Which distro for coding, light gaming and customization?

[boiled_toast64]

Hello!
I'm planning my first PC build and I decided to go with Linux instead of Windows because I really don't like the way Windows is going right now, with all the AI and bloat software. I'm not sure which distro is the right for me. I want to use the PC for:

• Software development (f.e. mobile development, game development as a hobby)
• Gaming
  • mostly light gaming like Minecraft and Hollow Knight
  • I'm interested in some more demanding titles such as Elden Ring
• Some tasks now and then such as light video editing and image editing

There is no version of Cubase (DAW, music studio program) for Linux so for that I will just have to use my Windows gaming laptop.

A little while ago I dabbled with Arch Linux and while it was cool in a way, I really don't want to spend as much time setting things up. I want it to work out of the box, but I still want it to be configurable. For example, I want to make it look and feel like a Windows XP or Windows 7 environment with the color themes and desktop icons. I've understood that it's not too difficult to achieve on Linux Mint. I've been thinking about Mint or Fedora.

Also is a 16GB GPU overkill for me?

Thanks!

 

[Condobloke]

G'day boiled_toast64, Welcome to Linux.org

have a look in: AlternativeTo.net

Lmms, Linux multimedia Studio, is just one

The homepage:

LMMS | Home

LMMS is a free, open source, multiplatform digital audio workstation.

lmms.io

/

When you install software, it is a good idea to do so from the Software Manager

The one showing is from Linux Mint 22.2, Cinnamon

 

[Brickwizard]

all distributions are fairly equal in that you can install whatever apps you want, and depending on the machine do all the gaming you like using one of the available plug ins, as for desktop customising then probably the best are XFCE and Plasma, you can learn programming using any distribution, Arch is great, but you do have to maintain it, so I suggest you look at something based on Debian stable.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

Software development (f.e. mobile development, game development as a hobby)

For mobile development e.g. Android you'll be using Kotlin and for that you need Android Studio.
This means you'll be using their repository for updates so which distro you use does not matter at all.

For game dev, you have 2 options, if your distro is rolling-release such as Arch then you'll likely get up to date development libraries, or if your distro isn't rolling-release you can always compile libraries on your own to have them updated.

So distro again doesn't matter.

I'm interested in some more demanding titles such as Elden Ring

To play games on Linux you need proton which you can get by installing Lutris
So distro again doesn't matter.

Some tasks now and then such as light video editing and image editing

As with previous points you need actual software for all these tasks, distro is just OS that runs them.

I'm gaming and developing here and there on Debian btw. all that I need is updated software that Debian doesn't have so I use upstream repos and it works all great here.

I want it to work out of the box, but I still want it to be configurable. For example, I want to make it look and feel like a Windows XP

Again distro doesn't matter but desktop environment you'll be using, KDE desktop will let you customize your desktop in almost any way you want.

 

[KGIII]

There is no version of Cubase (DAW, music studio program) for Linux so for that I will just have to use my Windows gaming laptop.

While not free, we do have Bitwig Studio.