I have always been tempted by Linux, and the past few times I have tried it, I spent days setting it up, only to be forced back to Windows.
I want to be more committed, and create a support network before I format everything and start again.
I use my PC for gaming and work. For work I connect to the system via a vpn client which has a linux version, so thats ok
Games are mostly Steam, though I occasionally play Fortnite with my son, and I am aware Heroic/Lutris can help with that.
The last time I installed Linux (Ubuntu) my second monitor kept switching from extend to mirror. It might not sound like a big deal, but having to change it back every time it went to sleep was a pain, and it never happened on Windows which just worked. I also had some trouble with dark mode, some apps would set the text to white but not the background to black, so you couldnt read anything.
The time before I think I was using Mint, there was an issue with the boot script which made boot up times take up to 15 minutes which again just doesnt happen on Windows.
I dont know Linux enough to be able to sort these things myself, and I have tried message boards, but it can take days for a reply, if you get a reply at all.
I have heard a lot of people are switching to Bazzite, but does it have a desktop like other OSes, or is it just gaming? Its hard to figure out.
Is one of these better for support, advice, compatibility?
I’ve never had those problems. I’m especially surprised by the boot script issue. Mint and Ubuntu are the main “beginners” distros. You’d probably be fine if you went with mint again. Pop_os is supposed to be good. I use EndeavourOS with kde plasma desktop and it’s fantastic. But you have to run the update script weekly to be safe.