So KDE Plasma is just a graphical environment that you can use on any distro. It’s my preferred desktop environment, but Gnome and XFCE are famous ones, and lots of nerds/programmers love i3 (a tiling graphical environment which encourages you to use keyboard only).

So when choosing a distro, we’re looking at other qualities.

A Linux distro is basically a collection of tools that constitute your OS. The most notable difference between distros is package managrment – how do you install new packages?

This might sound weird but the reason is that open source software comes with tons of different options that can be toggled before compiling to binaries, and at the same time we need our ecosystem of software to play nice accross different packages. They often depend on each other! So that’s why different philosophies split the community into so many different distros.

When installing new software, you essentially run a specific command from the terminal. Your package manager (which is a core part of your distro) then downloads and installs all dependencies. There are graphical tools to help beginners with this, but in fairness I think you should be prepared to learn to use the command line to search for applications and install them. You won’t avoid the terminal as a Linux user.

A really common distro is Debian. It’s the basis for tons of other popular distros, including Ubuntu. My problem with Debian is that they are a bit conservative, which means that they’re often slow with rolling out updates for KDE.

Since I’m also a KDE Plasma person, I run Neon https://neon.kde.org/ which is based on Debian but focuses on rolling out stable updates for KDE packages.

I do not recommend starting with a hobbyist distro like Gentoo, Nix or even Arch if your focus is productivity or gaming. If you want to learn about computers, then those distros can be incredibly rewarding, but they are time-consuming. Go with something Debian-based, or alternatively OpenSUSE or Fedora.

Regarding your other questions, you likely do not need to swap out hardware. But some graphics cards have poor support for Linux, so research your model in advance. You can also try running a distro of your choice live from a USB stick (most distros support this). It’s slower than running from hard drive, but you can get a feeling for what works out of the box and what may need further configuration.

Many games will not work properly on Linux, at least not without extensive tinkering. If you’re serious about certain games, I’d say Windows is unavoidable. I detest dual-booting but if you only have one computer then it may be your only option. However games that work on Deck should work fine on any Linux machine.

Hope this helps.

4. I’ve found it easier to switch to Linux and using windows on a VM or docker image. Tho I had my plan for the migration and used markdown as a means to avoid Ms word.

5. Treat each distro like an ice cream flavor. Some are good, some are bad, some are great and some will make you go what the flying fuck. Try and find what you like. There’s a lot out there.

6. Check out Lutris as a launcher for non steam games.

7. See 5. Different desktop environments for different people see what calls you. I was all up in KDE and the moves to sway.

8. Most games with Denuvo

9. Maybe but depends on the parts. It’s either change the part or figure out a complex workaround. You’ll find manufacturers that have better support for Linux.

As you are researching, take a look at Garuda. It is beginner friendly, gaming and performance focused, has good helper apps, and is Arch based so it is getting frequent updates.

I’ve been using it as a beginner for over a year and it has been capable, stable, and easy.

If you are used to steam os, also check out Bazzite, it is designed to be a similar experience.

Hot take: Go with Gentoo. Dive into the deep end, manually install your system from the command line. It doesn’t get more configurable. You’ll be forced t o learn a bunch of stuff tho. But it’s not that hard.

If you take this seriously, my advice would be to not go overboard with global USE flags, and keep your CFLAGS standard.

Or go for something like Arch. Maybe CachyOS (tho I hear this has a lot of optimisations that are described as “yolo”…)

AMD graphics work better than nvidia still, but things are getting better, so if you’re with team green you might have to replace that or you might have no real problems.

Most games just work. Even stuff with anti-cheat isn’t necessarily out (e.g. Helldivers 2, War Thunder and Star Citizen are games with anti-cheat that I play). Best to check protondb if in doubt.

I recommend avoiding fedora. It gets shilled pretty hard, but they’re mostly a loud, obnoxious minority.

If you end up trying out fedora and don’t like it, don’t be afraid to switch as soon as possible.

1. KDE is a “DE”, not a distro. If you want something customizable though I wouldn’t go with an Immutable distro. If you want something safe I’d go with something Fedora-based. If you want something intuitive go with CachyOS.

2. No idea. You could always live-boot into Linux Mint or something and try.

3. Using Nvidia makes everything a lot harder. If you have an AMD GPU or even integrated graphics that’ll make things much easier.

4-6. I’m not the guy to answer these questions, mostly because I’m in a hurry.

Recommended Distros

General Use:

• Fedora KDE
• openSUSE Slowroll with KDE

Gaming Focused:

• PikaOS
• Bazzite
• Nobara
• CachyOS

When picking a distro for gaming, I always recommend using one that gets frequent/fast updates. All my recommendations get fast updates. If you are mainly just gaming, go with a gaming focused distro. If you want a system without many apps or modifications, go the general use route.

I can elaborate on each of my picks on request.

KDE is a desktop environment, not a distro. You can therefore install it on most distros, or get variations of the distros (e.g. Kubuntu).

If you’re happy with it, why change? It’s really polished and customisable.

For the parts, impossible to say as we don’t know what you got in there.

Opensuse tumbleweed, kubuntu. Both solid options for you. Bear in mind bazzite is an immutable distro and as such, it is not very customizable.

I want to say that you might be confusing distro and Desktop Environment. In most base distributions (Arch, Debian, Fedora, etc) you can install any DE you want…

1. If its gaming that is main priority I think pikaos would be a good option. Based on Debian sid. So you will have a more stable ground than arch(my opinion), but still have access to newer kernels for drivers and fixes. https://wiki.pika-os.com/en/home

2. Games that has anticheat on kernel level(don’t know which ones that exist now since I don’t play major fps titles). But basically any games that have anticheat for online could be issue.

3. Amd has best support for Linux, nvidia starts to come around but still has some way to go(my opinion). WiFi cards can sometimes be an issue in Linux still. You need to post your exact hardware config that you have/want to buy.

4. Not all distros support dual boot or rather give instructions for it.

5. Do you have software in your private pc that is work related and developed by employer you will run into issues using it in Linux. I simply built a itx pc just for work stuff(damn you filemaker that don’t work in Linux, even tried with bottles).

6. Bottles: https://usebottles.com/ Winboat: https://www.winboat.app/

OK, in broad terms you want a distro that is reasonably up to date, but doesn’t have to be bleeding edge.

I run Mint Cinnamon and Arch KDE for the limited gaming I do, they both work perfectly fine.

Almost all games that have a Linux port will have the support & requirements specified for Ubuntu, which has a KDE flavour, however most people won’t recommend Ubuntu (for good reasons). An Ubuntu derivative with the issues removed however is a decent choice: Mint or PopOS.

Mint is by a long way the most recommended Linux distro for beginners and for good reason - the install process is easy, the community is supportive, and it does pretty much everything straight out of the box.

Cinnamon desktop environment is customisable, not as much as KDE. If you’re really keen on sticking with KDE then either EndeavourOS (which is basically a bundling of Arch so it’s easy to install) or KDE Plasma - which is Debian based but more up to date than Sid I believe.

I don’t recommend Arch for beginners unless you’re highly technical and willing to RTFM.

Most windows games will work in linux via proton/wine etc. You’re Your only really blocked ones are the couple of companies that insist on kernel anti-cheat and are anti-Linux (EA I think ?) it’s a handful of AAA games that are locked out.

Generally you don’t need any hardware changes nowadays, in fact it’s often the other way around - stuff that W10 & 11 no longer support can often be made to work on linux. AMD & Intel GPUs are less troublesome than Nvidia, but it’s generally not a big deal anymore.

Reddit’s /r/linuxgaming has fairly reasonable people (for reddit) and a fairly deep archive that will allow you to search for the specific games you most play, and ways to get them running.

The other comments here are far more detailed than mine, and the posters are undoubtedly more experienced than I.

But my two cents: bazzite is the way to go.

It’s unbreakable, gaming-focused, and easy to install and work with. I used to run ubuntu, then arch, and I have been using bazzite for over two years now. Arch was amazing for tinkering any learning about how Linux works, but bazzite just works, and runs smooth.

The only issue I’ve had are small ones with non-standard hardware drivers. I rencently bought a gigabyte gaming laptop, and some of the hotkeys don’t work (like screen brightness +/-) out of the box. Also openRGB didn’t find the drivers it needs/expects to control the RGB keyboard.

Since bazzite is atomic, installing additional drivers for such stuff is more complicated, I haven’t even had time to look into it yet. On other distros this would be easier, for example I bet that on arch it would be simple. But arch can break if you don’t know what sou are doing, bazzite can’t really get into an unbootable state unless you try really hard to do so. So it is a tradeoff. Again, others here are much note knowledgeable than I, just wanted to share my experience.

KDE is avalible for most distros. It being just a desktop environment. It’s well supported on Fedora, openSUSE, Debian and Arch. As well as many of the various distros based on those. Ubuntu, a Debian derivative, and fedora both have a version that installs with KDE out of the box, and the arch install script has it as one of the main options. You could also install it on mint, but, like, half the point of mint is the cinnamon desktop.

If you’re interested in customizability, are willing to read some wiki pages, and never want to wait for support for some new feature, arch is great.

If you want a system that’s incredibly stable, will run on basically any computer made after 1995, and is generally just very reliable. Debian can’t be beat.

Fedora and Ubuntu are both fairly easy to use, new versions are released fairly often. If you don’t want to think much about it, they’re good options.

As for game compatibility, most will work without any effort, some stuff will need a bit of puttzing with settings. The only situations where you may need a VM or duel boot would be certain competitive multiplayer games that specifically use kernel level anti cheat. If you play one of those, check it on ProtonDB . Notionally Proton DB is for the steam deck and steam games run through proton, but generally what’s on there also applies to any other game run through wine.

You shouldn’t need to replace any hardware. If you have an Nvidia graphics card you will need to install the drivers as they don’t come with the kernel, but it will run just fine. I’ve heard of some issues regarding specific brands of headphones, and I had to fuss a bit to get my microphone and it’s audio interfacing working.

Adobe products, a lot of popular music production software and a few popular CAD programs will have issues. Most of them can be run on Linux, but they don’t like it, and finding an alternative would be better.

honestly I feel you need to think more about what you want. If gaming is primary then a gaming distro is what you are looking for like bazzite which is basically open source steam os. If you also want to do other things you may want to dual boot with another distro but I don’t think it would be strickly necessary. I often promote a lazy mans linux called zorin that is out of box which means you should be able to do most common things people do on a machine after installation without doing anything more. That means bloat though and I often here mint recommended which I think would be the other side not putting in to much excess stuff. There are light distros to conserver hardware resources. So im not sure if what you described will help people get you where you want to go.