this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
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Privacy
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Distro doesn't really mater that much, desktop environment (de) is a more important choice for a new user.
Comming from windows you might like cinnamon, mate, kde plasma or gnome with ArcPanel and Dash to Dock extensions. There's also lxqt and xfce for low spec systems.
You can install any de on any distro but if you are new to linux you might want to stick with the default one.
If you want cinnamon or mate go with linux Mint.
For gnome ZorinOS looks decent. I think it comes with wine already set up to make running windows programs easier. If you have an nvidia gpu Pop!_OS comes with nvidia drivers but you'll probably want some gnome extensions like ArcMenu and Dash to Panel.
Before installing any distro you should try them out in a live usb mode or a virtual machine.
Personally I started with Cinnamon Mint but it had issues with my multi monitor set up and poor gaming performance so now I'm on gnome Pop!_OS with ArcMenu and Dash to Panel on desktop and lxqt lubuntu on laptop.
I switched from windows about a year ago and now I'm absolutely certain I'm never comming back. The first 2 weeks or so are the most difficult because you feel like you have to learn a brand new skill every time you do something basic that would take you 30 seconds in windows but once you have everything set up and are more familiar with how things are done on linux it will feel completely natural.
Good luck on your linux journey, I hope you see it through. :)