Jump from MS to Linux. Long list of questions

Linux Beginners / Newbie
1

First post here, so Hello.

My intentions are to (finally) make the jump from MS to Linux.
I’m not entirely new, I’ve been dabbling for over 10 years but I never really used linux for anything except a browser and email. I’m more familiar with Ubuntu and Mint but used an assortment of other distros.

The plan is to drop all things MS and possibly Google.

  1. Gaming. I know Steam covers most of my games, but I also have extensive libraries in GOG and Epic. Do I have options or should I expect make a library sacrifice?
  2. Overclocking.
    a. I presently overclock my videocard using MSI afterburner, is there an equivalent?
    b. CPU overclocking and monitoring. Is there an Intel Extreme Overclock application that I can use?
  3. For a scanner, I use a Canon product with Canon Scan Utility. Is there a linux solution?
  4. Youtube downloader. I occasionally download youtube videos, is there a linux solution?
  5. Other considerations:
    a. I really REALLY prefer a taskbar vertically in the left side and certain distros seem to make that a tad difficult.
    b. I also prefer to strip down and remove all non essential items.
  6. (this probably should have been #1) Is there a suggest distro that you’d suggest for my overall usage?

Hope I’m not asking too much. I’ve put this off for far too long.

DT

2

Hello DT, first reply from me on this forum, I stopped with MS in 2014 I use Ubuntu LTS, not a gamer!

  1. cannot help you with this
  2. Overclocking the Nvidia driver comes with this tool, it’s has only 3 settings
    image
    image870×610 120 KB

    I have read that AMD is more committed/into Linux but at this moment I haven’t used an AMD videoboard.
  3. I use a Cannon LIDE 120 with the standard documentscanner software, no issues.
  4. I used to download Youtube video’s by Command Line Interface in a terminal, there must exist QT or GTK GUI’s for it.
    5.settings/Ubuntu Desktop lets you position the taskbar left/Right/Under
    6.Ubuntu but the Gnome windowmanager 46 left me without a few appreciated extensions since I upgraded to 24.04.01LTS two weeks ago maybe in time it will be fixed/somebody writes a new extension. So maybe stick to an older LTS version or explore other windowmanagers there are perfect Windows-like interfaces online I’m sure.

My HW/SW

Rapport over systeemdetails

Details van rapport

  • Datum gegenereerd: 2024-09-18 16:19:07

Hardware-informatie:

  • Hardwaremodel: ASRock Z97 Extreme4
  • Geheugen: 24,0 GiB
  • Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4790 × 8
  • Grafisch: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
  • Schijfcapaciteit: 4,4 TB

Software-informatie:

  • Firmwareversie: P2.60
  • Naam besturingssysteem: Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS
  • Build van besturingssysteem: (null)
  • Type besturingssysteem: 64-bit
  • GNOME-versie: 46
  • Venstersysteem: X11
  • Kernelversie: Linux 6.8.0-45-generic

Hope this gets you going.
All the best

1 Like
3

4 - Yes, yt-dlp on command line is the right tool for this. If you require GUI then look no further then FreeTube. Easy install, allow watch YouTube directly without ads and offers also download button.
1 - Have a look at this link perhaps it might help: https://www.protondb.com/
3 - Also there is “SANE - Scanner Access Now Easy” scanning tool. http://www.sane-project.org/
6 - Explore, before you settle with a specific distro. There is distro almost for every specific purpose. Furthermore, also explore desktop managers too.

1 Like