bigb

Pop! OS might be a good option. It’s Ubuntu-based and is pretty easy to get running. I switched from Windows 10 earlier this year and it’s been mostly fine. A couple points to ask yourself before experimenting with Linux:

1. Is your data backed up? Will it be okay if you lose all of your computer’s data? I backed up all the important documents just in case I made a mistake.

2. Do you need Windows specifically for anything important? For example, do you use your computer for work? Stuff like Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Cloud either doesn’t or can’t run on Linux. However, there are tons of FOSS alternatives to replace Office and Adobe software.

I really like Pop! OS because it’s a nice bridge distro from Windows to Linux. It’s possible that I’ll switch to a more “advanced” distro like Arch in the future, but it’s nice just not having to worry about Windows 10 or having to upgrade to 11.

Keep in mind though, I still keep an install of Windows 10 on my machine in case I need to switch back for work software.

If you do dual boot, turn on the BIOS password to prevent Windows from messing with your bootloader.

I wish someone would make a new RTS with the Halo Wars control scheme. It works so well on the Steam Deck. I played Halo Wars 2 on the Xbox and I was disappointed by the new gameplay.

I’ve been a Spotify subscriber since the US launch. There are some other options

Listenbrainz or last.fm can offer recommendations, but there won’t be the instant gratification. Last.fm does support music playback on its website, which sources from YouTube. Either platforms are going to require some work to build up an account.

If you’re comfortable with Plex, I’d advocate for its sonic analysis tool. It looks at the waveform of newly added music and then offers recommendations. Coming from a massive streaming service, it’s been refreshing to use Plexamp. The curation aspect of my library is fun compared to the sprawling library on Spotify. I like the fact that I control with artists and albums are in my library. It’s led to me finding more deep cuts with my favorite groups rather. The hard part is finding/ripping the music you’d like to listen to.

Most work days, I use Plexamp because the curated library leads to less skipping and I stay more focused. I still have Spotify for home because the library is unbeatable and other family members use our group account. Either platform will scrobble my listens to last.fm while Listenbrainz will update itself from my last.fm account. I can search for new music on Last.fm or Listenbrainz and add it to my Plex library.

So far so good for me. I switched last week after dual booting Pop OS and Windows 10 for a few months. I used to use Mac OS X back in college and missed the interface, so Pop OS’s implementation of GNOME felt good.

As for OP’s question, someone else with more knowledge can answer if a specific distro has the best drivers/compatibility with games. Pop OS comes with NVIDIA drivers which works for me.

I also wanted a full desktop OS. Some of the distros will focus on being a controller-friendly frontend for gaming rather than a desktop OS.

It might be helpful to try something like Ventoy for any distros that support a live CD. You won’t be able to fully test gaming performance, but Ventoy lets you try multiple distros on one disk.

Other questions for OP: What type of GPU are you using? What is your current OS?

I always wanted one so bad but never picked one up

I haven’t used an ARM system, but docker might be the best bet? Get docker installed and find instructions for install Jellyfin and each arr program.

https://forum.armbian.com/topic/11654-is-it-possible-to-install-docker-fresh-latest-build/

If you’re in the U.S.:

1. Create a fake credit card with Privacy
2. Set the purchase limit to $0.
3. Create a temporary email
4. Start a 7-day trial on Medici.tv
5. Use a video downloading tool to grab what you want.

Truthfully, I don’t know if step 4 5 will be easy. I’ve used OBS to do screen records of encrypted content. But that takes a long time to do, so maybe there is more information out there about ripping web video?