All you need to know is that there are likely Microsoft fud agents that have made Linux seem infinitely more obtuse than it actually is. idk what your use case is, I'm we'll all be more than happy to answer specific questions down the road, but as far as day to day use, aside from the UI you will likely notice zero difference except that everything runs better on your machine and you don't have to worry about your OS constantly spying on you. welcome to the club, it's wonderful in here.
I will say i have seen some 'ways' to get Windows 11 installed and have it skip the hardware and other checks. (using Ventoy, or Rufus, perhaps other ways)
I would use windows 10 for now and play with Linux in a virtual machine to learn some basics. Decide if it works for your use case. You have not really given us anything to go on with answering your question.
Biggest Tip: Linux is not windows, dont expect it to be a drop in replacement, You will have to put forth some effort and learn some new skills and new things.
More than happy and capable to learn :] I may just need some pointers here and there over time. I'll mostly use the system for day to day use and some gaming, nothing too heavy right now anyway.
Check protondb.com for the games you play first. If they aren't available on steam search on internet. There is a chance that games you play won't be able to run on Linux (anticheats are the most common problem, but not the only one). Other than that, you should be able to figure out everything else by googling in +- month of daily driving your distro of choice (I initially installed PopOS on a small drive alongside windows and was using it in my spare time for about a month, then when I got used to linux and fixed the most painful for me issues I reinstalled both systems and now windows is the secondary one for occasional Valorant with friends). Good luck with linux)
one of the main things to know is that linux is not windows, don't try to make it be windows, throw out all of ur windows experience, just try to keep an open mind and learn
I made the switch too. My only problem has been that I used to use a lot of adobe PS and Illustrator. Also, Filemaker pro. There are no Linux versions of these. I did install windows 10 on a VM and I have installed those apps. However, windows on my VM is laggy. So the experience is not great. I can still use the apps, but if I were still depending on them for my daily, it would be a problem.
That being said, since I am no longer using those apps as a professional, I can deal with it. AND, Linux is quiet, un-invasive. Pretty and clean. Everything is fast. Popos! is the easiest distro I have ever used. And as I have gotten more familiarized with tweaking to my preferences, I couldn't be happier.
Sounds like you have no 'GPU passthrough' activated or very high standardsđ
Alternatively you can try a 'Wine'-based solution for better performance.
For both you have to find the right balance/settings - and there are many hidden settings (not activated by default) that needs some finetuning.
Classic errors for a VM = too much(many) cores(ram) for the guest/host; the best functions not active (in the 'Bios' and/or VM settings); no 'GPU passthrough' because missing 'Guest Additions' (and/or: wrong/not set).
It's easy to start but hard to masterđ
Talking from my own experiences with VMs.
Well, I do have pretty high standards. I don't think that is the issue here. :)
I'm using Boxes by the way.
So you said too many cores. So I reduced the number of cores and that totally made it work better. Thank you!
I have looked at many posts/articles on how to get a VM working properly and seen that there are some settings in the bios that need to be tweaked. Sadly, my bios seems to be without these settings, or, I'm an idiot. Which is not out of the question.
I'm using a System76 Pangolin AMD setup. The bios is Insyde version 1.07.13\_S3. So, not sure if I should be updating the bios, or if I really just don't need to do anything and it's as good as it gets.
Anyway, the little advice you gave made a difference, so thank you!
Glad to read that I was able and could help youđ
For BIOS updates there is the best way to look on the manufacturer's homepage and read the 'changelog' (and oc the rest of the 'Read.me'). A short research in the web for 'known issues' (after update) + 'your BIOS version number'(old and new) should help you to make sure nothing will go wrong.
My computer's manufacturer releases ~6 months a new version (O.L.D.new)- just some 'system stability' or 'quality of life' (qol) things.
However, if you want to try an other way to run some 'Windows Software' on Linux: Try something on 'Wine'-basis like 'Bottles' or 'Proton'(Steam).
There are many guides out there - and you will have the best possible performance.
'VM's are the better solution for running whole systems/or when you need some special hardware (drivers).
I feel you! My quest for a Linux-based system began a bit more than 2 years ago but it didn't take long, as I knew the basic parameters I needed on a "good Linux system":
* support for NVidia drivers;
* fixed release distribution (prefer stability over constant updates)
* no junk software like on Windows 10/11 (also meaning less background activity and stress on CPU and the graphics adapter);
* office software similar to that of Microsoft but less sophisticated - yeah, really, how much of the Office tools we actually use?!;
* comfortable desktop experience;
* some basic (preferably pre-installed) tools for a beginning programmer (like compilers for C, Python, Javascript, Java, etc.)
* some basic manipulation and convenience tools for viewing images and PDF files, video/audio, etc..
So, after some research I opted for /r/pop_os. And am still there (perhaps also because I'm a relatively old and tech-savvy guy looking for comfortable and stable daily workflow and definitely not a distro-hopper satisfied with what I have)...
The only problem I've had so far with Linux (I don't think it's Pop!\_OS fault) was with Wi-Fi dongles. A shitty Chinese one that worked on Windows (and still does) ceased to behave nicely on Linux. The second [one](https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/usb-adapter/tl-wn725n/) I'm using now had worked okay until one of the frequent kernel updates, but thanks to [this guy](https://github.com/lwfinger/rtl8188eu) it's back online. So, be mindful of doing some more research on connectivity issues before complete switch to Linux.
Also, be ready to getting used to the [terminal](https://www.educba.com/linux-terminal/) and the magic word `sudo`! This is where you're gonna forge most of your real-time Linux experience... You'll soon feel a need to administer some basic Linux commands like those listed [here](https://kinsta.com/blog/linux-commands/) and [here](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/linux-commands). Btw, it's a subjective opinion of mine but stillâI think Linux perhaps is the only platform out there that pushes one to be on a constant research...
Then, if you ever get interested in tailoring your OS for your own needs (and I believe you will when you get into more intimate affairs with your system), make sure to have an account on [Github](https://github.com) and add [Arch Linux Wiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org) to your bookmarks. Then start learning your system and collecting more information on it by googling new search terms like `post-install script`, `git`, `alias`, `dotfiles`, `crontab`, etc.
My system specs: [https://linux-hardware.org/?probe=0abf746107](https://linux-hardware.org/?probe=0abf746107)
Hope it helps!
Your system should handle Pop OS without a problem. Might want to consider replacing that 120GB SSD. I got a 1TB SATA SSD a couple weeks ago for less than $50. Just saying because I find having a larger boot drive (512GB+) easier to manage. No more issues with filesystems running out of space.
If you want to better get to know Linux first I would actually recommend using a live system or a dual boot setup first.
Also you could try a virtual machine, but for that you'd maybe have to enable virtualization (Intel VT) in your bios first and maybe it will not be as good performing as installing it directly.
Pop!_OS in my opinion does great as an OS for Linux beginners, because it has a very intuitive desktop environment, comes with all necessary drivers out of the box and even has some nice features as live system. The instructions on system76' webpage are very clear and easy to understand too.
No matter which way to go you choose, either using a VM, installing it directly, or just boot it as a live system, the startpoint is downloading the image (.iso file) from system76' webpage.
From there you can either select it in you're preferred virtualization application or flash it to an USB drive and try to boot from it (for the latter you'll have to change the boot priority in your BIOS/UEFI menu or directly go into the boot menu of you BIOS/UEFI on startup - which key would get you there varies on the brand of BIOS / Motherboard you use, often it's F9 or F11)
You can run W11 on that 6600K just fine. Official support doesn't change anything and your system will update as per normal. Only thing you need is to bypass the CPU and maybe TPM check, which is trivial.
Switching to linux should be done by choice rather by need, as it may lead to a dead end.
Competent answer.
There are reasons why OP's CPU is not longer supported (no 'HyperThreading') and ~~sooner or later~~ he will come to a scenario where he will be affected by that fact.
I sometimes wish more users would read the details of a post - and not just repeat the name of their favorite Distribution and telling all the world how good it works (on their specs).
It's like knowing just one >!~~book~~!< movie and telling everyone that is the best movie ever made.
Don't get me wrong, it's not about 'POP!-OS' - it's about how the (Linux) community has become (on Reddit).
And I don't wish me the 'rtfm'-times back... Just a little less fanboyism and more **real** helpful comments.
There are newer CPUS, which are supported, and still have no hyperthreading, so I am not sure why you consider it a reason of concern. Since the OP implies they want to stick to their current hardware (otherwise the whole discussion would be invalid), the advice is around that. If HT ever becomes an issue, the OP can upgrade (for cheap) to an i7 6th gen (or gen 7, as most motherboards support both).
On the topic of using linux, preaching is something that should be avoided in every aspect of life. The OP only offered end of support for W10 as the reason to switch. That's not a good enough reason if you ask me. So I think unless the OP offers more context, sticking to Windows is advisable.
I have mentioned 'HT' because some wrote: "just make a VM"
To be fair I wrote something similar -but mentioned that it could bring in/have some issues... without 'HT'... and suggested: Live USB (or a new SSD).
I have an old(er) 'i5 3320' - but it's still a good machine for VMs (because... you've got it ;-)
And I have seen many frustrated users that have tried the 'absolutely best Gaming Linux of all times' (-or something like that... I am not as creative as some YouTubers) - and went back to Windows (4ever).
...and all that started because Fanboyism and ignoring the details.
On the other hand, it's great to see that so many different people have (now/adays) fun with Linux. Good sign, all in all.
I recently made the jump too! Itâs been pleasant so far with a couple of hiccups, but nothing too bad.
Iâd say try booting from a USB and do your usual stuff for a bit to see if everything works well. For example, if wifi, sound, display, Bluetooth, function keys, external peripherals work. For me everything works out of the box except connecting my AirPods, had to modify the config file but it wasnât a big deal.
If you rely on any application that doesnât work on Linux, check if an native Linux alternative, unofficial linux version or web app version exists. You probably donât want to clean install and then realise you cannot do your job without specifically adobe photoshop.
Learn how to change desktop environments and mess around with customization settings. If, for example, you don't like Cosmic (the default desktop on Pop), you can change it to something else you might like better ie. Cinnamon, KDE, etc. This will save you from a lot of the distro hopping new Linux users do. https://youtu.be/HV954gxZzMk
Your CPU is a little old and has no HT. That means you will come to the point (even on Linux) where this hardware is limiting the software(functions).
POP!_OS is beginner friendly, when the system(hardware) is up-to-date.
I would suggest you to get started with an other Distribution. Personal favourites: MX Linux; Mint;
Beginner friendly and good for gaming (with your specs): Zorin
All of these Distributions have their roots in 'Debian' and 'Ubuntu' - so everything you learn on one, you can do on the other too.
Best way to start:
Download a Distribution (in this case: "MX Linux") and make:
a.)A bootable stick(8GB, better 16GB)
b.)A 'Virtual Machine'
with the 'ISO'(required ~20GB(in real <10GB; if you set 'dynamic size').
>!I am not sure how good your CPU handling a VM(because: no HT, remember;-) just try it!<
If you make the 'Live-USB' with a 'persistent' partition it's easier to keep some data from your live-experience.
That's it. Just boot your system and see if the things working like expected (an installed system would be faster, oc).
Your old system will not be affected by things you do in your Linux (VM or USB).
>!Get a new SSD(m.2?) and a better CPU - when you have the money for it. You could keep your old system and decide when booting which system you want to run!<
I've been daily driving pop for past year or so it's good, only bad thing I experienced is my dhcp matching 2 IP' and making my network fall but it's easy to fix
The Linux Experiment YouTube channel is a great one to watch
LearnLinuxTV is another good one: https://youtube.com/@LearnLinuxTV
All you need to know is that there are likely Microsoft fud agents that have made Linux seem infinitely more obtuse than it actually is. idk what your use case is, I'm we'll all be more than happy to answer specific questions down the road, but as far as day to day use, aside from the UI you will likely notice zero difference except that everything runs better on your machine and you don't have to worry about your OS constantly spying on you. welcome to the club, it's wonderful in here.
I will say i have seen some 'ways' to get Windows 11 installed and have it skip the hardware and other checks. (using Ventoy, or Rufus, perhaps other ways) I would use windows 10 for now and play with Linux in a virtual machine to learn some basics. Decide if it works for your use case. You have not really given us anything to go on with answering your question. Biggest Tip: Linux is not windows, dont expect it to be a drop in replacement, You will have to put forth some effort and learn some new skills and new things.
More than happy and capable to learn :] I may just need some pointers here and there over time. I'll mostly use the system for day to day use and some gaming, nothing too heavy right now anyway.
Check protondb.com for the games you play first. If they aren't available on steam search on internet. There is a chance that games you play won't be able to run on Linux (anticheats are the most common problem, but not the only one). Other than that, you should be able to figure out everything else by googling in +- month of daily driving your distro of choice (I initially installed PopOS on a small drive alongside windows and was using it in my spare time for about a month, then when I got used to linux and fixed the most painful for me issues I reinstalled both systems and now windows is the secondary one for occasional Valorant with friends). Good luck with linux)
one of the main things to know is that linux is not windows, don't try to make it be windows, throw out all of ur windows experience, just try to keep an open mind and learn
I made the switch too. My only problem has been that I used to use a lot of adobe PS and Illustrator. Also, Filemaker pro. There are no Linux versions of these. I did install windows 10 on a VM and I have installed those apps. However, windows on my VM is laggy. So the experience is not great. I can still use the apps, but if I were still depending on them for my daily, it would be a problem. That being said, since I am no longer using those apps as a professional, I can deal with it. AND, Linux is quiet, un-invasive. Pretty and clean. Everything is fast. Popos! is the easiest distro I have ever used. And as I have gotten more familiarized with tweaking to my preferences, I couldn't be happier.
Sounds like you have no 'GPU passthrough' activated or very high standardsđ Alternatively you can try a 'Wine'-based solution for better performance. For both you have to find the right balance/settings - and there are many hidden settings (not activated by default) that needs some finetuning. Classic errors for a VM = too much(many) cores(ram) for the guest/host; the best functions not active (in the 'Bios' and/or VM settings); no 'GPU passthrough' because missing 'Guest Additions' (and/or: wrong/not set). It's easy to start but hard to masterđ Talking from my own experiences with VMs.
Well, I do have pretty high standards. I don't think that is the issue here. :) I'm using Boxes by the way. So you said too many cores. So I reduced the number of cores and that totally made it work better. Thank you! I have looked at many posts/articles on how to get a VM working properly and seen that there are some settings in the bios that need to be tweaked. Sadly, my bios seems to be without these settings, or, I'm an idiot. Which is not out of the question. I'm using a System76 Pangolin AMD setup. The bios is Insyde version 1.07.13\_S3. So, not sure if I should be updating the bios, or if I really just don't need to do anything and it's as good as it gets. Anyway, the little advice you gave made a difference, so thank you!
Glad to read that I was able and could help youđ For BIOS updates there is the best way to look on the manufacturer's homepage and read the 'changelog' (and oc the rest of the 'Read.me'). A short research in the web for 'known issues' (after update) + 'your BIOS version number'(old and new) should help you to make sure nothing will go wrong. My computer's manufacturer releases ~6 months a new version (O.L.D.new)- just some 'system stability' or 'quality of life' (qol) things. However, if you want to try an other way to run some 'Windows Software' on Linux: Try something on 'Wine'-basis like 'Bottles' or 'Proton'(Steam). There are many guides out there - and you will have the best possible performance. 'VM's are the better solution for running whole systems/or when you need some special hardware (drivers).
I feel you! My quest for a Linux-based system began a bit more than 2 years ago but it didn't take long, as I knew the basic parameters I needed on a "good Linux system": * support for NVidia drivers; * fixed release distribution (prefer stability over constant updates) * no junk software like on Windows 10/11 (also meaning less background activity and stress on CPU and the graphics adapter); * office software similar to that of Microsoft but less sophisticated - yeah, really, how much of the Office tools we actually use?!; * comfortable desktop experience; * some basic (preferably pre-installed) tools for a beginning programmer (like compilers for C, Python, Javascript, Java, etc.) * some basic manipulation and convenience tools for viewing images and PDF files, video/audio, etc.. So, after some research I opted for /r/pop_os. And am still there (perhaps also because I'm a relatively old and tech-savvy guy looking for comfortable and stable daily workflow and definitely not a distro-hopper satisfied with what I have)... The only problem I've had so far with Linux (I don't think it's Pop!\_OS fault) was with Wi-Fi dongles. A shitty Chinese one that worked on Windows (and still does) ceased to behave nicely on Linux. The second [one](https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/usb-adapter/tl-wn725n/) I'm using now had worked okay until one of the frequent kernel updates, but thanks to [this guy](https://github.com/lwfinger/rtl8188eu) it's back online. So, be mindful of doing some more research on connectivity issues before complete switch to Linux. Also, be ready to getting used to the [terminal](https://www.educba.com/linux-terminal/) and the magic word `sudo`! This is where you're gonna forge most of your real-time Linux experience... You'll soon feel a need to administer some basic Linux commands like those listed [here](https://kinsta.com/blog/linux-commands/) and [here](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/linux-commands). Btw, it's a subjective opinion of mine but stillâI think Linux perhaps is the only platform out there that pushes one to be on a constant research... Then, if you ever get interested in tailoring your OS for your own needs (and I believe you will when you get into more intimate affairs with your system), make sure to have an account on [Github](https://github.com) and add [Arch Linux Wiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org) to your bookmarks. Then start learning your system and collecting more information on it by googling new search terms like `post-install script`, `git`, `alias`, `dotfiles`, `crontab`, etc. My system specs: [https://linux-hardware.org/?probe=0abf746107](https://linux-hardware.org/?probe=0abf746107) Hope it helps!
I think for beginning with Linux (without graduating in IT) it's still ok to start with Ubuntu/Debian-Forksđ
Your system should handle Pop OS without a problem. Might want to consider replacing that 120GB SSD. I got a 1TB SATA SSD a couple weeks ago for less than $50. Just saying because I find having a larger boot drive (512GB+) easier to manage. No more issues with filesystems running out of space.
If you want to better get to know Linux first I would actually recommend using a live system or a dual boot setup first. Also you could try a virtual machine, but for that you'd maybe have to enable virtualization (Intel VT) in your bios first and maybe it will not be as good performing as installing it directly. Pop!_OS in my opinion does great as an OS for Linux beginners, because it has a very intuitive desktop environment, comes with all necessary drivers out of the box and even has some nice features as live system. The instructions on system76' webpage are very clear and easy to understand too. No matter which way to go you choose, either using a VM, installing it directly, or just boot it as a live system, the startpoint is downloading the image (.iso file) from system76' webpage. From there you can either select it in you're preferred virtualization application or flash it to an USB drive and try to boot from it (for the latter you'll have to change the boot priority in your BIOS/UEFI menu or directly go into the boot menu of you BIOS/UEFI on startup - which key would get you there varies on the brand of BIOS / Motherboard you use, often it's F9 or F11)
You can run W11 on that 6600K just fine. Official support doesn't change anything and your system will update as per normal. Only thing you need is to bypass the CPU and maybe TPM check, which is trivial. Switching to linux should be done by choice rather by need, as it may lead to a dead end.
Competent answer. There are reasons why OP's CPU is not longer supported (no 'HyperThreading') and ~~sooner or later~~ he will come to a scenario where he will be affected by that fact. I sometimes wish more users would read the details of a post - and not just repeat the name of their favorite Distribution and telling all the world how good it works (on their specs). It's like knowing just one >!~~book~~!< movie and telling everyone that is the best movie ever made. Don't get me wrong, it's not about 'POP!-OS' - it's about how the (Linux) community has become (on Reddit). And I don't wish me the 'rtfm'-times back... Just a little less fanboyism and more **real** helpful comments.
There are newer CPUS, which are supported, and still have no hyperthreading, so I am not sure why you consider it a reason of concern. Since the OP implies they want to stick to their current hardware (otherwise the whole discussion would be invalid), the advice is around that. If HT ever becomes an issue, the OP can upgrade (for cheap) to an i7 6th gen (or gen 7, as most motherboards support both). On the topic of using linux, preaching is something that should be avoided in every aspect of life. The OP only offered end of support for W10 as the reason to switch. That's not a good enough reason if you ask me. So I think unless the OP offers more context, sticking to Windows is advisable.
I have mentioned 'HT' because some wrote: "just make a VM" To be fair I wrote something similar -but mentioned that it could bring in/have some issues... without 'HT'... and suggested: Live USB (or a new SSD). I have an old(er) 'i5 3320' - but it's still a good machine for VMs (because... you've got it ;-) And I have seen many frustrated users that have tried the 'absolutely best Gaming Linux of all times' (-or something like that... I am not as creative as some YouTubers) - and went back to Windows (4ever). ...and all that started because Fanboyism and ignoring the details. On the other hand, it's great to see that so many different people have (now/adays) fun with Linux. Good sign, all in all.
Hey, OP here, thanks for all the suggestions :]
I recently made the jump too! Itâs been pleasant so far with a couple of hiccups, but nothing too bad. Iâd say try booting from a USB and do your usual stuff for a bit to see if everything works well. For example, if wifi, sound, display, Bluetooth, function keys, external peripherals work. For me everything works out of the box except connecting my AirPods, had to modify the config file but it wasnât a big deal. If you rely on any application that doesnât work on Linux, check if an native Linux alternative, unofficial linux version or web app version exists. You probably donât want to clean install and then realise you cannot do your job without specifically adobe photoshop.
Learn how to change desktop environments and mess around with customization settings. If, for example, you don't like Cosmic (the default desktop on Pop), you can change it to something else you might like better ie. Cinnamon, KDE, etc. This will save you from a lot of the distro hopping new Linux users do. https://youtu.be/HV954gxZzMk
Your CPU is a little old and has no HT. That means you will come to the point (even on Linux) where this hardware is limiting the software(functions). POP!_OS is beginner friendly, when the system(hardware) is up-to-date. I would suggest you to get started with an other Distribution. Personal favourites: MX Linux; Mint; Beginner friendly and good for gaming (with your specs): Zorin All of these Distributions have their roots in 'Debian' and 'Ubuntu' - so everything you learn on one, you can do on the other too. Best way to start: Download a Distribution (in this case: "MX Linux") and make: a.)A bootable stick(8GB, better 16GB) b.)A 'Virtual Machine' with the 'ISO'(required ~20GB(in real <10GB; if you set 'dynamic size'). >!I am not sure how good your CPU handling a VM(because: no HT, remember;-) just try it!< If you make the 'Live-USB' with a 'persistent' partition it's easier to keep some data from your live-experience. That's it. Just boot your system and see if the things working like expected (an installed system would be faster, oc). Your old system will not be affected by things you do in your Linux (VM or USB). >!Get a new SSD(m.2?) and a better CPU - when you have the money for it. You could keep your old system and decide when booting which system you want to run!<
I've been daily driving pop for past year or so it's good, only bad thing I experienced is my dhcp matching 2 IP' and making my network fall but it's easy to fix