Linux Desktop Suggestions

[stackcash]

Hit a long-term goal and rewarding myself with a new desktop. I am soooo over Windows, especially with the privacy issues in the new OS.

I've been gearing up for the switch over to Linux and have been looking into companies that ship with Linux installed. The two popular options are Zareason and System76 - but both have luke warm reviews related to hardware durability.

Can anyone make a suggestion? Should I go with a one of solutions above, or should I just grab a new Windows 10 desktop and install Linux myself?

 

[turbin3]

At this point, I'd recommend sidestepping everything and simply building a system entirely from the ground up. It's about the only way to ensure you don't start out with the Microsoft malware, potentially even at the MBR and BIOS level.

The other big question to answer is, which Linux distro do you want to go with? Linux Mint seems to make for an easier transition out of MS and into the Linux world. For those that like in depth customization and really getting into the code, it seems Mint tends to be quickly outlived and people end up transitioning to Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, or something similar. For the paranoid, there's also Qubes, which is freakin awesome, plus you can always run Windows VM's within it, should you still have some Windows-based programs you need to use (unfortunately a lot of SEO tools).

 

[gcomt]

I'd probably build from scratch. Fedora or Ubuntu. I've heard good things about their laptops though. I believe Sager Notebooks is their supplier.

 

[emergentdragon]

Linux mint using the xfce desktop is sweeeet.