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The original was posted on /r/linux_gaming by /u/Kalinbro on 2025-07-08 14:07:38+00:00.
Hello everyone!
I just want to share my little grain of salt to this wonderful community, since we are getting new members (ALMOST) every single day it would be good if we were to suggest truly "beginner friendly" distros.
What I mean by this is something that can be used by someone who has no clue of how to use the terminal or CMD or anything like that, not everyone is fond of installing Fedora or Arch and having to read a bible worth of information and scour the internet to install Nvidia graphics only to not be successful and just go back to Windows (which is COMPLETELY OKAY TO DO!)
For starters, Fedora is not meant to be a Gaming distro or anything like that, it's meant to be a developer/kind of general use OS, Arch is also kinda the same but more all in one but you NEED to KNOW what you are doing.
Again, not everyone is fond of the terminal, it's a very powerful tool and it's faster/easier/safe for some but for the rest of us we barely used the CMD on Windows or also the terminal on MacOS.
So, going back to my recommendations for someone who would like Linux to keep growing and improve and cater to more general people and not just the tech savvy, here is my personal recommendation where I have been able to get everything working WITHOUT touching the terminal ONCE:
Bazzite: Probably one of the most popular options for Linux Gaming outside SteamOS, Bazzite can bring that SteamOS interface but also a powerful desktop mode that comes with many tweaks and optimizations to make Gaming as smooth as possible, the only downsides (IMHO, this is personal preference and recommendation) is that it's based on Fedora and the installer, man, that installer really is as bad as Windows, other than that it has all that you need to enjoy gaming right off the bat specially if you also use Nvidia because of their Nvidia ISO. A truly STRONG choice and overall a 9/10
Nobara. Alternative to Bazzite: If you are looking for a more "general" use distro based on Fedora that also supports gaming right off the bat then you should also use Nobara, pretty darn good too! 8/10
Linux Mint: Next on the list is Linux Mint, while not really considered a "gaming" distro, gaming on Linux Mint is pretty damn good and not hard, with a integrated tool to help you install Nvidia Drivers after you install and a desktop environment that caters toward people that are still used to Window's look and feel, Currently the "third" most used distro to game on Steam Hardware Survey (at least for this month). I would consider Linux Mint for people who don't have bleeding edge hardware and it can sometimes be a bit behind updates (due to stability concerns) but overall a pretty damn good. 9/10
PopOS. Alternative to Linux Mint: Another great distro based on Ubuntu that caters a bit more towards "gaming" than Linux Mint, with also specific Nvidia ISO and a experience tailored to be as friendly as possible for "new" users PopOS is a solid choice too 8/10
PikaOS: Not really a "new" boy in town but getting more attention as lately, a great experience from start to "finish" (finish as in getting to game), it will kind of feel like Nobara but in a better way, no more Fedora based and that awful awful installer is gone too with a more beginner friendly installer, while lately they been catering more towards the "general" use side of things they have AMAZING optimizations for Gaming and make things absurdly easy to game without having to open a terminal and waste an entire day praying to God that whatever you are doing works, with dedicated GUI tools, dedicated Nvidia ISO and an extremely friendly community ready to help this one is an extremely solid choice, overall a strong 9.5/10
CachyOS: An Arch based distro here?? Yes, it's worth a mention for their efforts and rising popularity, they don't specifically cater towards "beginner" friendly it's still a good choice, I toyed around with it in a VM and looks to be a good choice, with optimized packages, a custom optimized Proton fork and other optimizations this one is also a good choice if you are okay with not having that a fancy GUI then CachyOS is a great choice (also good if you want to try their Handheld version) 8/10
TL;DR: Use Bazzite, Linux Mint or PikaOS for ease of use, CachyOS, Nobara and PopOS for anything else
