Almost any distro will work for pretty much all of that. Only potentially limiting thing I see there I don’t think that the Mullvad VPN client is generally available within distro repositories. Their site says it has clients available for Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora. So perhaps pick from one of those?

For the steam link question, I know if I have a game running on my desktop it presents me the option to stream to my desktop (both Linux machines). I assume this is the same functionality. I don’t use it so can’t speak to how well it works.

Edit: It occurs to me this comment lacks a recommendation. Within the three listed supported distros for Mullvad, I think I’d recommend Fedora for you. Been some years since I used it last but I remember the installer being fairly robust while still easy to use, and a pretty rock solid system once it’s up and running.

Linux Mint!

It’s based on Ubuntu, which means broad support for basically everything, including niche things like the Mullvad VPN client.

Mint has been around for a long time and they have had plenty of time to prove their place as a stable and reliable alternative.

Their software center includes well integrated support for Flatpaks, which is a a must have for things like Steam.

Mint is polished both visually and technically speaking. It’s a great general purpose option for both beginners and experienced users.

However. I might not be as ‘cool’ as some other new shiny players, which seems to be important for some, but I don’t feel comfortable recommending something that most likely last for a few years.

Mint is not something that I use myself, but it’s what I generally recommend to most users. I hope that excludes me me as some Mint fanboy.

Zorin OS. They do an amazing job at creating a very smooth UI and give you the ability to tailor it to your liking. It’s Ubuntu-based, but very lightweight. I use it in all my VMs for this reason as well.

Pick one, that is the one

CachyOS. Hands down the best for you.

• Gets updates as soon as they come out which is important for gaming and software development

• Really good performance, has access to a huge amount of software

• Beginner friendly, automatically creates snapshots (backups) in case you mess up

• Has a simple to follow wiki with lots of useful info. Also it lets you install all the gaming packages you need with one button click.

No offense to people on this site but every time this thread pops up there are a lot of terrible recommendations being thrown around. Don’t bother using base Arch linux if you’re new to Linux. Don’t use random niche distros like MX Linux. Debian is very barebones and requires you to manually set up a lot of things that come by default in other modern distros. And finally IMO don’t use an immutable OS unless you know what you’re getting into, as many people get burned by how hard it is to install applications on them.

Ubuntu based distros are going to have a very easy Nvidia driver experience (just open the driver tool from the start menu and select the version you want, and bam, done). However, one downside of Ubuntu itself is their pushing of snap packaged apps, which are considered a bit crap, and can cause weirdness (I think Valve officially don’t recommend the Snap version of Steam).

You can avoid the snap stuff with Linux Mint, as they totally strip that out. Only downside of Mint is that it’s still on an older LTS version of Ubuntu, 24.04 (the latest is now 26.04, two years newer). You will need to add an additional PPA (a third party repository) to access the latest 610 Nvidia drivers on it, which some of the very latest games like the James bond require to launch in Proton. That may or may not be an issue for you. Mint also has the best built in app store, IMO.

Fedora is nice, but the Nvidia driver isn’t quite as easy to install, and it doesn’t come with some needed video codecs out of the box, though this script maker can make those pretty easy to get. I’d recommend it if you want more up to date apps in the repos and don’t want to encounter Ubuntu’s snaps.

Nobara is a spin of Fedora with all that stuff included (and has an installer with the Nvidia driver pre-installed, I think), made by the Glorious Eggroll who makes improved versions of Proton.

I personally would suggest choosing between those options, since both Ubuntu and Fedora based distros have a lot of 3rd party support, such as Mullvad, which only supports those two officially, and they have large communities with lots of help.

Plain old Debian always wins if you prefere a Wirkung sytem over bleeding edge features

I can recommend my experience - EndeavourOS. Based on Arch, it was built to come prepackaged with everything you need for gaming. Once install is complete it offers great choices for gaming and privacy programs. Almost everything on Steam is a Windows .exe so they are all run in a mini Windows filesystem through a top notch compatibility layer (called Proton, based on Wine) and to answer your question - yes, Steam Link is perfect on Linux. Lower latency than Sunshine/Moonlight.

One thing I owned that you’ll have to sacrifice, unless you use the Gnome DE iirc - Wallpaper Engine. I exported every .mp4 from the files and run with Hidamari instead, but it’s not the same.

And one caveat if you choose EndeavourOS - Budgie DE is borked a little bit so I switched to Cinnamon

I’m currently on Linux Mint, works pretty well out of the box. Steam games and indie games and even old windows game work (with lutris and/or bottles).

However I should warn, I also have a Steam Link. It does stream, but depending on the game the framerate can get very laggy. I’m running on a RTX 2070 tho. Not sure I can recommend steam link on Linux yet.

Everything else works great.

My go-to advise for people new to linux or just wanting something that works is Linux Mint (Or Ubuntu if you don’t mind the commercial aftertaste). End of discussion.

It is based on Ubuntu packages which are well maintained (things just work), it has been around and popular for a very long time, has a big and active community, and it prioritises ease of use.

The only downsides are support for brand new hardware (<6-12 months) which takes a while to be supported. But that doesn’t seem to apply to you.

If you want bleeding edge, extensive customizations, or a cool unconventional desktop you can check out any kind of desktop.

I like discussing distros as much as the next person. But in my long distrohopping career I realised that with new or novice linux users it’s best to stick to the easiest, most out of the box experience. I would argue this is linux mint.

I’ve seen too many times that people send new linux users to the most wild distro’s and then be suprised that the user gives up on linux completely after a week.

If you want to get some terminal/technical experience or like to make your hands dirty feel free to experiment.
But make your feet wet in the shallow well known puddles.

I use Bazzite. The Mullvad VPN gui app works on it, but you will have to either add the Mullvad repo and layer the package, or install the local .rpm file (using rpm-ostree), and manually update it whenever there is an update.

Sounds complicated, but it really isn’t.

If you want to use the aur, all you need to do is create an Arch distrobox (everything you need to do it is pre-installed, including a gui app for distrobox if you don’t want to do CLI). You can then “export” anything you install on the box to your host OS to be opened with one click with no noticeable overhead.

And yes, you will be able to play your Steam games on the TV with Linux. Probably better and more easily than with Windows nowadays.

I love how there are already 38 replies. Linux distro questions are like Lemmy catnip, heh.

Fort what its worth:

• I have very similar hardware: 7800, 3090, 1440p ultrawide, NVMe+SATA

• Similar needs (GoG, game modding, python, Plex, photo backup)

• Problems with linux before.

CachyOS has been my “end boss” distro.

Ive had the same stable partition for like ~3 years now, which Ive never had on linux so long. Its just perfect in so many ways, like development libs being optimized, and every gaming/optimization package you could ever want being packaged by the distro. It saved me from getting hacked or screwing up my own system in a few ways.

THAT BEING SAID,

I still dual boot to (heavily neutered) Windows. Some games, like Cyberpunk, just seem to perform slightly (but measurably) better on Windows when I A/B benchmark them, even when I try to make linux the best case scenario.

And some things I do (like HDR content wheb hooked up to a TV, or rendering HEIF files) still have some quirks on linux.

You dont have to choose. You can keep a tiny Windows partition, and/or a shared NTFS partition that both linux and Windows can access.

If you do have some experience with Linux, I think perhaps Garuda Linux might be worth a shot. It’s based on Arch and makes it pretty easy to install Arch and configure it. I find their ChaoticAUR is probably one of the best repos. The Garuda team polices it and keeps bad malicious builds from being born on that repo. I’ve gotten a lot of great software from that place and never touched the actual AUR. In my experience of running Garuda Dr460nized KDE on my gaming PC, it’s been one of the best that I’ve ever had. Surprisingly, I haven’t jumped to another distro (notorious distrohopper here). My system is pretty stable and I’ve not had any problems with my installation of 2 months so far…

I chose Dr460nized because it is colorful and bold, but also customizable, it gives you a strong base to build off of. I also like Garuda Mokka, which has a chill, smoky, gray vibe to it!

Also, Mullvad VPN is in the Arch Extra Repo, you would just have to set it up by installing the application and the daemon which would run in the background. It’s not particularly difficult, and only takes barely 2 minutes.

My recommendation for new Linux users is to keep it vanilla: Mint (Debian), Fedora, or Arch. Flavor of the month distros are going to come with a lot of baked in opinions from the parent distro that may make troubleshooting more difficult if you try to treat it like that. Sure CachyOS is Arch based, but it has a custom kernel and other things. People will argue the point, but I think vanilla is just better. I also worry about distros that have yet to sufficiently establish themselves and the kind of support you can expect from them going into the future. Nothing is a bigger Linux deterrent than getting dragged into distro drama as maintainers fight, argue, fork, and drop support.

Mint: Beginner friendly. Some might recommend Debian, but I’ve always found setup to be a bit tedious. Mint has been around long enough to prove itself and has a well-established community.

Arch: Don’t let the reputation get to you, this is a perfectly fine distro to start with if you are a person of moderate to advanced skill level, especially since the archinstall script makes actual installation much easier. If you like the idea of the Arch wiki acting as a kind of instruction manual for an OS that you haven’t seen in years and hand-picking a lot of your software while making small adjustments in config files to get most things working (clearly documented in the wiki!), this is a good choice. I avoided it for years based on reputation while I fought with Ubuntu and I’m angry at how much I let community opinion deter me when this was the correct choice for me all along.

Fedora: Less to comment here as I don’t have a lot of personal experience, but from what I understand it’s a good compromise between Debian and Arch. A bit faster to update but not bleeding edge. Considered a bit more stable than Arch.

The most important advice I can offer is twofold,

1. Just make the switch. Once you get a better idea of what you need and what works and doesn’t for you, you’ll be able to make a more informed decision on if a more specific distro would suit you better.
2. Linux is not Windows. You’ll never be able to replicate your workflow and feel 1:1 and you can’t/shouldn’t consider that a failure. Be prepared to make small adjustments but I do think you’ll find the effort worth it overall.

I think most distros would work for that usecase. I would recommend Linux Mint, Fedora (although Nvidia drivers are more annoying there), or (K)Ubuntu. Have a look at desktop environments too, as they are very important for your experience. Some of the major ones are Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, and Gnome. Mint works best with Cinnamon, Fedora and Ubuntu let you choose which ISO you want to download.