So I have a situation. I really want to switch to Linux as my main gaming/production OS but need the Adobe suite as I am a graphic designer. Adobe is the golden standard for this industry (and likely to always be) so while Gimp and Inkscape might work, they are not feasible for my career. I also know that there will be situations where games just don’t run well or at all on Linux.
Dualbooting works but is not really worth it for me as I would have to stop what I’m doing and restart my PC. I heard that you can set up a single GPU passthrough for games and software but it seems complicated. How difficult would that be to set up for a new user to Linux? I would consider myself a tech savvy person but I know very little about the ins and outs of Linux. I have a massive GPU (XFX RX 6900 XT) with a big support bracket that covers the second PCIE slot so buying another GPU isn’t really feasible either.
I do have an Unraid server with decent specs that I use for a hosting Minecraft servers and Jellyfin so setting up a VM on that might be a good option.
What would you guys recommend me to do?
I went Mac. it’s UNIX, and far better than suck-ass windows… but there’s a real limitation when it comes to gaming… Linux is supporting more and more games and macOS isn’t so much… that might change soon, it might not.
Personally, I’m not so much of a gamer, and I really like the Apple ecosystem. I run linux on my server and love it, too, and macOS plays really nice with linux. But if gaming is big for you AND you need Adobe apps like I do, then you’ll have to dual-boot if you want your main OS to be linux.
As for learning the ins-and-outs: there’s a leaning curve we ALL go through, and you’ll always be learning more as you go. But there’s never been a better time to learn as there’s never been more resources to help nor more community to support you with any and every problem you could ever have. Now is a very exciting time for linux. it’s super.
So, if I were you, I’d consider the switch away from Windows. You can dual-boot (or run a VM) or find a way to run Adobe Apps via Wine (not sure how that works). Personally, I couldn’t live without them and am very happy with macOS, but it’s not for everyone. Maybe you’ll be able to live with dual-booting into windows for wen you need to work and living the rest of the time in linux. it’s a journey you’re just going to have to take.
best of luck to you!
True! I am still going to college and the school I will be transferring to requires a MacBook so I have to get one anyway.
Does Mac OS have the same issues as Windows where settings change each update? That is my major annoyance with Windows.
I’m pretty sure you’ll like it, a hell of a lot more that Winblows anyway. like I said, macOS is UNIX (which linux was made to emulate), so they’re interoperable and have very similar architectures under the hood. macOS is defiantly different in its Apple-y ways, but still plays very nice with linux systems and also supports many linux software ports. There’s also a macOS command-line package manager called Homebrew that’s used to distribute many of these crossover software packages.
NO! macOS updates very rarely (if ever) break things, even with the legendarily persnickety Adobe apps, mostly because Adobe apps don’t have to hack removed in order to run on macOS, because macOS isn’t a dumpster fire of an OS like windows is.
Oo okay sweet! Mac OS doesn’t seem too bad now.
macOS is actually pretty awesome. lots of FOSS people don’t like it simply because of Apple and because of how Apple tends to be a bit overbearing when hit comes to how it likes to do things. macOS has limited customizability, for example, which is something linux users like to go bonkers with. I get it. but there are still ways to do what you want regardless. lots of hacks and stuff.
But it’s the most widely-used and most commercially-successful distribution of UNIX in the consumer space, and the only one still around in any meaningful way. Apple managed to bring UNIX to the masses and to scale it from smartwatches to servers where others failed for decades, all in one, unified ecosystem of software and hardware products. Yes, Apple’s control over that ecosystem is too much for some to bear on philosophical grounds, but those objections usually turn out to be mostly symbolic when put to practical tests.
The other main objection is that Apple products tend to be in the “premium” range of pricing and are “anti-consumer” in that they’re difficult or impossible to repair or upgrade. Those are valid criticisms, however they affect a very tiny sector of users, so make what you will of that.
Note: Linux, currently, cannot run on Macs with Apple Silicon processors. great efforts are underway to make linux compatible with the processor, and AFAIK, the linux kernel itself runs on the AS processors, but the project hasn’t gotten much farther than that, being stuck on untangling the display adapter or something. The effort is, however, ongoing and should, hopefully soon, see a fully-compatible AS linux kernel with compatible AS linux builds n the near future.