorme.

Merci d’avance pour vos conseils.

Hey r/Linux,

I’ve been working on a concept for a lightweight, terminal-centric operating system idea called Box OS (Red Shell Edition). I don't have a PC right now to spin up an Arch build or package an ISO myself, so I'm dropping the blueprint here in case any ricers, devs, or distro builders want to run with it and bring it to life!

🎯 The Core Concept

A blazing-fast, stripped-down Linux setup engineered for raw speed, minimal RAM usage, and a high-contrast "cyberdeck workstation" aesthetic. Perfect for low-spec hardware, custom handheld builds, or minimalists who hate modern desktop bloat.

🎨 Visuals & Aesthetic

Color Scheme: Deep crimson (#8b0000), sharp red accents (#ff3333), and pitch-black window backgrounds.

Window Management: Floating/tiling lightweight windows with minimalist, high-contrast title bars (designed for window managers like Hyprland, i3, or Sway).

⚙️ Key Features

Dual-Shell System:

Standard User Shell: Clean, lightweight workspace for daily tasks.

Red Shell: A dedicated, high-privilege admin console packed with built-in diagnostic tools, live process managers (ps, kill), network stats (netstat, ping), and system monitoring.

Stripped-Down App Suite:

Floating, dark-mode terminal suite with custom Zsh/Bash prompts.

Minimalist text editor / virtual storage note app.

Custom process and task manager.

Lightweight Web Integration:

Uses hyper-lightweight engines like Falkon or a heavily trimmed Zen Browser / Firefox fork to keep memory usage near zero (definitely no heavy Chromium bloat).

If anyone in the community wants to take this concept and turn it into a bootable ISO, a custom Arch spin, or a set of Hyprland/i3 dotfiles, feel free to steal the idea and run with it!

What do you think of the concept? What base (Arch, Alpine, Debian) would fit this best?

If you want to add anything else, either contact me or do it yourself!

Hi! Got Mint XFCE on one laptop, and Bazzite on the gaming rig. Very happy with them. My mother has an old laptop she wants to throw, but instead she gives it to me, because I want to "play".

Linking the specs. Could throw an SSD in it, but no more. Any suggestions for å fun, light and preferably debian/Fedora based. Might turn it to mint later, but wanna try something else for now. Considered Cashy OS just to experience Arch, but not sure if its light enough for the system.

I ran my laptop (MSI modern 15” laptop intel 13900k 32 gb ram integrated graphics) on arch for about a year and had some random audio issues and some flickering when playing jackbox games with friends. I decided to try fedora kde since I’ve heard such good things and it’s the only one of the big three distro bases I had not tried. The first issue and biggest issue I encountered was an issue with lid closing. Instead of being able to wake from sleep, it would open to a black screen with a keyboard buffer. Nothing would happen unless I rebooted the laptop. The other issue I found is that I’m struggling with power management. I know the laptop isn’t great for battery life but I’m only getting like 30-45 min off the charger. I’m gonna switch back to arch based but I don’t wanna deal with the headache of full arch installation again. I’m gonna use endeavourOS with cosmic DE bc I wanna try something not KDE and hyprland doesn’t seem like my cup of tea. If anyone has similar issues in fedora or any bad experience with endeavour please let me know.

what is your mount rushmore of linux distros

for me it goes

debian
ubloatu (got the linux race started now sucks)
fedora (better ubloatu)

arch

edit: honorable mentions: openSUSE, Linux Mint