Member Avatar for slasham

Hi,
I have recently finished building my own computer and am wondering what operating system to get. I was thinking about getting Linux mint 14 because it's free and I like the layout. Ive also heard that there are very few viruses as well. The only thing is that I was unsure weither it would fit my needs. I mainly spend my time social networking and socializing as well as gaming, map development and I also try and learn a bit of basic programming from time to time. I also like to multi task.I wasn't sure about Linux to start with because I didn't think I could get certain programs and games. I was just wondering if it would be good for these things and why or why not. My alternative would be windows so which of the two would be better?
Thankyou.

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For : the right OS depends on what you prioritize. If your top priority is the widest, lowest‑hassle access to current AAA games (especially online titles with strict anti‑cheat), Windows 11 will give you the least friction. If you want a free, developer‑friendly desktop that’s great for learning, tooling and single‑player/modding work, a modern Linux desktop is a perfectly good choice. A hybrid approach — keep Windows for gaming and use Linux for development — is the most practical compromise for many people. (store.steampowered.com)

Linux gaming has improved massively since 2013 thanks to Valve’s Proton/Steam Play and community tooling; many Windows titles now run out of the box or with small tweaks. Still, anti‑cheat and a few publisher decisions mean some multiplayer titles won’t work on Linux, so check compatibility per game before switching. Use ProtonDB and Steam’s built‑in tools to test titles. (github.com)

For game development: most modern engines support Linux or cross‑platform workflows — Unity provides a Linux Editor, Unreal documents Linux development workflows, and Godot runs natively on Linux; open toolchains and command‑line build systems also work well on Linux. That said, some heavy Windows‑centric tooling (the full Visual Studio IDE, certain DirectX debugging tools) remains Windows‑native; VS Code and many IDEs are cross‑platform, so development on Linux is very feasible for most projects. (docs.unity3d.com)

Practical workflows: (1) If you want to try Linux safely, run it from a live USB or dual‑boot, or keep Windows as host and use WSL2 / a VM for Linux development. WSL2 is a lightweight way to run Linux tooling inside Windows without full dual‑boot. Be aware dual‑boot setups can be impacted by Secure Boot/firmware updates, so keep recovery media handy. If you choose Mint, use a current, supported release rather than Mint 14 — pick a maintained LTS and keep drivers up to date. (learn.microsoft.com)

Summary: pick Windows if you want maximum game compatibility now; pick Linux if your focus is learning, development and open tooling — or run both and use each where it shines.

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Member Avatar for Leratadtheri

I mainly spend my time social networking and socializing as well as gaming, map development and I also try and learn a bit of basic programming from time to time.

Member Avatar for CimmerianX

Mint 14 will certainly work for web, mail, social stuff, and it shines at learning new languages and development. You are about to learn alot about Git and SVN.

But linux gaming has a way to go yet. There are games for linux, and steam is supporting that effort, but most games are still a Windows thing. You can certainly dual boot windows and linux. Or you can load windows and run Linux in a virtual box session. That's what I do for my workstation since most of my mgmt tools are windows only and Outlook is a corporate standard.

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