What's the best rolling release Distributions that doesn't crash too much
So basically i want try other rolling release distributions besides Vanilla Arch Linux So Give your thoughts on which is the best and also how to install the wifi drivers on Endeavour os and Gentoo Linux For a better experience
OpenSUSE Tumbleweed
And if it does, roll back to the previous snapshot.
Haven't needed to since I switched my GPU to AMD, but it's nice to know it's there. I've used it a few times though, and it's quick and easy.
Second this
Arch
Arch
Yeah but it breaks down alot so its not for me unfortunately
If your Arch breaks down it's likely any rolling release distro will also, because it means you're likely not doing part of the maintenance a rolling release needs, such as ensuring the config files you've changed get properly updated.
Any rolling release distro is unstable, because unstable doesn't mean what you think it means, it means that any library can be updated.
That's a fair point, but I think the definition of "breaking" tends to correlate with experience.
There are certain things that will "break" in Arch that are trivial to fix for me now, but were a real pain when I first started using it (GPG key errors come to mind).
Even things like the Grub issue from around a year ago -- that's something I could probably fix with a little reading now, but at the time I just ended up re-installing.
Fair. I used Arch when I was already quite familiar with Linux, so I really didn't have any issues. I would just read the update notes before running updates, and the only one that gave me trouble was the switch to systemd some 5-10 years ago.
I have since switched to Tumbleweed because I wanted my server and desktop to use the same tools, but I want my server to run stable Linux. I use Leap on my servers and I'll probably switch my server to MicroOS one of these days.
So far, Tumbleweed has been less of a pain than Arch, but that doesn't mean Arch was unstable, it just required a little hand holding from time to time.
ok thanks for correcting my mistake and I'm sure arch isn't impossible to use just a little bit tinky
Arch very rarely breaks on its own. But if the manually driven style of Arch is not what you're looking for, try OpenSUSE Tumbleweed or Slowroll.
what about endeavour os then
It’s literally arch with a graphical installer…
I love endeavour, really can't go wrong with it. Is super lightweight, rolling-release, archbased (so you have AUR) and more robust than arch I'd say. It has never failed me.
However, my dad's endeavour system broke once, idk if it was because no maintenance or what... I guess no system is perfect.
Tumbleweed
I love openSUSE Tumbleweed. It has a solid automated testing process that means packages will be held back rather than updating and breaking things.
That's what im going to use daily use anyway and for gaming as well but that because fedora doesn't detect my wifi drivers at least opensuse slowroll is looking good for a backup os
Happy Tumbleweed user here, since 2006!
Ok thanks for your Amazing experience
Most Linux distributions are quite reliable, even rolling ones. What usually causes instability are the closed source applications people choose to run on them.
I'm not just pointing out nVidia drivers, I've seen Teams and Visual Studio Code crash an otherwise stable Ubuntu LTS.
I've been running the same arch install for atleast 5 years... I honestly can't recommend any other distro because I haven't used many for a long enough period of time
Ok but I won't use stable distributions until im need to use them and how did not crash from maintenance and downloaded too many softwares
I also used Arch for 5+ years and had very few issues. If you know what you're doing, it's not hard to keep it running stable.
I'm now on Tumbleweed and have even fewer issues.
But honestly, what's wrong with stable distros? I recommend them by default because there's far less chance for anything to go wrong day to day, and your only concern is at release time. I switched because I'm a developer and using the latest is better for me so I can test on the latest versions of things. I also prefer to fix things as I go instead of potentially lose a day to a release upgrade going sideways (happened twice, once with Ubuntu and again with Fedora).
Btw, Tumbleweed is great because it configures snapper by default, which let's you roll back if an upgrade goes poorly. I've used it a few times over 2-3 years, mostly when my NVIDIA driver got mismatched from the kernel. I'm now on an AMD GPU and haven't needed it since.
I have used debian for 20 years, I am very happy with it. Also zero problems with gaming nowadays
NixOS because you can roll back when anything breaks, install stable versions of packages, and put your configuration in version control
And if you need to reinstall -- look at that, your whole config is documented as code.
thanks will do later
Why mess with the kernel? The standard one works fine and you're likely looking at 1-2% difference either way.
Also, stable isn't rolling, that's in the name.
Liquorix and Zen kernels have different cpu scheduler which makes them more responsive for desktop usage under heavy load.
Theoretically this reduces throughput but it's barely measurable, compared to the noticeably better responsiveness.
I doubt it's as noticeable as you make it out to be. I use the default kernel shipped with OpenSUSE Tumbleweed and the system is acceptably responsive while under load, with the main exception being low memory situations (i.e. heavy swap usage). But I expect the Zen scheduler to have similar issues.
Then again, I probably have more tolerance for poor responsiveness because I rarely run my system to its limits (unless compiling) and rarely interact with other apps while playing games.
It's only been noticeable while compiling and looking at animations. It might also just be placebo or I'm misremembering since it's been many months since I "tested" it.
It wasn't my intention to make it sound like it's a giant improvement. It's marginal but if it's simple to install I'd say go for it.
It's always really interesting seeing how people can have completely different experiences with kde and gnome!
I have had nothing but a great experience with kde for years but every time I've tried gnome it's always been a buggy experience!
Yeah, like OP I too have had just unpleasant experiences with KDE while Gnome run great
thanks but I comfortable with using rolling release Distros for Gaming
Have you considered a fixed release in combination with rolling applications (i. e. Flatpak, Snap)?
If you choose Fedora (preferably one of the atomic variants, like Silverblue), you would also get a rolling kernel and rolling KDE Plasma desktop, so overall the experience can be quite close to a rolling release distribution if you install the desktop applications via Flatpak.
Ubuntu "interim" (non-LTS) releases are usually also fairly current and could be a good choice if you don't mind Snap. There's also the option of following the Ubuntu "devel" branch, which always refers to the current pre-release version of Ubuntu (e. g. 24.04 at the moment) and is rolling.
Just wanted to give you a different direction to think about. ;)
thanks I haven't known about it but I have Opensuse Tumbleweed for gaming use and endeavour os for the aur
Depending on what you want, OpenSUSE's OBS is a great alternative to the AUR. It works by building software given a script, so you still just download binary packages, unlike the AUR where you download build scripts.
I honestly haven't needed much since switching from Arch to openSUSE, though I've played with some OBS packages here and there. I used to maintain some AUR packages, and I haven't needed to on Tumbleweed.
Give it a shot, you probably don't need both. I prefer Tumbleweed these days, but I've used Tumbleweed and Arch both for about the same amount of time (5-ish years) and can recommend both.
Just FYI, if you like EndeavourOS, you should know that it's essentially an installer for Vanilla Arch (unlike Majaro which is Arch-based).
So you may have just had bad luck when you tried Vanilla Arch that you didn't have with EndeavourOS -- but there's no real difference between the 2 besides manual vs GUI installer.
Debian hands down delivers the most stable experience of em all -- even after updating from stable to sid.
t. Did exactly that on a unsupported sbc, "Orange pi zero 3", and everything works.
thanks but Debain isn't easy to use
...wait what
So you think Gentoo is okay but Debian isnt?
I was guessing but that doesn't mean it doesn't work And yes I know Debain is easy nowadays but regardless I will try Debain or even better MX Linux and Linux mint Debain edition
Delving into the realm of non-rolling distros, yes MX is quite good (sits on top of Debian). I've used the latest version on a laptop seeing almost daily use for 1.5 years or so and zero issues. And thread originator is correct, Debian is the gold standard for a stable linux experience.
that's why I want to try it later because it's the really Best Distro for most of my old computers that otherwise use puppy or antix
Debian testing or unstable.
Ok do you know sparkly Linux is great rolling distribution in addition to pclinux os
just use arch and don't do anything stupid (like not updating regularly)
I don't know how there are people that wait a month between updates, it's like they don't actually want a rolling release.
As someone who used Arch for several years and has been on Tumbleweed for a few years now, life happens. I ran Arch on my laptop, desktop, and a server, and I could go weeks if not 1-2 months between actively using one of those. But when I do, I want the latest software.
So I now use Tumbleweed on my desktop and laptop and Leap on my server. Updates are no longer painful whether it's been a week or a month. I also switched to AMD GPU, which further reduced my issues.
I think Arch is fine, Tumbleweed just fits my lifestyle more. I'll probably move my server to MicroOS one of these days, probably when Leap 15.6 EOL is announced.
Impossible! Everyone knows Arch users don't have a life. /j
But damn you have a pretty computer free life if you can go weeks between usage.
I have a work computer, Steam Deck, and video game console as well. Sometimes I just don't get around to using my desktop PC or laptop.
I also have kids, and they use my computers more than I do (mostly Minecraft). But I don't personally use them every day (usually 1-2x/week, if that), and I don't run updates every time I use my computer. I do try to remember to update them once/week (usually Saturdays), but that doesn't happen very consistently.
And then there are vacations and whatnot (e.g. we went on a family trip for 3 weeks last year). Life gets busy, and mine doesn't revolve around my computers, my computers are merely tools I use to play games, work on personal projects, and sometimes watch shows.
I'd say Tumbleweed is what you're looking for. They have some sort of automated testing process (OpenQA, I think) and are far more stable than Arch, while oftentimes having newer versions of packages before Arch.
What about the gaming benefits like using Lutris and Steam Proton In case i want to game after i installed all the necessary drivers
I use both on Tumbleweed and they work fine.
Both should work similarly regardless of distribution.
ok thanks for your wonderful help
If you want a desktop distro up to date with kernel, DE, etc. which does't crash I can advice Fedora. Aftet the six month release cycle it is easy to update. I used it for a couple of years on my home pc and it was very good.
I'm curious -- what's your motivation for doing this?
Why do you want to use a rolling release over something built for gaming?
Because i want the latest drivers and packages plus stable distributions are mostly outdated
Why do you want that over a stable system that's been curated for gaming?
I know nobara is good but it's by a single dev
Not really -- it's Fedora with a handful of gaming add-ons curated by arguably the top name in Linux gaming.
Ok null but I wish it has More Devs in case of maintaining it in addition to adding updates to gaming software
Regardless, I'm still not getting why you'd want an unstable gaming experience over a stable one.
Ok its because of my trust on the fedora after redhat closing up their source code and making it paid and they're adding telemetry in fedora 45 and up so that's why i have left fedora
Garuda Linux is basically Endeavour OS but more gaming oriented, might be worth checking out.
Give void a try, setup was pretty easy for a more diy style distro.
But is void a really good choice for gaming
There are Nvidia drivers and steam in the nonfree repo (it's a one command to get access to it), they are easy to install. I haven't tried any gaming but don't see why it wouldn't be just as good as any other distro.
Thanks again dude i will check if void is comparable to arch and opensuse tumbleweed plus giving you my thoughts later
Good luck in your search!
Long time arch user (amazing distro). Recently moved to Fedora Kinoite to try it out. I like it so far.
Ok thanks but why not use bazzite its way better for Gaming
Cause those are nothing more then distros that come with some prepackeged apps. Nothing I can't easily do myself and prefer more vanilla experience and minimal bloat distros.
Bazzite is just an immutable fedora image with preconfigured containers, among others an arch container for running steam and adjacent apps.
Overall fedora (whether immutable or regular) feels like a rolling release. By the time a new release comes out, most packages are similar, except maybe a big suite (e.g. new gnome version). Upgrades are also pretty seamless too. My grandpa's pc has been running Fedora since 27 (or 29) and it's now on 38. Never reinstalled
It's wild how everyone's experiences are different. I've tried to upgrade Fedora versions twice, and ran into issues both times.
Meanwhile I've been smooth sailing with Arch for years.
The last time I used Fedora was almost 15 years ago, and back then release upgrades took forever (45 min IIRC) and stuff often broke. That was the main reason I switched to Arch and why I stick with rolling releases these days. Their packages were usually really fresh, so that is still the same.
I think I used Fedora last around 18 or 20 (can't remember exactly), and I remember it being the first major distro to use GNOME 3 and systemd. My main gripe was the upgrader, fedup, and yum was really slow, but other than that it was a fine distro.
I'm on openSUSE Tumbleweed now and have no intention to try Fedora again, but I like that it's an option.