TLDR: Which distro is better for gaming and video editing (NVIDIA GPU), CachyOS or Ubuntu?
Hi! It’s been probably a month since I started using Linux (escaping from Windows), and I choose LMDE since the distro that I felt aligned more with what I want from a distro on in general is Debian, but since it was my first time using Linux on my main device (just tried Debian on a laptop to run a Homelab) I got recommended Mint to make it easier for me to adapt. The thing is that since I started using LMDE I’ve discovered that it doesn’t cover perfectly my needs. Two things that I didn’t want to lose when switching to Linux were gaming and the ability to run video/audio/photo editing programs flawlessly, mainly DaVinci Resolve and AffinityPhoto. It’s been practically impossible to achieve that, since DaVinci doesn’t work, can’t even get to install AffinityPhoto and some videogames need more recent (NVIDIA) drivers than what Debian and of course LMDE can offer. So, seeing that I want to keep LMDE (and maybe in the future upgrade from LMDE to Debian) but at the same time I’m not willing to give up on those 2 things, I believe the dual-boot option is the one that suits me the most. Now, what I’m here for. I’ve been doing some research and the ones that caught my atention the most were CachyOS and Ubuntu:
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CachyOS: PROS: · High gaming performance and (looks like) compatibility. · Looks like DaVinci works perfectly for a lot of people (although some other people claim having issues). CONS: · Sounds too complex as a distro for someone who has close to zero programming knowledge and just started using Linux. · The rolling release aspect feels a little scary too.
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Ubuntu: PROS: · May not be THE gaming distro but it seems to be working for a lot of people without having extensive programming or Linux knowledge. · Generally may be more compatible and stable than CachyOS in general · Seems it will be easier for me to adapt to since it’s Debian-based. CONS: · Doesn’t seem as good as CachyOS on a performance standpoint, affecting both video editing and gaming capabilities.
Now, my questions would be: Am I mistaken in any of the info I have revolving these two distros? Could I be missing any other options? Which do you think is the distro that could suit me the most? Any recommendation when doing the Dual-boot? I have never done it and it scares me a little tbh.
My main priority is having a stable (and compatible in the first place, of course) experience (maybe Ubuntu?), but I don’t mind having to put more work into it to achieve a better experience (maybe CachyOS?).
I would love to hear from you and, of course, if I’m missing any relevant information I’ll be more than happy to share it too.
Thank you very much! :D
manjaro, unless you can’t handle the plethora of meme type people telling you it is terrible, and downvoting you as if they have a point. It is the logical entry point if you want an arch base. https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=manjaro
garuda is also decent, some of their versions are over the top shiny, but mokka, and kde lite are much easier on the eye. https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=garuda
bluestar might also interest you, I have it installed, but haven’t looked into it much yet. https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=bluestar
Manjaro has been awesome. I use it for work and it is pretty bulletproof.
My other laptop is using Arch (btw) so having the same de and package managers is awesome. The GUI software installer is pretty great for my wife, she never needs to open a terminal.
I distrohopped to end up with it a few years ago, and distrohopped again this year, it’s still the only one that ticks the boxes for me. Never had any issues with it, on 3 systems.
Very interesting. I saw a video of a DaVinci Resolve user recommending Manjaro to run it, so it adds up. Thanks!
When I first looked into linux, I found heaps of recommendations for ubuntu, mint, zorin, pop, and fedora, but none of them seemed right (for various reasons), so I distrohopped until I found something that made sense. It’s easy enough if you use ventoy, and if you have a spare drive, or even enough space on a drive to make some 50GB (ish) ext4 partitions. Even easier if using 2.5" sdd’s since you can very easily disconnect your windows drive to avoid potential weirdness.
I don’t use da vinci resolve, it doesn’t sound linux friendly, aside from on rocky os (which I know nothing about)
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/DaVinci_Resolve
https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=rocky
The usual option is to look for alternatives to da vinci, such as kdenlive. Alternatives are not always of interest, or considered viable for some users of course.
I’ll do some research on ventoy and the distro hopping system you explained, although I’m not sure I’m willing to start that process, since right now what I want is finding something that just works for me without having to spend too much time on it and specially not having to make any reset and/or backups. Just dualbooting and setting the gaming and video editing set up without going crazy. Thanks anyways!
No doubt that is what most people want, but it often isn’t how it works, especially if you want to use software on linux, that the developer doesn’t appear to want you to use.
Rockyos linked above via distrowatch might be your best bet
I’ll save that RockyOS option just in case, since I would like the distro to support DaVinci and gaming at the same time. Thankss
I haven’t used rocky, it is just the one that is suggested in the arch wiki link above.
No problem, I guessed so. It’s the only os with official DaVinci Resolve support and I heard it’s very complicated to work with, mainly if you’re a beginner like me. But in the end I haven’t actually tested it, so maybe I shouldn’t discard it that fast, we’ll see 🫡