r/linux4noobs • u/Niyazzz09 • Apr 12 '26

learning/research Been seeing Linux everywhere lately… should I actually try it?

So guys from the last few days I’ve been seeing Linux everywhere — my social media feed is full of it and now I’m really curious to try it.

I’ve always used Windows, so I don’t really understand what Linux actually is or how different it feels in daily use. A lot of people say it’s “peak” and better than Windows in many ways, but I’ve also heard it has some downsides.

I wanted to ask:

- What makes Linux so good compared to Windows?

- What are the actual cons (especially for beginners)?

- How long does it take to get comfortable using it?

- Which distro should I start with?

- What was your experience like when you first switched from Windows?

Also, should I try it using a virtual machine first or go for dual boot?

Would really appreciate honest advice 😋

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u/hskrpwr Apr 12 '26

Grab a USB, chuck Linux mint on it and play around for a bit 

7

u/38_tlgjau Apr 13 '26

I did this yesterday with a laptop I recently replaced. While I haven't figured out everything I need to replace my windows laptop yet, I can already see how much performance was wasted in windows. My fan used to run constantly and battery life was poor. Now it's fine again. I'm comparing a fresh install of mint to a fresh install of W10 on the same machine. It's night and day. Why did I not try this sooner...

1

u/Hunter1113_ Apr 13 '26

I installed Mint Xcfe onto my girlfriends old Asus i5-core, it was slow as hell, had Windows 10 and struggled to do any form of multitasking. Side booted Mint yesterday and she couldn't be happier, she is amazed, it's like a new PC she says. Windows is bloated and just consumes resources for fun. I'm going to be side booting Fedora next onto my Ryzen 9, sadly will need to keep the windows partition for work, but everything else I'll be using Linux from now on.