r/linuxquestions • u/Gullible_River4989 • 15h ago
Which Distro? linux mint vs ubuntu
Next year imma start college and ofc imma buy a laptop and i wanna make it a linux machine so which distro should i start with this some points to note before recommending:
which is more helpful in studying
which is better for learning linux
which is better for very light games like balatro and slay the spire
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u/ipsirc 15h ago
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u/Gullible_River4989 15h ago
So mint is better? Luigi >>Mario
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u/ipsirc 15h ago
Who won the princess?
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u/beatbox9 14h ago
No. The comic doesn't really make sense, because Mint is not a different person.
Like Debian and Ubuntu would be two different people--let's say Mario and Luigi.
But Mint would just be Mario or Luigi but wearing a different outfit.
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u/Jwhodis 12h ago
Go for Mint.
Ubuntu is worse because of Snap, it overrides other install methods and can cause a lot of headache.
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u/Gullible_River4989 12h ago
Yeah that's what I've been hearing it's like (from what I've understood since I'm still new) a different flavor of windows
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u/Excellent-Love-6943 15h ago
Little difference between the two in these cases. I would suggest mint over Ubuntu to avoid snaps, though.
Preferably lmde IMO.
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u/Gullible_River4989 15h ago
And what is the next step in my linux learning journey do u suggest?
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u/Zars 15h ago
Install Rufus on your windows, download the ISO, burn it on the 4-16Gb USB stick, reboot your system, interrupt the boot and tell it to boot from the stick - try it out and check if everything works - BT, wifi, sound, special keys, etc. Play with it, look up if programs you use are supported or have decent alternatives on Linux, if all checks - make the win backup and just go with it.
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u/tomkat_7 15h ago
Get fedora KDE and play around until you discover that it has an infinite possibility of customisation
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u/SnooDucks9330 15h ago
If you're coming from Windows, I'd say start with mint. It's going to feel familiar enough that you can use it more or less the same way you're used to, then break into the differences at your own pace. I'm guessing you're apprehensive about the terminal from the sound of it, so my advice is to make it your second learning priority right after learning the file system, because the layout is different from Windows and may take a little bit of explaining. It's not terribly difficult though, just a bit different.
Anyway once you're comfortable opening the terminal and doing some basic commands like updating your system, installing software, navigating your files and creating/deleting files in it you're going to feel much more confident using your system and you'll have a good idea of how to find info on problems you have, how to fix them, and how to know if you wanna stick with mint.
For learning Linux in general, any distro is going to be helpful and the only one that may be more helpful than another right off the bat would be Arch but it is NOT recommended for beginners at all because it assumes you already know a fair bit about Linux and so takes a special kind of learner.
For productivity, most distros have access to the exact same tools and software so it comes down to your workflow, my advice would be test them both out and see which one you vibe with. I suspect it will be mint.
For gaming, you shouldn't have problems with those games on either distro unless your graphics card needs the absolute newest drivers as Debian distros tend to lag behind a bit. That said, I haven't used Ubuntu so I don't know if they have an answer for this.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
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u/CapitainSailor 15h ago
Mint is based on ubuntu which is based on debian, so id say use debian if you want to learn linux, helpful for studying? I dont think it matters unless theres some specific study software youre looking for(!?) Or if you mean study linux, but I doubt you meant that. And also id say debian again is better for light games but it doesnt really matter because you can play those with both mint/ubuntu. My answer is debian
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u/Gullible_River4989 15h ago
It will be my first time and I fear that Debian might be a Lil to early for me I like taking shit slowly
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u/Zars 15h ago
Go with Mint - it has super user friendly welcome setup routine. Slay the spire will run fine on it, not familiar with the other game, sorry.
Mint also just works - you install it and it does it's job. Enable time machine backup and you're safe from most user or occasional update breaking stuff (happens super rarely, but thats all linux).
It is, IMHO, the most user friendly distro that just works. You're not missing out on anything *arch unless you have latest hardware and require the newest kernel to support it. Then I'd say CachyOS if you have top 2026 laptop.
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u/green_meklar 5h ago
First, you should find out whether your university has mandatory test-taking software specific to Windows. That can be a problem; at the very least, you may need to consider dual-booting in order to have Windows available (and then keeping it updated is a pain, of course).
'Helpful in studying', there's no difference, unless operating systems are going to be one of your study subjects. Broadly speaking, the same useful software is available on all major desktop distros.
'Better for learning Linux', I would say the differences aren't that large. Debian is good but you might have more of a struggle configuring it to work for you. Fedora is probably a good pick and might be more approachable.
For games it doesn't matter that much. A few games require recent GPU drivers, or run better on Wayland, and for that reason you might favor a distro like Fedora or Ubuntu over, say, Debian or Mint. (For the record, I have the original Slay the Spire and it works perfectly on my Linux machine.)
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u/_Lost-In-The-Weeds_ 15h ago
At the moment Mint22 is well behind Ubuntu 26, the Mint team has delayed the next version to work on major projects. Mint will catch up to Ubuntu in December. LMDE is currently the more up to date "Mint".
I don't know that either would be any better or worse for studying or learning Linux.
Ubuntu26 would probably have slight advantage in gaming due to newer Mesa and drivers until Mint catches up in December. But Gnome is heavier than the Mint desktops and that may be a factor on some slower/older hardware.
I personally cannot stand Gnome or snaps and would just use Mint/LMDE anyway.
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u/tomscharbach 15h ago
Check with your college to find out what distribution(s) are supported for connection to college systems and used for instruction. That would be a good place to start.
If the college has no preference, either will be fine.
My best and good luck.
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u/Deep-Effect-9204 15h ago
Linux Mint has been the best for the past four years, having used Zorin, Winux and Ubuntu
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u/gordonmessmer 13h ago
Mint is based on Ubuntu LTS, and inherits from its design. Most of the software the distribution provides (like... 94%) is generally unmaintained, and will contain known security vulnerabilities.
In the past, this design hasn't been a problem because there have been too few linux desktop users for malware groups to bother targeting them, but AI tools are making malware easier and cheaper to develop, and that situation could change at any time.
For security's sake, you should use a distribution that updates at least once every six months in order to ensure that your software is all still getting security patches from its upstream developers.
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u/Jane_Doe234 10h ago
Most people have answered the same and honestly I fully support it. Even if you don't go down the foss and privacy rabbit holes, Mint's a far smoother ride, with all the benefits Ubuntu has (security-wise) and the ability to easily install using .deb packages. It's gonna do wonders for you in college
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u/bluegrassclimber 13h ago
Less important for college students where they encourage exploring, but I'd go with the distro that is most widely supported/tested on by IT/large companies.
That's Ubuntu LTS imo. You can always install cinammon on top of it. And in doing so, you'll be learning about linux
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u/C0rn3j 15h ago
Ubuntu requires an online account with a subscription to Ubuntu Pro for full security patches, that makes it be out in my book.
Mint, to my knowledge, does not carry security patches shipped in Ubuntu Pro, that makes it out.
Instead, use a modern distribution that's not trying to lock you in, check out Arch Linux (with Plasma) or Fedora KDE instead.
In any case, go through most of https://linuxjourney.com/ first.
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u/Economy-Cod-9175 15h ago
Mint based in Ubuntu and Ubuntu based on Debian. Go for Debian. I used both I started out with mint and tried many other distros .At the ended up with Debian and never looked back.
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u/beatbox9 14h ago edited 14h ago
They are basically the same thing.
Mint is just a pre-customized version of Ubuntu. Mint is around 99% Ubuntu and around 0.25% original software (like themes), with the remaining stuff in-between being software they take from debian instead of ubuntu.
Contrary to what some people here will say, Mint is not "based on Ubuntu" in the same way that Ubuntu is based on Debian. Both Ubuntu and Debian are full, independent distros; while Mint is only a small add-on customization layer to either Ubuntu or Debian.
See my post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/1wx7i1t/comment/pdud67g/
But because it's customized, Mint has to first get the latest Ubuntu and then spend time trying to customize it. So ultimately, Mint is derivative and slower to update and more niche. Like for example, the latest Ubuntu 26.04 came out back in April; and the latest Mint is based on the Ubuntu that came out in April 2024--over 2 years ago.
You will learn more (and have a more modern and more mainstream Linux system) from Ubuntu.
So I would strongly recommend Ubuntu over Mint. Install the latest Ubuntu LTS, and then spend a few minutes customizing it as you see fit. And learn during this process.
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u/Xyldarrand 15h ago
There's not a huge difference for a first timer. Mint is what I generally recommend for a newbie.
The learning will happen as you use it. Eventually you'll feel bold enough to try a less intuitive distro.
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u/SpecificTurbulent516 11h ago
It'd help to know something about the laptop too but if you don't know yet then I guess you can't say.
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u/Corona688 13h ago
better for studying? depends what you need. any old chromebook can sling a web browser these days.
learning linux? gentoo or slackware will teach you more in 5 minutes than 2 years of whatever-buntu.
very light games? ...I don't actually know.
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u/mrawther 15h ago
You would be fine with Ubuntu. It will help you learn. There is so much information on Ubuntu out in the internet for reference. Ubuntu is stable but also has newer packages than Linux Mint. Linux Mint in my opinion is an inferior version of Ubuntu. If you don't like Ubuntu because the internet told you so, go ahead and try Debian.
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u/Wide_Slice_5126 15h ago
If ur going for the latest packages, Id say it'd be best for you to get Ubuntu, tho you will deal with snap packages being forced on ya and these are usually more resource heavy,and might be a problem if you want to squeeze out the best performance your hardware can handle.If you are fine with that, than Ubuntu is the way to go. If not, mint (especially the LMDE version) will be best.