1y ago

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

78 comments

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
- 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.

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.

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

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 stable
Liquorix kernel
Flatpak the apps
- 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.
- thanks will do later

I mean it's not really rolling, but since this is Linux Gaming, I recommend checking out Nobara Linux. It's a Fedora fork made by GloriousEggroll of the proton-GE fame. It's the easiest Linux gaming experience I've had so far, at least with the non-modified Gnome version.
IMHO, you should avoid KDE -- I've had nothing but bad experiences there -- but if that's your favourite poison go ahead.
https://nobaraproject.org/
- 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
  
  Yeah, I wonder about that too sometimes. Perhaps a matter of hardware choices or just plain taste.
- thanks but I comfortable with using rolling release Distros for Gaming
  
  Sure. Rolling distros aren't an "advanced form" of Linux though, just different.

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.

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'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.

Debian testing or unstable.
- Ok do you know sparkly Linux is great rolling distribution in addition to pclinux os

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
  
  Because i want the latest drivers and packages
  Why do you want that over a stable system that's been curated for gaming?

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.

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

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.

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