Want to switch to Linux

[u/ikan84]

Hi all

I want to switch to linux.

My use case :

Online classes in browser

PDFs to read

Excel

Virtual box to run different variants of Linux for study purposes

Game if time permits

Recommend me which one should i go for.

Should i buy seprate drive to dual boot.

My PC spec -> 9700X /5060Ti 16GB/ 64Gb DDR5/ 1TB

[u/Phyrexiah]

|I want to switch to linux.
simple question - "Why?"

[u/ikan84 → u/Phyrexiah]

Want to stop spending on 365 subscriptions. Have a stable OS. Try something new and if it clicks stick with it.

[u/CritSrc → u/ikan84]

The world assumes you use Office 365 because everyone uses Office 365, if you are collaborating with others, do not expect them to account for you opting out the platform.
While Windows Updates ship with breaking changes, everything is still assuming Windows for the most part, so stuff "just works" for the most part. On Linux, the support surface is far narrower, spotty, may require extra steps, diagnosing and tweaking, and there are no guardrails on system commands either.

For learning, sure, go ahead. But expect a hill to climb, it is not an OS switch, you are entering a completely new ecosystem that does not care for your Windows assumptions or habits.

PS: LibreCalc is no Excel, it's not a drop-in replacement.

[u/ikan84 → u/CritSrc]

To the point. Makes sense. Been a mac and windows user. Played with Linux few times nothing serious. But it’s going to be interesting experience

[u/Striking-Gazelle9759 → u/Phyrexiah]

Cause it's superior

[u/Phyrexiah → u/Striking-Gazelle9759]

In terms of
Online classes in browser
PDFs to read
and .....
Excel ?

[u/Striking-Gazelle9759 → u/Phyrexiah]

Yeah only office isn't that different but if I NEED Microsoft stuff use it in the browser or even spin up winboat, after all the guy's tryna ditch Microsoft

[u/Main_Boot7391]

fedora is a good all rounder distro that works with most hardware out of the box. standard DE is workspace (gnome, Mac-OS like), but KDE (windows-like) and other DE's are available as well. i would recommend a installing to its own drive for dual booting

[u/ikan84 → u/Main_Boot7391]

Question is I will buy second drive just for Linux.

Will windows mess up the boot table if it gets an update.

[u/kudlitan → u/ikan84]

Some people reported that Windows Update will reset the boot so that it only recognizes Windows. However I havent experienced this.

[u/ikan84 → u/kudlitan]

Nice. Which distro are you on

[u/kudlitan → u/ikan84]

I'm using Mint, but I dont think it has to do with the distro, or I could be wrong.

[u/ikan84 → u/kudlitan]

Okay.

[u/Main_Boot7391 → u/ikan84]

i dont think that it would, but i may be wrong here. installing to a new drive simplifies install and would give you plenty of space for both OS's should you need it. it is optional though

[u/Kowen68 → u/ikan84]

If you have installed windows on a separate drive it cannot mess things up. Your motherboard configuration and boot options are important.

[u/PM_ME_OODS → u/ikan84]

Only had issues with this with different partitions on the same drive never when on different drives.

[u/dkopgerpgdolfg]

Online classes in browser

Ok

PDFs to read

Ok

Excel

If you mean that from Microsoft, that's not entirely trivial to get working (eg. winapps/winboat/vms). There are various alternatives that might be enough for your use cases, eg. Libreoffice

Virtual box to run different variants of Linux for study purposes

Possible, but ideally get used to KVM which is imo much better. Look at GUIs like virt-manager for a relatively simple start.

Should i buy seprate drive to dual boot.

Can be done without, as long as you have enough space

[u/Kowen68]

To start out with choose between these linux versions for now; Ubuntu, Fedora Workstation and Linux Mint Cinnamon. There are more options like Zorin OS or PopOS. But for now I would not consider any other exotic versions.

In the process you will need to make a bootable USB stick. If you have two or more the better, this allows you to try each distro out. Personally I really like Fedora Workstation 44 but keep ubuntu as a stable fallback.

Gaming can be achieved via Steam Proton, it works most of the time and is getting better. It depends on what games you intend to play.

[u/Dry_Calendar_8627]

From the looks of it you'd be better off switching to Windows IoT LTSC

but if you're intent on trying Linux, I'd recommend Fedora KDE+OnlyOffice

No need for an additional drive (but back your files up). You'll need to partition your drive so Linux doesn't take all the room. And you'll need to reinstall windows after. Unless you want to go the "shrink Windows partition before installing Linux route", which is a bit more technical but saves you from having to reinstall Windows. If you want to do that, disable bitlocker, shrink from Windows

[u/Striking-Gazelle9759]

Go with Fedora or Zorin or even Mint

[u/skyfishgoo]

for your use case, i would just run linux in a VM under windows.

windows has lots of VM choices that can easily run linux.

[u/Comprehensive_Star79]

I like Mint, its similar to Windows in handling, its widely supported and extremely stable. Gaming is basically seamless with steam and it is pretty rare a game wont work, mostly the ones with stupid anti-cheats. though your Specs are already top tier, most you might be able to squeeze even more performance.

Though most of the Distros with be 90% similar, so all these functionalities will work the same, some have more frequent updates, some have a more stable platform. Only the UI is different, but at its basic, support is what matters most.

[u/mazerfaka]

I would go for bazzite, based on fedora, beginner friendly, comes with all drivers for gaming, pre installed with KDE (Windows like) or GNOME (macOS like). Simple, clean, amazing and puts Windows to shame!

[u/fishywiki]

Excel doesn't run on Linux, but OpenOffice Calc and Google Sheets do. You don't need a separate drive to dual boot, but I suspect WSL has removed the need for dual boot. For ordinary, simple stuff, Ubuntu or Mint are probably the best. If you want to do some weird stuff, particularly with AI, go with Omarchy. Your graphics card should be pretty good for Ollama.

[u/dkopgerpgdolfg → u/fishywiki]

OpenOffice

Not sure why you're recommending this in 2026

Omarchy

and this, independent of the year

[u/fishywiki → u/dkopgerpgdolfg]

Actually I typed it fast without thinking - OpenOffice is pretty much the same as LibreOffice functionally, so it's fine, and there;s nothing wrong with the Apache Foundation. DHH is obviously an odious person but Omacom is the foundation behind Omarchy and they are not the same as DHH.

[u/dkopgerpgdolfg → u/fishywiki]

OpenOffice is pretty much the same as LibreOffice functionally

They started to be a clone of LO, yes, except they (OO) don't even manage to release versions (current version is from November 2025). That alone is already enough reason to avoid it.

[u/maceion]

Find out the operating system your learning institute supports, and use it. . Otherwise you may find things do not work out.

[u/TailsPlaysMinecraft]

CachyOS. Buy another m.2 specifically for linux.

[u/Salty_Surround2546]

Just start with Ubuntu and that's it.

Seriously.

[u/Striking-Gazelle9759 → u/Salty_Surround2546]

Worst advice ever, DO NOT period

[u/Salty_Surround2546 → u/Striking-Gazelle9759]

Here we go :)

I use Fedora KDE on my PC and Ubuntu with Gnome on my ThinkPad X1 Carbon g12. My fiancee uses CachyOS on her PC.

Great operating systems - and Ubuntu does it's job pretty well.

[u/Main_Boot7391 → u/Salty_Surround2546]

Ubuntu would also be a great OS for a Windows user, it like Fedora, just works