Depends really on the games and software you require.

For games, check:

• https://www.protondb.com/ - people post their experiences with games if they work or not.
• https://areweanticheatyet.com/ - lists of anticheat enabled games which work or not.
• https://appdb.winehq.org/ - wine's appdb has games and general applications listed, with some info on how they work or not. Some info is absolutely ancient at this point.

In general, indies and singleplayer games generally work fine. Battlefield/Fortnite/etc hugely popular multiplayer stuff with kernel-level anticheats generally doesn't.

I've only ever set up few printers to work on linux, and they've been bigger office printers. And they've all worked with minimal effort. Absolutely no idea about home printers.

edit: as for windows software support, generally win-apps run on wine. Some really well, some with issues, and then some just dont. Afaik eg. ancient versions of Photoshop run, more recent ones don't.

I run a windows version of a music software (renoise) because my effects/instruments have only windows versions. It works, but performance isn't quite as good as it was on actual windows.

You lose:

• Your corporate shackles

You gain:

• Limitless bragging rights

Ciao, first of all, there are games that use kernel-level anti-cheat software that will not work. The good news is that many companies, seeing the growth of the Linux market, are taking remedial action. For example, EA recently announced that it will adapt its anti-cheat software for Linux. For pirated games, you can install fit-girl with bottles and use bottles to run the games as well. Technically, they should work even after years, because bottles creates a container with all the dependencies it needs to run and is isolated from the rest of the OS. It probably won't be easy to learn how to use Linux tools right away, but it's mostly a matter of habit, so first of all, be patient if some things don't work right away. If you have problems, you can always ask the community. For simpler problems, AI can also be useful.

If you are invested in Windows software... don't run Linux. Being able to run Windows software is like a "patch" to get you by until you find a Linux equivalent. Pretending you can have your cake and eat it too will just leave you disappointed.

Linux has amazing software... but in most cases it feels very different from Windows. If you learn why it is different then you may start to appreciate Linux for what it gives you rather than what it takes from you.

As someone with MSI gf72 who switched last year with similar use cases and zero prior experience with Linux:

I installed EndeavourOS after reading some recommendations here since its supposed to work good for games and daily use. It's Arch so I approached it as a challenge but It turned out to be quite effortless from the start. I dual booted it for a few months without issues until Windows update broke my bootloader. After that I did a clean Linux install and never looked back. It's been rock solid ever since.

I have yet to find a game which doesn't run either in Bottles or Lutris. Some installers have their quirks but it's manageable. I only play single player games though.

HP driver for Linux runs my printer without any fiddling from my side.

I don't get into Command Line much but it's awesome - installing packages and updating the whole system with a simple command feels like magic. It's actually much less hassle than Windows.

im currently using windows 11 on msi gf63 laptop. if i used linux i would use ubuntu,bec it seems like the easiest thing.

Ubuntu is popular but I wouldn't necessarily say easiest. Something like Linux Mint would probably be simpler.

i game,i use brave browser,i pirate games and software. i also like that my hoarded pirated binaries of games and software will work even years later on windows without too much effort.

My child, you've come home.

i use an hp printer,and need to be able to use it on linux.

Stop using HP printers. That being said if it was made in the last 5 years it'll probably work on Linux out of the box.

i expect to be able to use the laptop and not think about the os too much,meaning i wont distro hop or try to customize it too much. im fine with the terminal,my goal of using linux is being far from malware.

I'm a big fan of immutable distros like Bazzite and Bluefin. They're so stable they're almost boring. As far as malware goes I would say standard rules apply: scan random binaries before execution, run normal operations as non-root/unprivileged users, patch regularly.

You try it and see if it fits you. This is not a religion. You use what works for you.

As a first step, see if you can get by by just using FOSS software on Windows. If you can, then you will lose nothing, swapping your "app launcher" is inconsequential if the programs you use are the same.

Wine/Proton are very good when it comes to game support, so you should be alright there. You can always check protondb and winehq to confirm the support status of the game you want.

I recommend a boring and stable distro like LinuxMint. It is based on Ubuntu but even better imho.

You would rid yourself of the Windows virus you probably currently have on your computer.

You would lose all the worthless proprietary software that you're hoarding for no reason.

your chains, your freedom

1. Ubuntu is a great place to start! You might also look at Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop or Pop_OS. All 3 are great for beginners and have lasted me since the time of Win Vista. I never felt that I out grew them.

2. Gaming: use the other links in this post to see if they work. Typically, the older the game, the better chance you can get it to work. Don’t be afraid of following tutorials - tweaking and trying things, just be patient, read it once all the way through before you do it, and google what you don’t understand. It’ll take time but I’ve always felt it’s worth it.

3. Brave, yup native linux version. Some might suggest going to firefox or using vivaldi, but you do you Boo - 0 judgement space. (Political reasons - the Brave CEO is a cryptobro, etc)

4. Ahoy matey, welcome aboarrrd. Get yourself a good vpn service, stick to the major distros, and you’ll probably be right at home.

5. More than likely, your printer will just work. That easy. I’ve had several printers and scanners, hated them all, no end of troubles with mac and windows - not at all with linux in the last 15 years. The man that does most of the work for linux printing is a gawt damn saint.

6. You should be right at home in Ubuntu. Gnome does a decent job of getting out of your way once you get used to it. Keep your guard up, I would assume windows malware might still be able to run in wine and it def will in a vm.

Bottom line is you can trust Linux. The learning curve is worth not having an adversarial relationship with your computer.

The best way to go into it is to think of it as learning a new skill. Some things are done differently, some things may require a bit more setup the first time you do them, but once you have your system where you like it, it should be possible to use without thinking about it too much.

Printers generally work fine in Linux. This is one area where Linux does surprisingly well.

For all the games, I'm not sure. They may just work with Wine or Proton, but it is far from guaranteed. I have had good results running even quite old games from the late '90s through platforms like GoG, though.

For your printer question, you should be able to boot off of a USB and test that there, I think.

Some Linux USB images don't have everything installed (so the iso isn't super large), but hopefully they should have the printer stuff installed.

The transition won't be painless. You're going to have to learn new things, especially if you're familiar with the windows file system and how to work within that.

Linux doesn't use "drive letters" for mount points, so you'll have to learn that.

Many games through steam or other game managers are just as easy if not easier than in Windows. Some are more challenging.

If you're tired enough of Windows that you're willing to push through some discomfort and new learning, then it's time.

Once you get to know the distro you choose (Ubuntu is fine), you'll just work, and it won't get in your way.

LMDE

Pirating games can be kind of a hassle on Linux. You need to install a lot of them in a Windows VM which will take up a lot of additional storage during the installation process. Once it's installed, you can delete the extra copies. Getting the games to work can be a challenge, too. Be prepared to fiddle with a lot of stuff like Lutris and changing settings just to see what works.

I just switched from Win 10 & 11 to Fedora KDE, about 2 weeks ago. Total Linux newbie. Not looking to hack my OS or anything. I'm relatively computer literate, but not at all a programmer. I just want an OS that works and mostly gets out of the way. And obviously doesn't spam me with ads or steal my data or lock me into a subscription.

So far: Fedora and Plasma have been wonderful. But...

• Computer feels slightly slower. I'm surprised by this.

• Fedora or Mint..."it just works" isn't exactly true based on my experience. "Most stuff mostly works okay" is more like it.

• I had a service keep crashing upon boot: xwaylandvideobridge. Trying to read people's reports and diagnose was frustrating. I ended up removing it (which I had to look up and figure out how to do). Not sure if I broke anything or not, but it seems like things are working.

• Boot time is definitely slower compared to Win11. Not slow, just slower. Like 35 seconds. I tried to figure this one out using stuff like "systemd-analyze" but that was also annoying / frustrating. Trying to interpret the output and then trying to interpret what the tech people are saying in the forums. Plus my specific output I was getting from those programs didn't look right or make logical sense (like it was adding up a bunch of processes as 11 seconds, but then saying each of those processes itself took 11 seconds, which I guess is possible if they are running simultaneously, but not sure).

• Weird stuff with youtube / video codecs. Firefox would glitch/hang/freeze playing youtube, especially if god forbid you try and do something radical like scroll back in a video. I seriously thought my video card was self-immolating. I finally just figured this out after much suffering. I think there was something about cisco h.whatever codecs, which I installed. But those are apparently terrible. Then I followed this not newbie-friendly fix after trying to figure out how to remove the Cisco ones: https://rpmfusion.org/Howto/Multimedia?highlight=%28%5CbCategoryHowto%5Cb%29. Not sure why this kind of stuff doesn't work out of the box. Having one of the biggest websites glitch using one of the biggest browsers is...not...great.

• HP printer: finally, some good news! I have an HP laser printer and had to print some stuff off last night (a PDF and Word doc). Plugged in the printer, it recognized it correctly, I added printer, it added itself smoothly. Then ctrl-p worked flawlessly.

In my experience, pirating games on Linux works, but its harder.

i use an hp printer,and need to be able to use it on linux.

Then research if your specific model has compatibility issues (AFAIK HP stuff generally works well, but... it's up to you to check before buying)

i expect to be able to use the laptop and not think about the os too much

That will happen, if you are lucky or if you buy hardware that specifically supports linux.

Would you expect macos to run on a dell computer? would you expect windows to run on a mac? linux has much broad compatibility but is no different: if it doesn't work on your PC it's not linux's fault.

my goal of using linux is being far from malware

Just follow basic hygiene and you'll be fine. Most importantly, don't install malware yourself (chrome is available on linux too and, sadly, it's also widely used).

If switching from Windows or Mac and you want to keep similar UI for easy transition, check out ZorinOS. A friend of mine recently installed Zorin OS Core w/ nvidia drivers and is enjoying it so far.