So i have a gaming desktop that not the best or the newest. What takes up most of my drive space is games, updates, and software's. Im wondering if i should switch to linux and if linux will improve any performance for my main machine? If you believe i should switch what os should i go with or why or why not should i switch?
I mostly game and do mess with ollama/ai tools because i think that's cool. I want to do more things in the future but that might beyond my drive space?
What would you advise?
Lots of mention of dual booting- I recommend getting an e-waste tier 256gb SATA SSD for your first Linux install if you just want to try it out.
No one wants those old drives because they are small but they are plenty quick and you only need 15 to 30 gigs for most distros.
I second this. Chances are high that OP ends up reinstalling multiple times (either to check out multiple distros or after they accidentally nuked the system). Doing so on a separate SSD so they don't accidentally wipe their data during reinstall and so they don't have to constantly migrate data is a good plan.
Third this move. Nvme are under $20 cheap way to experiment
Everyone manages to format the wrong partition at least once when starting out with installing different Linux distros.
I haven't. That wasn't one of the mistakes I made!
Lucky you!
I picked up a Samsung m.2 280 or 260 gb guy on eBay for like ten bucks. I don't remember the size exactly, just that it wasn't the normal binary 256gb.
They sell 250 on 256 and 500 on 512, holding back the 6/12 gigs for wear leveling and other NAND management functions. At least that's what I understand.
Just looked it up and it was 240gb, and made by pny. My b.
Can you use the existing Windows partition for the games though (without it fucking them up)? Because while Linux fits in that easily, games do not.
Linux has NTFS drivers. Should work fine.
Probably not, just trying to save the guy a few bucks. Try some games one at a time that do fit, and rely on protondb for the ones that don't. Then decide to move over and wipe windows.