I labeled some of the lesser known logos. The criteria are arbitrary and I made this based on how much I liked using it.
Note that Fedora Sway Atomic isn't bad, but I had a bad experience because I was trying to install NIri on it and it clearly wasn't meant for that. Basically, it's just not for me.
I wanted to rank Manjaro low because I heard bad things about it, but I think I used it for like a few minutes because I wanted to try Gnome, and I didn't like Gnome after trying it and didn't want to deal with uninstalling all the Gnome stuff manually, so I just hopped to another distro.
113 Comments
hellfire103@lemmy.ca · 44 pts · 214d
Here's mine:
Codilingus@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 214d
CachyOS in S, based.
iant@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 212d
albbi@piefed.ca · 8 pts · 214d
Damn, you've tried a lot of different distros. I've been using Linux for 15 years but only been on like 8 different ones. Installed personally about 5.
hellfire103@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 214d
Well, I began in 2019, but I distrohopped a lot.
phorq@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 214d
Redhat and Ubuntu are controversial for me. Don't want them for desktop, but for any professional server I would choose them over any of the others (and preferably alpine for any docker containers running on them)
laurelraven@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 214d
So, why would you pick RedHat over Rocky or Alma?
Or Ubuntu over Debian?
Genuinely curious, not judging
phorq@lemmy.ml · 8 pts · 214d
It's way easier to explain to customers "these companies have enterprise commitments and long term support available if needed", I realize that they all essentially run the same stuff but frankly I can't guarantee I'm always gonna be the one supporting them and it is an added safety net for when they decide not to upgrade for an eternity. Not to mention just about every VPS provider has at least one of those two options available out of the box, they're frankly the safe boring choices.
msage@programming.dev · 4 pts · 214d
Gentoo in the top tier, checks out
mal3oon@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 214d
The only list I get behind. It is missing NixOS for S tier, but otherwise very logical.
hellfire103@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 214d
I want to like NixOS. I love the idea of declarative system configuration, but I always found NixOS quite easy to break. It also didn't seem to like Eduroam much.
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 2 pts · 212d
Yep. I found that when I used GuixSD too. Never yet mustered the time and effort for NixOS. Much the same deal though, just with less transferable skills learned. And yeah, contrary to the advertised hype of safety in fallback, I found it too easy to break. I say easy... It was still a lot of hard work involved though.
hellfire103@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 212d
GuixSD wasn't an option on Tiermaker, but I have used it. I personally found it hardier than NixOS, but the libre-only package selection was quite restrictive and the lack of the non-free
iwlwifidriver prevented me from installing it on any of my boxes other than my 2007 MacBook. I know this is the point, but it's still annoying.Like 9front and Haiku, I hope to daily-drive it someday; but at the moment it is sadly quite unsuitable for my hardware, workflow, and use-case.
exu@feditown.com · 3 pts · 214d
Why try so many distros? It's not like most of them are gonna be substantially different.
juipeltje@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 214d
You never know, the grass might be greener elsewhere. I will say though, to me that only applies to independent distros. At this point i only bother trying distros that are actually different at their core. Arch- or debian-based distros are all kind of the same to me.
orenj@lemmy.sdf.org · 2 pts · 213d
its like racecars
hellfire103@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 214d
Idk, autism?
1stQ@feddit.org · 2 pts · 213d
Noob here.
I tried CachyOS because read good things about it. But wifi only worked during installation. After installation it was a hassle to get WiFi running again.
So Zorin it is for me. Simply runs.
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 1 pts · 212d
Aw. Why's PCLinuxOS on the devil tier?
I always think PCLinuxOS deserves more respect. ... But not like that! ;D
hellfire103@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 212d
For me, it's the combination of its American base, its lack of disk encryption in the installer, the fact that I've never managed to get a usable installation, and the fact that Mageia (another Mandriva derivative) and Salix (a Slackware-based distro with a similar UX) are objectively better.
If you are happy with PCLOS, however, godspeed.
somerandomperson@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 214d
Gentoo is good only if you got a powerful computer.
hellfire103@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 214d
I used to run it on my Raspberry Pi 5 without complaint.
Some stuff did take a while to compile, but the trick is to do other things — like make some tea, go for a walk, or watch TV — instead of staring at the terminal the whole time (I am 100% serious; this is not sarcasm).
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 1 pts · 212d
Official binhost exists now.
I used gentoo on not-powerful-computer, because it was not a powerful computer. Did not care about the compile times. Cared about the performance when I was using it. Even did a ```USE="-*" setup once or twice, to keep it even more lean on resources, and more focused to meet needs and no more unecessary fluff and bloat than that.
AnnaFrankfurter@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 214d
Need to add Qubes os as S+ tier
jim3692@discuss.online · 40 pts · 214d
synapse1278@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 214d
I was getting really mad, the I realized what you did there.
Morph9@lemmy.zip · 16 pts · 214d
In all honesty i don't get it the E for endravourOS on my old ass laptop everything works just fine, even the nvidia cardpinball_wizard@lemmy.zip · 11 pts · 214d
How dare you rank Debian at....oh. I see what you did there. Nice.
eta@feddit.org · 8 pts · 214d
Something for B tier
TootSweet@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 214d
Wait, where's Gentoo?
orenj@lemmy.sdf.org · 9 pts · 213d
the dark and forbidden G tier
_NetNomad@fedia.io · 39 pts · 214d
no hannah montana linux??
laurelraven@lemmy.zip · 16 pts · 214d
That's at least two tiers above S, obviously
BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz · 4 pts · 214d
So high it wouldn’t fit on your screen
“High” in every sense
gustofwind@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 214d
I use fedora workstation but it’s so boring because it just does what I need and I never have any problems 🥲
I might give Debian a spin at some point
sunstoned@lemmus.org · 4 pts · 214d
Debian + nix home-manager is hard to beat. Confining my bleeding edge software to be rootlesson top of a bulletproof distro is very much the same -- boring (in the best way). Plus the latest apt in debian 13 just feels nicer than dnf to me somehow.
jaschen306@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 213d
I wish it wasn't built on Wayland.
gustofwind@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 213d
What’s wrong with Wayland? Havnt noticed any problems
jaschen306@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 213d
I use Anydesk for work and Rustdesk for personal and the lag is so bad. Also added the hot keys and super button doesn't transfer to the remote computer.
ElectricAirship@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 28 pts · 214d
I enjoy linux mint a lot
drcobaltjedi@programming.dev · 18 pts · 214d
I've been recommending it as the beginner's distro for years. Default DE is very windows familiar, install is easy, out of box experience is great, built on Debian so it's stable as fuck. There's nothing really wrong with it unless you need newer drivers or something
pulsewidth@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 214d
Only Linux Mint Debian Edition is built on Debian. Linux Mint (main) is built on Ubuntu.
drcobaltjedi@programming.dev · 5 pts · 214d
Ubuntu is a Debian distro too. Either way mint is a Debian distro.
pulsewidth@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 214d
There's the Linux Mint main distro build off Ubuntu and a separate Linux Mint Debian distro build directly from Deb.
Specificity is useful, especially in the context that you said "Mint is built on Debian so it's stable as fuck" - well actually, not directly. It's built on Ubuntu, which a lot of people complain has a more bloat and thus less stability than Debian.
Personally I've not had issues with any of the three, they're all good, but there are differences. Mint includes a number of packages that Debian does not (PPAs, Snap, Wayland infegration), because it's inherited them all from Ubuntu. Mint is 64-bit whereas Debian supports 32/64 and other architectures, because again.. Mint (standard) is based on Ubuntu, which is 64-bit only.
imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 213d
I put LM on my n100 HTPC and hasn't done a thing more besides updates. It just works...
Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 10 pts · 214d
Here is mine:
Mint
Haven't really tried anything else or it was 10+ years ago.
pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 214d
Haha! You beat me to it! Great ranking. I 100% agree with where you've places each/it.
librekitty@lemmy.today · 10 pts · 214d
artix mentioned!!!
as an artix/gentoo user, where would you place gentoo?
callyral@pawb.social · 6 pts · 214d
I "tried" installing gentoo once but i didn't know what a tarball was at the time so i can't really rate it. the documentation did help me a lot with OpenRC on artix though.
i did hear nixOS is also source-based in a way, but i'm not sure on the details.
juipeltje@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 214d
Yes, NixOS and GNU Guix are both technically source-based, but they pull from a binary cache server by default to prevent it from building everything. You could disable it, but i don't really see the point since as far as i'm aware, nix and guix don't have the use flags stuff like Gentoo has.
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 2 pts · 212d
Worth revisiting now. :)
You want the USE flags. *enticing gesturing*
Lembot_0006@programming.dev · 8 pts · 214d
Why did you try so many different distros? For me it was RedHat first, then I switched to Debian(because "no corporations" sentiment, technically RH was ok) somewhere 20 years ago and use it since then.
twinnie@feddit.uk · 9 pts · 214d
I thought this was pretty normal for Linux nerds. I’ve tried loads but I keep coming back to openSUSE.
SpikesOtherDog@ani.social · 7 pts · 214d
It's absolutely normal and should resolve itself eventually.
rtxn@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 214d
Why do hikers travel to different mountains to conquer?
Lembot_0006@programming.dev · 5 pts · 214d
Because hiking is the goal for hikers, changing scenery is just to make things less tedious.
What's the reason for changing distros? (Except of course for the distros that offer completely different approach like switching Debian-Gentoo-LFS might be of some interest)
Cris_Color@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 214d
I think for some its fun, and they get to see different ways things can be set up
callyral@pawb.social · 7 pts · 214d
I was curious
Rhaedas@fedia.io · 5 pts · 214d
Everyone has different needs and preferences. Finding something early on and being able to stick with it is great, but many don't find that right away, or things change with their needs or the distro.
Plus it depends also on how long you stick around each time. I know I dipped in and out of dual booting for a long time, only now in the past year settling in well. And each time I tried Linux again, lots had changed so I couldn't just go back to what I used before.
Isn't part of being in the Linux culture to experiment with things, even if it's just the window manager, settings, or particular apps?
Lembot_0006@programming.dev · 1 pts · 214d
Actually no. We proud that we can not to reinstall OS in decades. That we have /etc and ~/.config dirs. Linux from the user standpoint is very conservative. Everything that worked 20 years ago, still works. Just some things became more trivial in setup.
Of course we have some "civil wars" here and there, like PulseAusio, X Window, etc, but those are few and not very interesting to the end-user.
Rhaedas@fedia.io · 3 pts · 214d
So you're saying diversity is a bad thing? That seems very anti-Linux. The very fact that you can choose not to change for so long instead of being forced to accept the next version is diversity itself.
Lembot_0006@programming.dev · 0 pts · 214d
I am not saying that. I am saying that diversity for the sake of diversity is done by a tiny amount of crazy kids. Only extremely rare "alternatives" are staying alive. Most people respect stability and use soft that is decades old(not old versions, but soft that was founded decades ago).
Rhaedas@fedia.io · 2 pts · 214d
That goes back to my point, that there's choices out there with Linux, from the OS distro on up to the applications. That's not being different just to be different, it's trying to fill niches where there are needs. And things change, even the tried and true sometimes go obsolete for newer approaches. Stagnation is a killer. But if it works for the needed purpose, then great.
I just don't get the internal arguing within Linux. Embrace even the "crazy kids", after all that's where Linux came from.
AnnaFrankfurter@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 214d
When I started my Linux journey I switched distros every weekend. But later I found Qubes OS and been using it for 8+years now...
juipeltje@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 214d
Void and NixOS in S tier is based, my two favorite distros. Because of me using void though i kinda miss using Runit when i want to use a declaritive system like nix. I'm working on a gnu guix config in a vm now to see if i can use that as an alternative instead. It's not runit per se, but who knows, maybe i'll still like shepherd better than systemd.
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 2 pts · 212d
Yep. Void's been surprising me for over a decade, since it was still "new", at how well kitted out it is, and what a joy of simplicity and cleanliness it is. Rarely any hunting down the superfluous complexity of a package's name-extra-words-after-the-program-name. A real joy. Very few complaints. Big love for VoidLinux.
PS, Runit is niiiiice. :)
nil@piefed.ca · 7 pts · 214d
I switched from Arch to Fedora recently and so far I like it. Faster than any distro I've ever run on this laptop.
Cris_Color@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 214d
I wish I was competent enough to install and maintain void 🥲
Maybe someday
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 2 pts · 212d
Today might be that day. Give it another go. :)
BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz · 0 pts · 214d
Void has an install script
Cris_Color@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 211d
What does the install script set up for you? I'd be trying to install gnome and get audio working. Last time I tried I got networking set up even though the ncurses installer couldn't handle setting it up for me, and I got gnome installed, but wasn't able to get audio working when I gave up and installed fedora cause I wanted a working computer (I broke my old laptop and was learning on the replacement, so I kinda just wanted it up and running)
BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz · 0 pts · 210d
I meant the TUI thing. Guess you are out of luck with your hardware
lefixxx@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 214d
If you can handle nix why bother with other distros
callyral@pawb.social · 2 pts · 214d
I can handle it but I wanted a more traditional package manager so I could search the repos from the command line without relying on external tools, so I went back to Void Linux after a year and a half of using NixOS. Also, I tried a lot of those before even knowing about NixOS.
lefixxx@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 214d
you mean like
nix-shell -p tldr?callyral@pawb.social · 2 pts · 214d
I mean like
apt searchorpacman -SsNixOS also doesn't show what packages were updated after an update, and doesn't show which version they changed to, which is slightly annoying.
Paulemeister@feddit.org · 4 pts · 213d
I can recommend nh. Its a wrapper around the nix* commands and includes
nh search, giving you a list of packages (not sure about nixos module options, I think not). It also uses nix-output-monitor giving you a nice dependency graph when building (plus downloads etc) as well as a diff between the current and new generation, with version changes, added, removed etc.callyral@pawb.social · 1 pts · 213d
It would have been nice to know about that, I already heard about it before but only after I'd switched to Void anyway. Maybe one day if I try NixOS again I will use it.
Ephera@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 213d
I enjoy this comment. I don't even know, if I'd rank NixOS as S-tier in general, but because I can handle it, yeah, don't really have a reason to bother with other distros...
olenkoVD@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 214d
Void, Debian and Artix being in S tier is just based.
Lazer365@feddit.nl · 5 pts · 214d
Nobara is the way!
VOwOxel@discuss.tchncs.de · 5 pts · 214d
I tried Mint and Bazzite on my laptop, installed Bazzite on my Desktop, wasn't happy with the atomic style (wanted to install a lot of stuff and switch to the low-latency-kernel for music production),
switched to OpenSuse Tumbleweed and stayed there. I got a second Desktop PC for cheap from a friend, took out the GPU, installed Debian on it and run Game Servers (Minecraft, Satisfactory, TF2) on it now.
Very happy with both Tumbleweed (as a daily driver) and Debian (for my server).
laurelraven@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 214d
Out of curiosity, what is it you like about openSUSE? It's been forever since I've messed around with it and was considering switching to it from Mint (having some graphics stability issue possibly coming from my bizarre monitor layout giving X11 headaches while using KDE, which Mint doesn't really optimize for)
Ephera@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 214d
Personally, the zero-setup filesystem snapshotting was a big argument for it. I do not want to use an OS anymore, which does not have snapshotting or an equivalent.
Thankfully, this is becoming more commonplace, but for years, openSUSE was the only player in that game.
VOwOxel@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 213d
I like the GeekOSDaw Audio packages (especially QJackCTL);
I prefer KDE Plasma over Cinnamon (I know you can use Mint with Plasma);
It's stable, reliable (apart from some issues with Nvidia drivers, though they've gotten less frequent and easier to fix), and up to date.
I probably could have tried more distros, but I'm perfectly happy with where I am and thus see no need to experiment all that much.
I've previously installed CachyOS on the PC I've now got Debian on, to use it as a guest Gaming PC, and that was fine as well.
I'm mostly using X11 since everything runs on it (I've got a 3-to-4 monitor setup - 3 normally, with a beamer I can additionaly connect). Wayland works well for the most part, too, but some things are more glitchy on it.
Also, i found it pretty nice to have a centralized control panel (Yast) for things I didn't/don't know how to do in the terminal yet.
A Point of friction: Printer Drivers didn't include the one we had when I installed Tumbleweed. Our roommate took the printer when he moved out, so it's irrelevant for now, but i'm thinking of getting a laser printer sometime.
GutterRat42@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 214d
What about LMDE?
mal3oon@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 214d
Why is debian S tier, and Arch A tier? They both use systemd. For me I would switch Artix and Arch tbh. I had lots of issues with the artix repo because of hidden systemd dependencies. Void, probably was the smoothest experience I ever had. Shout out to Luke Smith back in the days who had great rice for void.
callyral@pawb.social · 2 pts · 214d
The answer is simple: when I used Debian, I was just starting out with Linux and didn't mess with systemctl at all. It was an ok beginner experience (I'd already used Mint before trying Debian, so I was at more of an intermediate level) but I probably wouldn't like it as much nowadays.
I like the idea of using different software for different things, why do systemd timers exist when there's already crontab, for example?
Meanwhile, I mostly used Arch on my server where I had to deal with all the systemd stuff, which was rarely useful for my purposes.
ForgottenUsername@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 213d
I can see why people rate Debian so highly,
It's as strong as a brick, albeit, it's about as exciting as one too.
I will admit I'm a newish Linux user starting about 6 years ago, but I use it on a server and it's just bulletproof ... and easy.
radiouser@crazypeople.online · 3 pts · 213d
Why is OpenSUSE at the bottom? I'd heard good things about it. EndeavourOS is my current OS but I'm always looking for a new distro.
luciferofastora@feddit.org · 3 pts · 213d
It's in the "Unranked" tier because OP hasn't used it enough to have an opinion.
When I used it decades ago, I was a kid. It seemed pleasant enough for me back then. On one hand, I'd say "works for children" is an endorsement. On the other, child-me never tried any of the advanced stuff I'd care about today.
radiouser@crazypeople.online · 3 pts · 213d
Thanks for that. I've permanent donkey-brains and overlooked that entirely.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 214d
Hot take
mesamunefire@piefed.social · 3 pts · 214d
Every try puppy linux? Its a fun and unique one.
Katzenmann@feddit.org · 3 pts · 214d
Very nice. I would rank down debian because it has weird defaults like not having /sbin in the user PATH but other than that I agree
Ephera@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 213d
I mean, NixOS has lots of weird "defaults" in that sense, too. 🙃
porkloin@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 214d
If you want Fedora atomic Niri, use https://github.com/zirconium-dev/zirconium
nek0d3r@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 213d
I love nixos for my homelab! Out of curiosity, why C tier for KDE Neon? (My desktop and laptop both daily drive them, and I've loved it since abandoning Ubuntu post-Unity)
callyral@pawb.social · 1 pts · 213d
Honestly I didn't use it for very long, and while I liked the customization, I didn't like the Plasma apps as much as Linux Mint's apps.
nek0d3r@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 213d
That's fair enough. I can't say I've used Mint very much, I've just known it as something to suggest to newbies. My brother revived his 2009 Macbook Pro with it, but it's so old he mostly uses it for character sheets during Pathfinder night.
Nioxic@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 214d
Ive only tried a few but of those cachy is tier S. I tried a lot of others that were ok but had weird issues with my hardware or required a ton of setup by me. Cachy handles a lot of that for me and everything works fine.
As for gaming ive had 1 crash so far, but that was.. OpenLoco, so its no biggie.
Im happy with my choice and probably not gonna distro hop for the foreseeable future
Sivecano@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 214d
Artix is so buggy tho
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 1 pts · 212d
I'd not noticed.
Any especially more buggy than Arch?
Keeping it upgraded frequently enough?
Sivecano@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 211d
At least that's what I'd experienced. Pretty sure the ly-dinit package is still broken. I also never got suspend working properly.
yopyop@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 213d
BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz · 1 pts · 214d
Void for low power desktop/laptop
Fedora for regular desktop/laptop
Ubuntu server for servers
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 1 pts · 212d
What's ubuntu like with its fixed release schedule for servers? That ever bit you harder than a mild inconvenience?
BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz · 1 pts · 210d
I haven’t used it long enough for that to be a problem xD
bootleg@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 214d
Artix really needs an archinstall like script though. Setting it up more than once is really tiring.
gerryflap@feddit.nl · 1 pts · 213d
Uhhh, I, uhhh
I use Arch by the way :3
Sorry I couldn't help it. Technically I started this install as Antegos, but since that project ended I used some voodoo to convince my OS that it's Arch now with moderate succes.
Oh I do dislike Manjaro. I tried it a few times on some PCs and every time it ended in a dumpster fire. Can't remember exactly what it was, but it has something to do with pitting me pick the kernel but also completely going to shit if I didn't pick the right one at the right moment. Constant errors, pain and suffering. When I switched that machine to Fedora it was suddenly happily purring like a kitten without any issues.
spicehoarder@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 212d
Previous Manjaro user here. You can place it in F.
nek0d3r@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 213d
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 1 pts · 212d
Huh? ... Why's that a Debian swirl and not a Devuan ping/swoosh thing on that top row with void and artix?
And go on, throw gentoo up there too while you're at it. ;)
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 1 pts · 212d
...
Then that's the standard 4 I first put in my bedrock linux.
Artix, Devuan, Gentoo, Void.
Solid.
axum@lemmy.blahaj.zone · -7 pts · 214d
Cringe.
callyral@pawb.social · 3 pts · 214d
To be cringe is to be free