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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I’ve had Manjaro, and OpenSUSE recommended to me by a friend who likes both of them but he doesn’t game much and doesn’t need various software development tools.
If your friend is familiar around Linux, then I'd advice you to just stick to the distro they're using themselves. That's probably the best course of action.
To me, a distro doesn't really matter (unless you're gonna be gaming), as long as you pick one of the popular ones. It's the desktop environment that you'll need to choose. My only advice to you is to go full red with your new PC, AMD all the way. That way, you won't need to mess with drivers or any of Nvidia's shenanigans. Everything is baked into the kernel and is plug and play. I write software, too, and I use Endeavour OS, and have been for the last 2.5 years. Not suggesting that you use it (this is something you'll have to conclude for yourself), but this is what I use and I love it. For gaming, I'd pick a distro that ships new packages (rolling release), so you're always caught up on the latest improvements for gaming on Linux. We also have distros that are fully dedicated for gaming, like Nobara, Bazzite.... Etc.
Seconding bazzite, although a Linux noob looking up “how do I do X in Linux” might be better off with something Debian based (and non atomic)
Debian KDE (because it uses a recent Linux and Wayland), allow unfree software, and install Steam, goes a long way!
Manjaro has had a few flaky things happen with their organisation, so I wouldn’t trust them, Endeavour OS is apparently a decent alternative to them.
OpenSuse is apparently pretty good, am yet to move to Linux for gaming (will next month when I build myself a new machine lol, might go with fedora, which is what I use on my laptop)
The problem with alternatives is that every step towards another alternative loses a huge number of distro users, leading to insufficient manpower. If I were you I'd stick with recommending Manjaro. But if Manjaro's untrustworthy then maybe something even more mainstream.
I hear Bazzite is good for gaming but I haven't personally used it.
I use Linux Mint on my machines (except my NAS which has TrueNAS going on it) and I've got no complaints so far other than my vertical monitor being a little tough to have a vertical login screen (though that's so niche it's barely even worth bringing up) and I'm not even sure that's an issue on other distros (I don't distro hop)
My experience with Manjaro is from a decade ago (oh God I'm old) so it really doesn't apply to anything modern but I have heard it recommended at least a few times and a friend of mine swears by it for everything (he always reminds me it's based on Arch BTW)
My other friend who uses Linux swears by Pop!_OS and he loves it. I personally don't really dig the default look of it.
All three of us primarily play indie titles if that makes any difference for you.
Personally I'm moving away from Windows this year (ideally before the end of June) so I'm curious what distros others here recommend as well
I use bazzite, and it admittedly isn't the best for out-of-the-box development work because of it being atomic
You can just make a container for your development, but I'd rather not (I just layer packages atm and I'm working on making my own image based on it that has the stuff I want)
I second Bazzite! I daily drive this for my gaming and every browsing, with some occasional forensic analysis. It's really really great!!
I recently built an AMD based gaming computer with Bazzite and it works fantastically. I have found that atomic distros from Fedora just work, and Bazzite makes gaming super simple
I personally prefer Debian or Linux Mint (Edge edition). They're very, very solid.
But the real question is, why are you building a new PC? If you already have a PC and you want to leave Windows behind, all you have to do is nuke Windows and install Linux (after trying first a live CD to make sure it works for your computer). You see, if your PC is a bit old, as long as you have 8+ GB of RAM, and a CPU of the last decade, you're ok with Linux. Linux needs ~1/3 the RAM Windows needs. Only 3D games might require a faster cpu and gpu, but Linux won't.
There's the distro chooser website, but that might be a bit basic for the amount of experience you have: https://distrochooser.de/
I jumped to Linux as a tech savy, Linux beginner and went through a bunch of distros before settling on Opensuse Tumbleweed, and it has been great. Fedora gets mentioned a lot as well but I never got round to trying that. If I were to choose today with a bit more Linux experience, I might choose Endeavour OS.
My understanding is that as far as gaming goes, some distros have some pre-intsalled conveniences, but you could game on any Linux flavour. If it's just going to be Steam games, then Steam handles Proton and game compatibility itself. It might be worth looking up things like GPU and peripherals compatibility.
I advice against using https://distrochooser.de as it's horrendously outdated and doesn't offer accurate information. The results will also bombard you with a bunch of distros that have lost all of their relevance.
Thanks for the distrochooser link. It was helpful and pointed me to Fedora 😀
Ooh! And bazzite is a gaming-ready Fedora distro (that actually makes gaming easier and smoother for you!)
I can really recommend it!