# Need help with choosing a desktop OS **URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/need-help-with-choosing-a-desktop-os/12970 **Category:** Questions **Created:** 2023-06-22T09:26:56Z **Posts:** 31 ## Post 1 by @anon28734771 — 2023-06-22T09:26:56Z Hi, I need some help with picking a desktop OS. Here are the things that I want in order of importance: 1. Open-source (this one is an absolute must.) 2. Privacy and security 3. Reliability 4. The ability to play games --- ## Post 2 by @anon57307869 — 2023-06-22T10:09:40Z I would say the [recommended traditional Linux distros on PrivacyGuides](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/desktop/#traditional-distributions) are what you are looking for. But depending on your knowledge in Linux, the command line etc., some distros are better than others. For example, for an complete Linux beginner, using Arch Linux would be a rough time. But for a advanced Linux user, who can use the command line to administrate the OS, Arch Linux _could_ be a great choice, but maybe you don’t want to use a DIY distro like Arch. If you want a complete and beginner-friendly Linux distro out-of-the-box, I would recommend Fedora Linux with either the [GNOME DE](https://fedoraproject.org/workstation/) or [Plasma](https://fedoraproject.org/spins/kde). --- ## Post 3 by @dngray — 2023-06-22T11:50:26Z Just go with Fedora.. One could argue that is slightly more “open source”, as you can have custom remote repositories with Flatpak, something you can’t do with Snap. Flatpak is also better at permission model. If gaming is what you want to do, then going with a mainstream distribution like that is likely going to mean its been tested. --- ## Post 4 by @anon28734771 — 2023-06-22T12:53:01Z Is there anything that I should do while installing Fedora apart from making sure to enable encryption? --- ## Post 5 by @dngray — 2023-06-22T12:56:21Z Not really no, about the only option is [system counting](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/os/linux-overview/#system-counting), but that’s about it. --- ## Post 6 by @Adda — 2023-06-22T18:14:00Z I agree with both @anon57307869 and @dngray. Fedora Linux with any of the offered desktop environments (such as Plasma, GNOME, etc.; That is just a matter of state, I would say) should work well for you. Fedora has reasonable defaults. You can tweak all the details later on. I do not think there is anything special you need to do in addition to the classical process of installing Fedora Linux (if needed, look for instructions on the internet). Wish you good luck :heart: --- ## Post 7 by @anon63378630 — 2023-06-22T18:38:25Z not entirely aligned with PG, my recommendation: [Fedora](https://getfedora.org) + my [Brace](https://gitlab.com/divested/brace) + my unofficial [packaged](https://gitlab.com/divested/rpm-hardened_malloc) GrapheneOS hardened\_malloc + firejail & flatseal --- ## Post 8 by @Niek-de-Wilde — 2023-06-22T20:55:46Z Harderend malloc on fedora, im gonna toy around with this :eyes: --- ## Post 9 by @anon28734771 — 2023-06-23T10:49:59Z I install those after I already installed Fedora? --- ## Post 10 by @anon63378630 — 2023-06-23T16:13:26Z Yea, you can install them at any time. --- ## Post 11 by @anon28734771 — 2023-06-24T09:39:28Z Can I use my FIDO2 security key when setting up encryption instead of passphrase? If yes, how? --- ## Post 12 by @marsh — 2023-06-24T20:06:17Z I think [this article](https://fedoramagazine.org/use-systemd-cryptenroll-with-fido-u2f-or-tpm2-to-decrypt-your-disk/) can help. --- ## Post 13 by @Laitinlok — 2023-06-25T01:41:50Z If you use nvidia gpu, the fedora default wayland is a bit finicky --- ## Post 14 by @CostcoFanboy — 2023-06-26T03:44:29Z Arch with KDE --- ## Post 15 by @Torsten — 2023-06-27T21:51:38Z Crazy, awesome! Is there a COPR repo of it? I would recommend Silverblue/Kinoite for the stability, but hardened kernel and malloc are not really possible. If they are, then through layering of repo-reachable RPMs, and replacing just the malloc should work well. --- ## Post 16 by @anon63378630 — 2023-06-27T21:56:44Z @Torsten my packages are in my RPM repo: ``` sudo dnf install https://divested.dev/rpm/fedora/divested-release-20230406-2.noarch.rpm sudo dnf install whatever ``` --- ## Post 17 by @anon28734771 — 2023-07-09T10:35:43Z I tried Fedora Workstation (KDE spin) but I need something more minimal with fewer things preinstalled. Any recommendations on that? --- ## Post 18 by @dngray — 2023-07-09T11:24:50Z Sway spin? > **[Fedora Sway Spin](https://fedoraproject.org/spins/sway/)** > > The Fedora Sway Spin provides the popular Sway tiling window manager. It makes Sway accessible and appealing to both novices and advanced users who prefer not to use a mouse, touchpad, or other pointing device to interact with their environment.... --- ## Post 19 by @anon28734771 — 2023-07-09T12:18:54Z I found out that there is a way to get minimal installation of Fedora by using Fedora Everything installer. After installing a minimal installation, I could just install KDE Plasma and everything else that I need. Any opinions on this? --- ## Post 20 by @anon63378630 — 2023-07-09T15:24:27Z @anon28734771 why not just use Arch at that point? not facetious, actual question as imo Fedora is great for a largely “just works” whereas if you want to diy you’re far better suited with Arch --- ## Post 21 by @dngray — 2023-07-09T17:08:00Z A good reason would be they might care about desktop environment but not what packages/components are installed. That is why I suggested the Sway spin, because it comes with some sane options, and is about as lightweight desktop as you’re going to get. --- ## Post 22 by @Adda — 2023-07-10T05:36:38Z > [@Lukas](#): > > something more minimal with fewer things preinstalled. If you require a minimal installation, I would go for it. It will require a lot more tinkering, installing and configuring to be done on your part after the installation (that is the nature and purpose of minimal installations in the first place). I think that if you want to play games on Linux, you will inevitably end up with practically the default Fedora installation size-wise anyway (as you will install different compatibility tools, etc.), but at least you will not have to uninstall the programs you already know you do not need. However, if KDE is not a requirement, then I would have a look at some of the Fedora spins which focus on lightweight and minimal OS such as LXDE, LXQT, or maybe even XFCE, if that is still minimal enough for you. Comments on the other recommendations: > why not just use Arch at that point? I would not recommend Arch when the requirements specifically say “reliable”. With Arch, you have to be prepared to fix your system from time to time. But sure, that would be the ultimate choice for “minimal” installation. > Sway spin? It could work great, too, if @Lukas specifically wants tiling window manager. They are not for everyone. Installing a different DE/WM is not a problem, but then it somewhat defeats the purpose. --- ## Post 23 by @anon28734771 — 2023-07-10T08:14:26Z I decided to go with Arch Linux. Even though it’s not very reliable, it still seems like the best option for me. --- ## Post 24 by @dngray — 2023-07-10T09:01:11Z Archlinux is quite reliable, but you need to know what you’ll need to install. It will require more “effort” to manage, ie set up zram, mandatory access control etc. You should also keep track of those changes in a git repository, so you don’t get a heap of stale configs that you aren’t sure how they were created. If you’re purely choosing a distribution for “speed” or “lightweight” then really all you care about is the desktop environment. Micro-managing the other underlying components isn’t going to yield much of a speed/less resource usage. From experience, though be mindful that more “lightweight” desktops, LXDE, LXQT tend to be less polished. I really dislike those two because they come with PCManFM for the file manager that follows no standard HIG (Human Interface Guidelines), basically everything is everywhere. If you’re looking for something lighter than KDE, perhaps XFCE would be a better option, it comes with the Thunar file manager, which is pretty good. The Sway spin of Fedora does as well. It tends to be people’s “go to” for file managers when they’re not using Nautilus (GNOME) or Dolphin (KDE). --- ## Post 25 by @anon63378630 — 2023-07-10T18:02:32Z > but you need to know what you’ll need to install. it has archinstall these days with pretty decent defaults. yea you may need to do things like `pacman -Syu cups && systemctl enable cups` but that is well covered on wiki. --- ## Post 26 by @dngray — 2023-07-11T06:27:14Z Sure no problem if you don’t mind reading the wiki, but some people don’t want to read anything/have time to. --- ## Post 27 by @anon28734771 — 2023-07-11T10:51:33Z > [@anon63378630](#): > > it has archinstall these days with pretty decent defaults. I wouldn’t recommend archinstall unless someone needs a fast and easy way to install Arch Linux. If you can’t install Arch Linux without archinstall then you shouldn’t be using Arch Linux in the first place. --- ## Post 28 by @Torsten — 2023-08-29T23:05:40Z Arch? Not comparable, Fedora is semirolling and more stable at least probably. I would also mention Kinoite, which has a minimal KDE install that is also immutable, which is more stable than Arch too --- ## Post 29 by @sha123 — 2023-08-31T12:04:02Z I didn’t experience Fedora to be more stable, to the contrary. Had less problems on my hardened EndeavourOS/Arch. Some reasons to choose Fedora over Arch: - you rely on better defaults and don’t want to tweak things - you prefer Selinux over Apparmor - you don’t want to check each Pkgbuild update of your AUR packages - secure boot OOTB Arch also has good things to offer: - hardened-kernel, - most up-to-date packages, - faster package manager, - Arch wiki and security wiki --- ## Post 30 by @Torsten — 2023-09-03T18:46:03Z yes the hardened kernel and malloc are still nearly impossible on fedora and maybe unmaintained. I use Kinoite, which is container based and immutable. So the advantage would be the stability of that, in theory. Nonetheless I have way too many bugs and some are unfixable. Maybe I should try Arch? But is it correct for a “install, update, never fix” system? I like the new stuff as in KDE its mostly bugfixes. But I dont have the time for a permanently breaking system --- ## Post 31 by @anon63378630 — 2023-09-03T23:21:43Z @Torsten I maintain a working hardened\_malloc package for Fedora: [GitHub - divestedcg/rpm-hardened\_malloc: Unofficial micro-architecture optimized hardened\_malloc package](https://github.com/divestedcg/rpm-hardened_malloc) It is the most performant of all the other packaged versions and has built-in workarounds to prevent breakage.