I just made the swap the other day. I figured there would be a huge learning curve but theres really not. I been on the steam deck for a couple years now and I realized all the games I play run on linux. Im using bazzite and its set up for gaming comes with steam and lutris for non steam stuff.

I opened the topic while knowing there will be a ton of super enthusiastic and well-constructed answers. I’m not disappointed 🍿

I’m a newcomer to Linux (only about a year in), but here’s what I’ve got so far:

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Mine wasn’t at all. Valve has done a lot of work to make this seamless so that more games can be played on the Steam Deck. Check the Proton DB to see what your games look like.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

I have very little experience with this, but probably. Linux users tend to be tinkerers.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Same answer for both: There’s Wine, and a whole bunch of setup scripts that can get even stuff like Adobe Creative Suite working with it. Worst case scenario, there’s VirtualBox for the one or two apps you might need to run Windows for. But I find that the open source options, while they might have a learning curve, tend to be substantially better than either of those options.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

More or less, but you can pick and choose what updates you want to install and when. Most distros have a package manager that’ll let you update the kernel, the drivers, the middleware, the desktop environment, all your apps, and even the package manager itself on your schedule, from one interface. You can also just ignore it and never update anything, though I wouldn’t recommend that.

How does digital security work on Linux?

Very well. It’s much more locked-down by default, for one thing.

Is it more vulnerable due to being open source?

Quite the opposite. Open source projects are well known for being less vulnerable out of the box; Linux in particular is used by huge companies as a lightweight server OS, so it has a lot of highly-paid people committing security fixes back down to the open source project.

Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Antivirus is a bandaid on Windows, provided because the OS was written with certain naive assumptions that let attackers get access they shouldn’t have. On Linux, those assumptions were not made. No application can be installed without your root password, for instance; downloaded files can’t even be executed without specifically making them executable; and access to edit system files is restricted by a very robust permissions system.

All of that, plus Linux’s much lower market share, also means that no malware authors are really wasting their time trying to write Linux malware. The attack vector just isn’t worth the extra effort.

So no, there’s no integrated antivirus; but for most users in most situations, it’s not needed at all.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Your mileage may vary significantly, but anecdotally it seems like most architectures from AMD and Nvidia have good support.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Maybe, but like with Windows, I assume you have to really go out of your way to do so.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

I’ve only used Ubuntu and Mint. Mint has so far been the easiest and most user-friendly of the two. It’s also regularly touted as the best for newcomers.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Depends on the game. In general no, unless it has kernel anticheat, which Linux will not allow because that’s a glaring security risk.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Yes.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Most Windows software can be run on Linux using Wine. But there are advantages to using Linux-specific alternatives - they are often lighter and faster.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

Yes, each distribution has its own update tool. They also install and update software (like in Android, where Google Play installs and updates all apps and not just the OS). No need to download exe files from random websites.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Linux is generally much more secure than Windows, because it is open-source. Most internet servers and supercomputers use Linux partly because of its security.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Nvidia is notoriously bad but getting better. AMD is good.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

No.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Linux Mint. It is stable, reasonably up to date and does not make confusing changes every update. It also tends to work on most systems.

Start with Linux Mint and use Steam’s Proton or Lutris. I can run just about every game natively or using one of those without having to do too much work to play them.

After about 30 years of Linux, here’s my take on your questionnaire. Not sure if it’ll add on what many others have said.

The one thing you have to remember is that Linux is not a replacement for Windows. It’s a completely different operating system that lets you do the same operations in a different way. It can however run some of the same software thanks to a number of very clever hacks. That being said…

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Significantly, no. Some things won’t run, especially games that require deep anti-cheat hooks in the system. An awful lot of stuff will run fine thanks to the incredible work done by Valve.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Short answer: no. It often relies on software tools that won’t run as easily. Sometimes, yes.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Sometimes there’s a functional equivalent in the Linux world, or you can get the Windows version to run either in a virtual machine or in a pseudo-emulated environment (Wine or bottles).

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Yes. they can be written specifically for Linux. Or they can be written for Windows and will work in Linux, sometimes (it’s hard to get the translation layer right).

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

Every distribution manages this. It works by itself and is typically much cleaner than in Windows.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

The structure of the software in Linux (and the fact that it mostly comes from one source (the distribution) makes for a smaller target than in Windows where it comes from all over the place. Antivirus aren’t used.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

They’re the same as in Windows (the codebase is the same, the OS “glue” is specific). Other than the occasional bad release, they’re usually OK. Linux is currently transitioning to a new display system, from X11 to Wayland, and nVidia is a bit behind on Wayland adoption. However, all three GPU makers typically work fine whether you use X11 or Wayland.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Even voluntarily, that wouldn’t be easy to do.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter. They all install the same thing in the end. Just pick something mainstream and well documented and not something obscure.

Note that for X or Y reason, a given distribution may disagree with your hardware. It’s the problem when everything is very specifically designed for Microsoft’s OS, around specs that aren’t fully publicly disclosed. If that happens, just try another.

Lots of good answers to your other Qs here so I’m gonna focus on your last one. If you lack in-depth computer skills as much as I’m imagining, than I think the best distro for you would be Bazzite.

Firstly, I’m going to call out the users here suggesting Mint. Mint is only a good beginner distro for people that are already “early adopters” or tech-savvy to switch to Linux for the first time. When I first switched from Windows 10 on my desktop last year, I tried Mint. Keep in mind, I have extensive knowledge of the commandline and headless Debian from several years of running a homelab. I found it completely intolerable how much wasn’t intuitive, how difficult cinnamon was, how much set up was involved in getting graphics drivers working, and gaming going. It wasn’t that I’m incapable, it’s that I don’t want my gaming desktop to require that much tinkering just to play games. Let alone that I can’t imagine how steep that learning curve would be for a casual gamer with minimal tech skills.

That brings me to Bazzite. I switched back fully to Windows 10 for several months because of how disillusioned I was before learning about it. Bazzite is one of a handful of distros that have taken the SteamOS experience from the Steam Deck and tried to build on/improve it. It uses the KDE desktop environment, which is super similar to Windows 10 in look and feel. It includes everything you need for gaming right out of the box, including graphics drivers already installed, Steam as well, all of the frameworks and compatibility tools you need already configured. It’s immutable too, which means the system directories are locked down so you can’t accidentally break things. There’s a unified system updater that cover everything. The system, your applications, compatibility tools, all of it updated with just one click.

As well, games just work without needing special configuration. It’s truly the easiest to use distro for people switching from Win10 that just want to play games with their computer, maybe some internet browsing and email alongside that. You also don’t have to worry about stupid codec issues if you wanna watch youtube or streaming sites in the browser.

Seriously people, stop recommending Mint. All the folks who would be okay with the amount of tinkering it requires have already made the switch. If we want the less tech-savy gaming folks to be able to make the switch, we need to be recommending something that will just work out of the gates for them. Pushing them to distro-hop is just going to push them to Win11. Plus, the more that make that leap, the more likely game devs will have to target WINE, the less games will be borked. It’s already pretty minimal though, especially if it doesn’t use anti-cheat.

Windows 11 isn’t enshittified, it’s just shit. You should consider learning what that word actually means rather than just parroting it like everyone else.

Note here, a lot of people are going to recommend you mint, I honestly think mint is an outdated suggestion for beginners, I think immutability is extremely important for someone who is just starting out, as well as starting on KDE since it’s by far the most developed DE that isn’t gnome and their… design decisions are unfortunate for people coming from windows.

I don’t think we should be recommending mint to beginners anymore, if mint makes an immutable, up to date KDE distro, that’ll change, but until then, I think bazzite is objectively a better starting place for beginners.

The mere fact that bazzite and other immutables generate a new system for you on update and let you switch between and rollback automatically is enough for me to say it’s better, but it also has more up to date software, and tons of guides (fedora is one of the most popular distros, and bazzite is essentially identical except with some QoL upgrades).

How common is the story of “I was new to linux and completely broke it”? that’s not a good user experience for someone who’s just starting, it’s intimidating, scary, and I just don’t think it’s the best in the modern era. There’s something to be said about learning from these mistakes, but bazzite essentially makes these mistakes impossible.

Furthermore because of the way bazzite works, package management is completely graphical and requires essentially no intervention on the users part, flathub and immutability pair excellently for this reason.

Cinnamon (the default mint environment) doesn’t and won’t support HDR, the security/performance improvements from wayland, mixed refresh rate displays, mixed DPI displays, fractional scaling, and many other things for a very very long time if at all. I don’t understand the usecase for cinnamon tbh, xfce is great if you need performance but don’t want to make major sacrifices, lxqt is great if you need A LOT of performance, cinnamon isn’t particularly performant and just a strictly worse version of kde in my eyes from the perspective of a beginner, anyway.

I have 15 years of linux experience and am willing to infinitely troubleshoot if you add me on matrix.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

No. Thanks to Steam Deck, most popular windows games also work on Linux. See https://www.protondb.com/ for a complete list of 18,000 titles… Someone already mentioned that kernel level anti-cheat is the big, obvious blocker.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Im guessing that most moders target Windows users therefore, don’t think mods would be AS easy. Not saying modding wouldn’t exist or work at all. Edit: see sp3ctr4l’s reply to this comment. They know more than me

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

There are workarounds. Linux has some great alternative software to popular paid stuff. See LibreOffice or Krita.

There are also more advanced options to run Windows apps under Linux, see Wine or Virtual Machines

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Yes. Similar to the above answer/ similar to aforementioned Proton. For .NET specifically, there is a Linux runtime.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

This can depend a lot on what distribution you’re running, but definitely, there are ones with easy buttons for whole-system updates.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

It’s different and probably overall better than windows. Most distros are much better out of the box than windows.

Open source is ususually a security advantage because (long story short) security mistakes can be caught by more people.

I don’t have a good answer for you on anti virus. I am very privacy and security conscious and I dont use one on linux. My personal opinion is that you don’t need one and shouldn’t need one if you’re not downloading sketch stuff.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Totally. GPU drivers are much, much better than they used to be.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

Theoretically. You would have to try really hard, but for normal use, no. More likely, you could lose data or access to the system if you misconfigure stuff (just like with Windows)

Distro recommendations. My personal opinions, don’t flame me.

• Bazzite. hard to mess up, gamer focused, super simple updates, and targeted support for gamer hardware. Feels like a cross between steam deck and windows. Less support for tinkering but if you never want to touch the terminal, this is my choice.

• Pop!OS. Simplified Linux with great driver and steam support with easy updates. More tinkering support than Bazzite

• Linux Mint. Easy to start on but more traditional back-end. Much more support (forum posts) than the previous two. A lot of what works on Debian or Ubuntu works the same on Mint, so you’ll be able to do all kinds of fiddling

Here are some answers I can give

1: Depends on which game you play, performance ma be better or worse, cant say without specifics

2: If modding a game requires copying files from here to there, you will have 0 issues, but if it requires some software to do it, you will have to do some digging

3: In some cases, you can use something like WINE to run these applications. But I have personally never done it. A better way would be to search for how to do it in Linux, which look difficult at first, but its just different not difficult

4: That I dont know enough to say, maby WINE can run them

5: Yes, there is a Linux update button on many so called beginner friendly distributions like Ubuntu and Linux Mint

6: Lets just rephrase it this way, a vehicle is open source, anyone can unscrew anything, anyone can change brakes, does that make it less safe?

7: Yes, GPU drivers are very stable these days, there was once a time where it was not true but thats history now

8: No and Yes, Linux will not try to prevent you from breaking your computer if you want, this sounds weird but there are good reasons why. But you gotta understand, Linux is a layered architecture and most of the hardware related stuff lives on the bottom layer, and you need to go out of your way to modify it and disable safety features to cause hardware damage.

Personal note:

1: Anything you can do on a web browser is not an issue, that includes office 365 or Adobe cloud or stuff like that.

2: If you have iPhone and require full support, you are out of luck, I know some folks were able run iTunes through WINE and get its full functionality, but thats just hack and nobody can tell if that works or if you can get it working now. The only support that comes out of the box is being able to copy media from iPhone to computer, cant remember if you could copy media from your computer to iPhones.

3: Adobe support is absent. I know some were able to get older version of Adobe products working with WINE but cant say that works anymore. Like I mentioned previously, being able to use stuff over cloud with a browser is non issue.

4: Libreoffice in Linux is pretty must identical to MS Office. Its just that buttons are in different places and you can save as PDF which will look exactly the same.

5: There is no reason not to atleast have Windows dualbooted, you can find something like Oprekin’s Windows 10/11 lite with everything removed, though it may be absolutely insecure, Windows cannot support Linux’s filesystem so its fine when you need it. It can fit in about 50GB disk space so no reason not to have it.

I’m only responding to the lack of computer skills portion of the OP as I’m sure others have already answered points plenty and probably better than I could.

If you’ve used Windows, you have enough basic computer skills to get you started. You’ll learn the Linux by using Linux just like you learned Windows by using Windows. There are plenty of mainstream distros that give you an out of the box working experience that is a great starting ground. It does take research and try things out instead of wanting someone to give you the perfect play book.

On the gaming side, it depends a lot what games you play. Generally the rule is (at least for single player) that it will work through Proton or a native version, unless otherwise specified. Personally, pretty much all of my Steam library works perfectly on Linux, even some games on launch day (Persona 3 Reload was flawless day 1). For modding your mileage may vary but if the game runs there’s a very high chance the associated modding tool will work too, although it might require some more tweaking than you are used to in order to get it to work properly as quite a few tools will assume you are running Windows. Multi player games are where there can be some trouble - for example Fortnite is a notorious example of a game that refuses to run on Linux because Epic Games does not allow its anti cheat to work on Linux. ProtonDB and a good old fashioned go on your favourite search engine should be able to tell you if what you play works, doesn’t work, or needs tweaks to get working.

Running non-Linux apps is a mixed bag. Some things (most notably games through Proton) can work through compatibility layers perfectly fine, even if they need you to install .NET or some other dependencies. Others will be totally unusable, at least for now. Make sure you check all the applications you need to work on a regular basis work before jumping in, so search up their compatibility with tools like WINE (translation layer to let Windows apps run on Linux, also what Proton is based on).

For updates, you’ll love it far more than Windows. Since almost every app you could ever need is installed through either a package manager or Flatpak (closest analogy I can give is like a phone app store, but allowing you to install pretty much anything, including system stuff), your updates will all come in one place. For example, on my Fedora KDE install, all I need to do for updates is go into the Discover app (KDE’s package management software) and into its update section, download, and install. This not only updates system software (desktop, kernel, drivers, so on) but also your applications. This means updating your system and apps is a breeze that’ll take far less time than the usual pain that is Windows Update.

For security, you’ll have a lot less to worry about than Windows, and I have to admit part of it is because Linux has a fairly small user base. Few malware writers are going to care about a few Linux desktops compared to plenty of unpatched Windows systems out in the wild. However, the open source aspect also helps a lot - rather than showing vulnerabilities to hackers, it’s been valuable more to show these vulnerabilities to people who can fix them since the software is on public display. There’s more eyes on the code, and more people who can fix problems before they become major vulnerabilities. For most regular desktop users, you will not need any antivirus. If you’re really worried about viruses, I have heard ClamAV can scan for some things, but I haven’t tried it myself as it really isn’t necessary for desktop use.

GPU drivers can be a bit complicated. AMD and Intel are incredibly simple, since (at least for anything made within the last 10 or 15 years, if not older) the drivers are built right in and need zero configuration (it just works!). NVIDIA cards can be a bit more of a challenge. On a lot of distros, you can install the NVIDIA drivers usually during or right after install fairly easily, but they will be separate from the rest of the built in drivers. You can have a good experience with NVIDIA on Linux, but just expect there to be anywhere from a bit to a lot more effort needed to get some things working compared to AMD and Intel GPUs due to this separation. Of course, this will depend on your exact set up.

There’s no real risk of damaging your hardware installing Linux, the only real danger is deleting files already on your main boot drive during installation, so make sure to double check your installer to see if it’s doing what you want it to. Make sure you have a back up of your important stuff too, just in case. The only thing I can think of maybe is extreme overclocking through LACT or something maybe causing damage, but that’s part of what you sign up for with overclocking even on Windows anyway.

Distros are a very debated topic, and there’s no real “best” one, just one that fits your needs. If you’re new to Linux, my personal recommendation is to go with something boring and well supported like some variant of Fedora or Ubuntu. There will be plenty of documentation for both to help you with things, and they both are fairly solid distros with good track records. However, one thing to keep in mind is what kind of desktop you want. Linux has multiple desktop environments (DEs) that can provide differing experiences (different way of launching applications, arranging icons, file managers, that sort of thing). If you’re used to Windows, KDE definitely has the smallest learning curve, as a lot of things will be as you are used to, so it may be best to go for either the KDE variant of Fedora or Kubuntu. The main difference between Fedora and Ubuntu you will notice is that Fedora has a far faster update cycle, which means you get new features quicker, but you will have to restart for updates more often. In addition, I have heard that the NVIDIA drivers can be easier to handle on Ubuntu, so if you have an NVIDIA card it might be more optimal to go for an Ubuntu variant.

I have used Windows all my life, and I have some questions

This is a great place to ask

But all I know about Linux is 1: it’s a cantankerous beast that can smell your fear and lack of computer skills and 2: that’s apparently not true any more?

Yes and no, the primary skill that you will be tested when using Linux is the ability to learn new things and adapt to changes. People misinterpret this as being complicated when in many cases its simpler but different.

I’m pretty much a fairly casual PC-user, I don’t do much more than play games. So I wrote down some questions I had about Linux.Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Depends, if you mostly play single player games then most likley not. If you play online games than maybe not also maybe not.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Depends on the game, for something like Minecraft or Doom youll be fine but games with less support may not have good Linux support.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

Yes, Wine has alternative frameworks and libraries

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

OS updates can either be done through the package manager or your distributions GUI software center

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source?

On the surface it may seem so because more CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exploits) are found on Linux but they’re also patched faster than Windows and mostly before they find their way into the wild. In addition Linux is designed more securely such as, using repos (so software can be verified as legitimate), not allowing user mode software to run in kernel mode (so no anticheat), and having more eyes on the code.

Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Not really and nobody uses it, it’s like MacOS in that regard

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

For the most part yes but keep in mind there are new drivers that arent ready to be used, as long as you stay on stable drivers you’ll be fine. Also hardware damage will most likley only occur if you do heavy overclocking and. Ignore temps.

And also, what distro might be best for me? Pop_OS

Your questions will have different answers depending on which flavour of Linux you choose.

A good chunk of windows programs can be run using a program called “WINE”. WINE is just a command line program but you can get a GUI version easily.

Updates depend on your flavour but Debian based Linux (like Ubuntu) you just type “sudo apt get update” and then “sudo apt get upgrade” and bam everything is updated. No restart required.

If a program doesn’t work in Linux there can be workarounds or alternatives but that really depends on what program you are talking about.

You can play almost every game that exists on steam on Linux with the exception of games that have kernel level anti cheat like some competitive multiplayer games.

You’re arguably safer security-wise on Linux. Most people are on windows so that’s the majority of all viruses. Your security updates are included in system updates. No antivirus required.

I have never heard of Linux damaging hardware. I don’t think you need to worry about this.

Recommendation: get Bazzite. It’s a special type of Linux that is closest to a windows experience than anything else. It won’t let you do dumb things and mess up your install. It has all NVIDIA drivers preinstalled as well as gamepad drivers and everything you’d need for gaming (including dock support). It’s a no configuration needed OS. Linux on easy mode. You don’t even need to use the command line ever. Updates and apps are installed through the Linux equivalent of the Microsoft App Store (except this time it is great and doesn’t suck). And I say this as someone who only used windows until 15 years ago I messed around with Ubuntu and other Debian based Linux distributions.