What distros have you been testing recently?

Discussion on Linux distributions
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crosscourt
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Re: What distros have you been testing recently?

Post by crosscourt »

Fortnite is a game that runs well on most systems and isnt as demanding as many other games, That said 16gb of ram is still a better choice and having at least 6gb of vram allows for better game play. I play a lot of Apex Legends another game you should give a look with your son. Im hooked on Mechwarrior Online and have been playing it for quite a few years.
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dai_trying
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Re: What distros have you been testing recently?

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I've never been big into gaming so I doubt I will "enjoy" much about adding more games, for me they are all just "time wasters" in the sense that there is nothing to be gained from them except filling free time.
I have watched a few twitch streamers in order to gain some tips on being a better player and some of them play apex legends but it doesn't keep me interested for more than a few minutes before i switch to a fortnite player.
Like I said it's more of another communication platform for me than anything else.
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crosscourt
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Re: What distros have you been testing recently?

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Gave PCLinuxOS a try but too many issues though mostly minor. MX Linux has a lot of issues with my hardware so that was a no go as it installed but would not boot. Feren OS KDE was very nice but has a few really minor issues.So far Zorin 16.2, Q4OS 5.1 KDE, Fedora Silverblue 38 and KDE Neon have been the best overall.
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crosscourt
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Re: What distros have you been testing recently?

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Wanted to update, as the last round of updates I just received solved all the issues with Feren and PCLinuxOS. Both are running great and Feren is the closest thing to a Mint KDE as you can get. MX Linux Ill wait till it comes out of beta and give it another try.
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Re: What distros have you been testing recently?

Post by wove »

I am much like @dai-trying in that I just never got into gaming on computers. I do enjoy getting together with friends at the local watering hole and maybe playing some Cribbage, or shooting some pool. Of course I do like killing a bit of dead time playing Solitaire while waiting for lunch to get done, or waiting until it is time to leave for an appointment. It is inconceivable to me why one would watch someone else play a game. (I can not think of any rational reason why something like Twitch exists.)

Many years (decades?) ago I purchased a flight simulator because it contained "Realistic scenery of the Grand Canyon." Well of course the simulation was really about flying an airplane. I did not want to fly an airplane, I wanted to see the bird's eye view of the Grand Canyon.
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Re: What distros have you been testing recently?

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The reason Twitch became popular was that many of us were playing the same games like Starcraft and either playing with friends or in my case competing with others. You watch to learn tactics but its also a bit like playing sports as people enjoy watching excellent players compete. ESports have become as popular as many physical sports and this doesnt surprise me at all. Competiton comes in many forms and for those who arent into it as much they watch just to learn how to play those games a bit better.
Gaming is incredibly interactive and once you find your gaming genre it can become quite immersive given the wide range of games available both single and multi player.
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Re: What distros have you been testing recently?

Post by crosscourt »

Heres my list of recent distros and how it went after test.

-Mageia 9, three tries to install then many issues once it boots.
-MX Linux 23 rc1 also three tries to install then wont boot at all,
-PCLinuxOS runs great but very limited with features and continues to look dated, but does use recent kernel and KDE version.
-OpenMandriva Rome 23.03 installed fine but way too many minor issues and setup problems for my taste.
-Fedora SilverBlue 38 was fine and I tried both DE versions but for now Im not ready for an immutable distro.of this type.
-KDE Neon was also fine and after installation there were no issues but I have had intermittent stability issues with it over time.
-Q4OS 5.2 KDE is an excellent distro and makes for a great Debian 12 installer with added Q4OS features.
-Feren OS 4/2023 is one of the nicest distros Ive used in quite some time and its modifed KDE GUI is beautiful and easy to use, plus it uses recent kernel and KDE versions.
-Endless OS is a great immutable OS thats can be used for tv boxes, simple installs for relatives or a set and forget install for general use.

I initially test on live media and if that goes ok I install it to a drive and run it. Only distros of interest and ones without problems will I run long term to test and Ill post that in separate threads. The hardware I use is a Dell Optiplex 7010 sff and a Lenovo Thinkcentre m900 tiny. My interest here isnt to post in depth info but instead to give you an indication of problem distros and how youre first boot experience and short term use will fare with a distro.
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Re: What distros have you been testing recently?

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I will say that Endless OS will be my pick for my future tv boxes as the Chromeboxs are retired. Its set and forget aspect is perfect for this use. Endless also does many things better than Fedora like auto turning on the internet connection and has a simpler interface.
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Re: What distros have you been testing recently?

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Stepped away from the immutable distros right now and have been playing with a number of other distros. MX Linux still has some minor issues, so Im running Debian 12 right now using Q4OS as my installer.
Still waiting for the major updates of Zorin and Feren OS, along with continue testing of KDE Neon. PCLinuxOS I continue to work with but its falling behind in a lot of areas and I get impatient for change.
Will soon be trying Mint LMDE6 with Cinnamon but up till now I always find issues with Cinnamon that tend to turn me off and I end up moving on.
Right now for Windows users I think Zorin is still the easiest distro and offers newbie friendly features to run Windows apps if needed. Debian 12 impresses me the most but Feren OS with its customization and desktop themes is really a fantastic distro to use, assuming you dont hate it being based on Ubuntu. Once Ive got my new testing rig setup, Ill post back with more.
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Re: What distros have you been testing recently?

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Running Feren OS mostly and its had some small KDE Plasma warnings at GUI but seems to be fine. Kubuntu 23.10 was a huge disappointment with hardware detection problems and a bunch of minor issues.
Q4OS 5.3 was a pleasant surprise and recent updates have really made this distro, but you do have to install Flatpak support which to me should be there be default, plus still no Q4OS themeing. Still waiting for Zorin 17 as it was suppose to be out already.
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