Ditto. Also a gamer on Linux Mint and never once had a problem.

The present-day Linux kernel tree (not the Debian guys) actually has a target to build a Debian kernel package (make bindeb-pkg) straight out of git if you want, so you can pretty readily get a packaged kernel out of the Linux kernel git repo, as long as you can come up with a viable build config for it (probably starting from a recent Debian kernel's config). I have run off Debian-packaged kernels built that way before, if you want to play on the really bleeding edge.

Yep, been gaming on Ubuntu for decades. Zero issue. Occasionally have to do a thing, but it's Linux, so you know; everything is always do able.

I used Bazzite for a bit and I like the direction of the project. I’m still not happy with where Flatpak is and so I switched to CachyOS for now.

I think Zorin OS did a really good job at customizing Gnome to make it the way it should have been. As for limiting customizeability, I don't think that's necessarily bad. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by KDE's customization options. Vanilla Gnome has too little. Zorin's desktop is just right.

But that's my opinion.

yeah i dont hate gnome users or even if i have to use gnome, but i do hate the conceptual approach to functionality they take, as you mention.

kubuntu is trash. you have to wait forever for kde updates and not everyone wants to use ubuntu / derivatives. it just seems like everyone is so stubborn and just says mint. tons of distros "just work" out of the box with minimal configuration, even some based on arch.

really i only have one opinion here that im strong on, and its that i feel cinnamon is a waste of time for many (new people).

You can absolutely do that.

But do be careful with kde-full if you're running very old hardware. I'm talking about <4gb DDR3, CPUs from Obama's first term etc.

I'm not saying KDE's "bloated"; I am still in absolute shock at how light it is compared to Windows.

But if you are dealing with hardware that needs a daily lethal dose of donepezil, opt for kde-standard

(Difficult lesson I learned)

this touches on my point exactly. i find that due to the "over recommendation" of mint/cinnamon, that many new people will inevitably "waste time" with cinnamon. this is a feeling i have that frustrates me, is all. KDE is exactly as easy to get started with as is cinnamon.

anyway cheers :)

I did not know that! I was thinking about my issues on Debian and assumed Mint had a similar process