I am a Windows user for about 12 years and i would like to switch to Linux

Retorical question: how many games have a Linux client? The answer for you is in this question, since you stated that you have a "gaming PC".

I have both Linux Mint and Win10 in my PC.
I still need Windows for my games and the programs for my work.
Other than the programs or games you want or need, Linux is good.

As others are mentioning, you will probably still want Windows for gaming unless you aren't too picky about what games you play. When I switched to Linux years ago, I just didn't play any games. As Valve added steam support as well as it's titles (Portal, Counter-strike, Half-life, etc) I play those games. I just got used to playing the games that were available, which there are many, probably not all the ones you play though.

I'd recommend installing VirtualBox or VMWare Player (both are free), then install Linux Mint (I prefer KDE) in a virtual machine. That way you can try it out without the risk of goofing up your Windows installation.

I researched you motherboard is compatible with Linux. Being that you are new to linux I do not think ubuntu is new user friendly as it used to be. I use a distribution called PClinuxOS which is geared to be easier to use as it does not put you though loops when you need a codex to play mp3 files. I use pclinuxos on my t500 IBM laptop.

There are other factors of which to consider...


If you use a printer you will need to check it's
Compatibility. Go to linuxprinting.org and search for your model and brand of printer.

If you transfer music to your phone via windows than that I have not figured out yet on Linux.

Using Linux

Look at guides on the web for the file system structure it is not the same as windows.

PCLOS has two desktop gui KDE and Mate. On older hardware the Mate desktop gui uses less resources that KDE plus you can customize the gui. KDE is more static. By this is mean hiding software from the start menu etc.

As for gaming you will not be able to play windows games on Linux. If you really need to play games.

Here are a few sites to research

https://www.playonlinux.com/en/supported_apps-1-0.html

http://store.steampowered.com/search/#sort_by=_ASC&category1=998&page=1&tags=-1


Myself I have been planing on leaving windows as my primary os and use macs as my primary and my secondary os is pclinuxos. If you decided to try a distribution of linux you can download a isolation image and than burn it to a DVD. Insert the DVD in the system and reboot the live dvd will boot into memory only. It will be slower on the live dvd that an actual install but.

I like pclinuxos because if I wanted to play dvd I can go to synaptic software installer and search for the library or lib I need that select it and install it. On other distributions they put you though loops meaning if I needed the same library I would need to add a repository to my system in order to download and install it. Which is not user friendly in my opinion.

Which version of linux you chose join the fourm. Plus PCLOS has its own cloud storage for free.

Last PCLOS is a rolling distribution meaning is is always updating and stable.

Here is your motherboard info this is ubuntu but an older version in this article.

https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/B85M-G

try a live dvd at first and play around on it ...

[example]

You can download the Linux Mint operating system for free. It comes as an ISO file
which you need to burn to a blank DVD. The liveDVD is then bootable and provides a
fully-functional operating system which you can try without affecting your PC. In
layman's terms, when you put Linux Mint on a DVD and place it into your computer, you
can try it out while leaving your current system intact.

https://www.linuxmint.com/documentation/user-guide/Cinnamon/english_17.3.pdf

Hi.

Is there a Linux OS that acts like Windows XP 32-bit Home/Professional, A version of Vista or Windows 7? I am concerned about the spyware and tracking that Windows 10 has.

I am using freeware programs and browsers such as Firefox and Lunascape6 or Opera. I think I am slowly migrating to Linux potentially. But how easy is it to use? It seems there are extra steps to install things. With Linux is there an approach such as plug-and-play or double-click the installer and everything is installed after?

Currently I use Win XP Home 32-bit and Win Vista Home Premium 32-bit and 64-bit. If I have to upgrade to Windows 10, it would be if I can manage all the security stuff in one place and stop the spyware and tracking. Though with Window 10, it might be hard to do that because for example I shut-off iTunes/Apple from Updating and cannot see it in CCleaner, Processes or anywhere else unless it turns itself on. It seems Windows 10 is worse with what is hidden by Apple/iTunes and Windows 10 seems unstoppable at this time. Any threads i should read?

I don't game. Audio, Photo and Video stuff for me. Internet, watch media sites, articles, etc.

like I said get the live bootable dvd going and play around start with mint got a nice desktop easy to use rthe differences between them are more slight

read articals or forums on this

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2162611

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/whats-the-difference-between-linux-distributions-if-theyre-all-linux-makeuseof-explains/


you just got to pick your poison and try and see what one works best overall for you I like mint some like redhat some like...........???.

its free to use so get 3 or 4 dvds and burn a iso of the 3 mint - Ubuntu -debain what ever you want to try out


'' don't game. Audio, Photo and Video stuff for me. Internet, watch media sites, articles, etc.'' any of the 3 above will cover that easy

look over /through the ''Categories'' of programs you can get and use [lot of choice in a program to use ]

https://community.linuxmint.com/software/browse

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-linux-software/


lot to look at [ you see how many times mint pops up ]

KDE or Mate desktop looks like windows but it will not run windows software. The link below is for KDE version of PCLOS version.

http://www.pclinuxos.com/get-pclinuxos/kde/

http://www.pclinuxos.com/get-pclinuxos/mate/


just copy and paste above

Since you are worried about tracking, use chrome browser and install the Ghostery (go to more tools extensions and search for this) which able you to disable tracking that sites have. Firefox can be installed but add-on do not work in PCLOS or Linux in general.

You will need a blank DVD-R to burn the ISO of each Linux 64bit version you try. In order to run Chrome you need to download the 64bit version of Linux. Lunascape6 or Opera are not on the package installer.

If your machines had Windows XP when they were built Microsoft does not offer upgrades for WinXP or Vista users you will have to purchase one. I frankly think it is a bad idea on machines that old. I looked into the idea of win10 but decided not to. If you did not know, Windows 10 does not allow the user to stop updates completely only delay them. Which I do not think is the best idea with drivers which the most of the issues with win10 is the driver updates which cause serious issues with certain desktops or laptops.

Your best course of action is like junkeymonkey suggested download and try. I still think you would benefit by trying PCLOS but you must decide that yourself.

I'll get to reading thank you for the links and advice everyone.

Would ermitanas or myself have to pay for any Linux OS or software? I was told once by someone who used Linux that you can pay for it too. If so is there really any difference or benefit to paying for it yearly, etc?

Would it be recommended to get newer hardware for a Linux system?

You don't usually pay for Linux itself (the software), but you can pay for commercial support from a few companies. It's geared towards enterprise IT though so it's probably not what you're after. Whether you have to pay for the applications you want to run entirely depends on the applications. there is still a huge amount of commercial software that doesn't even have a Linux version. There is usually a gratis alternative to whatever paid software (Windows-only or Linux) you want to run, but it may or may not be a viable alternative. Since there is an enormous amount of gratis (and usually libre as well) software available for Linux it is often pretty easy to just try some out rather than asking about it. You may get analysis paralysis though

Linux is great for 98% of the stuff you would typically need to do. exceptions are CAD and games first, and secondary is file compatibility with MS Office stuff (other files like PDF, JPEG, MP4, etc are all OK)

Linux is free to use, and tends to work on older hardware moreso that the current version of Windows since it's maintained by "users" more than "employees"

you can buy enterprise linux, but most people use and are OK with the free version. i used Ubuntu from 2007 until 2012 or so, and now i'm using Mint.

sometimes getting linux to work can be tricky, but there's guides to help you through most glitches quite well (case in point, i had an issue with a discrete Nvidia card after first install, and a small adjustment got it working properly)

You can donate funds to the distribution you decide to use. Donations are optional.

There is Libre office that is included in PCLOS which can open and you can save MS extensions. I been using openoffice or Libreoffice for years. Libre office is a fork of OpenOffice.

First question you must answer before switching...
What do you use the system for?

You mention gaming. Are your particular games available in the Linux world? The majority are not.
If not, then you are stuck with Windows, or abandoning those games.

I install Mint on some of our refurbished pcs and laptops as its lightweight, seems to work on any hardware without problems and is easy to use. Most people who visit us dont know about tech just want to get online and do their social media stuff, buy stuff on ebay and skype their friends. Others need to get homework done with spreadsheets and documents so LibreOffice does that fine. They dont care what an OS is, they just want a really cheap pc because they cant afford new kit. Also, I think Linux is much safer as many folks seem un-able to determine scams so if they download something they shouldnt (eg. a windows exe file), then it wont run on Linux so they are protected better.

An old video but easy to understand.

Introduction to Linux: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8ik8pDTgJE

Just curious, which versions of Linux are for games? Wine only?

Is there malware protection? How good is it?

I have found in the past that different versions of wine are needed with certain games. So if you want to play a specific game search game name, linux wine.

I game mainly on PS3 and ps4. I did however did try mint linux 17.3 the other day on my t500 and at first before the updates it was freezing up when I opened the music app and the other window. It is slower in the time it takes to load a app than pclinuxos 2016.3. The mainly difference between the two is pclinusos is a rolling distro which means it is always updating. Mint is not a rolling distro which I think is better if you are new to linux. Though pclinuxos does especially a good job of not breaking something with the ongoing updates. It still worries me that that group of updates will at some point. Mint uses the repositories Ubuntu 14.04.

You can try mint linux 17.3 and see how it works with your pc . I like the mate desktop it uses less resources that other GUI. Plus I use the mate in pclinuxos also. PCLOS is rpm think red hat. based not debian system. I am testing mint to see how much it is like kubuntu 14.04. Which made me go though loops to install codecs I needed.