Hey everyone, recently, I’ve been feeling this pull to switch my workstation from Fedora to Debian Stable. The idea of a stable, clean base appeals a lot to me, but I am unsure yet. I’d use GNOME and probably Flatpaks to keep certain GNOME applications up to date.
Another thing I wanted to verify is whether my use case is compatible with the Debian philosophy (in terms of software I’d be running).
Development (including CUDA, mainly Python)
Occasional gaming (with an Nvidia GTX 1060)
The main argument against using Debian in my case (from what I’ve heard) would be that GPU-related stuff could be outdated - but is this true and even noticeable in my case, as my GPU is a bit older already?
(For those not familiar with CUDA, a.k.a. NVIDIA’s Compute-Unified Device Architecture, which expands the scope of GPUs to normal computing tasks, developer site.)
I think the question to ask is
What OS does NVIDIA use internally as their uniform-standard base OS on their desktops in the Hardware Development team’s office?
If that is Debian, I think you will have your answer!
BTW, that is apparently Ubuntu LTS! From a Google search it offered this tidbit:
NVIDIA even maintains and internally uses its own custom Ubuntu-based distribution called NVIDIA DGX OS.
and
Ubuntu: The most popular choice for machine learning and AI development. NVIDIA natively packages CUDA for Ubuntu, making it a highly stable and well-supported environment.
So, that would imply that Ubuntu would get those releases first!
Thank you! I don’t think it’s strictly necessary for me to run the latest CUDA version, as long as it’s not a hassle to get and maintain (e.g., inbetween kernel updates).
Can’t talk you out of it. Debian is solid for your use case of older GPU, Python dev, and using Flatpaks for keeping GNOME apps fresh. The “outdated GPU drivers” concern is a bit overstated IMO for a GTX 1060; that card has been well-supported for a while and the Debian stable drivers are fine for it.
For CUDA specifically, grab it from NVIDIA’s repo directly. That way you control the version and kernel updates don’t become a whole thing. Have a look also at @ricky89 post:
Honestly the only way to talk you out of it at this point is to tell you Fedora is also great and you’ll spend a weekend reinstalling just to end up with ~ same setup. If the itch is there, scratch it.
I’m itching for sure. My Debian-based setup has been great for years, but I would like to be able to achieve something stable like this again with a new distro, well… because a challenge is sweet.
Not Debian related, but there’s a constructive discussion on general arguments and mindsets for our valid arguments for or against our current distros here:
I like Debian, it’s only real drawback is the forum for new and causal users. If you are a well seasoned Linux user (geek) Debian forum will work for you. RTFM is no help to anyone.
I run all Debian-based distros in my home network – Linux Mint 22.3 desktops, Debian 13 servers. I am self-hosting a number of apps, I do coding/development, and it has all just been rock solid.
For my .02, when I was distro hopping in the early days I did run Fedora for a while but it just felt – well, more unsettled than Debian. That is not intended as a criticism of Fedora or of those who choose it, just a way to explain how it felt in my situation. I imagine that comes from being on the bleeding edge of things. For me, I was focused more on having a stable base because the work I’m doing on the system is more important to me that having the latest.
I’ve been running Linux Mint since 2019 and have never had a reason to regret that choice. When I began self-hosting, it just made sense to go with Debian on the servers and that, too, has been a solid choice.
Top left I used to use the Space bar plugin, along with my i3 workspace switching keyboard shortcuts, but that plugin was (or is) broken with GNOME 50:
So if I ever go back to GNOME it has to be with zero extensions/vanilla.
It is unclear to me why they can’t just maintain or support a handful of the most popular and choice extensions officially. Because otherwise GNOME is only as stable as its least maintained 3rd-party extension.
That’s fair enough—fortunately, the “GNOME workflow” fits me really rather well, so I don’t need too many extensions (in fact, I only got one for top bar app icons and one to keep the monitor on with a toggle).
Yes, indeed. Panel/taskbar notification icon plugins that support apps like Spotify, Google Drive, clipboard managers, NordVPN, and similar tools are also a must for me. I understand the goal is a minimal-distraction, clean workflow, but I would argue that a large portion of real-world installs rely on at least one third-party extension for these basic features.
That then introduces a dependency risk, where you have to rely on those extensions staying maintained and being updated quickly whenever new GNOME versions break compatibility.
Edit: on a Distro like Debian 13 that’s not as big of an issue as say using Arch or other rolling release distros. Of course if you are only using 2 or 3 extensions its not as risky as having 5 or 6.
That’s the pro of Debian, I presume! When I enthusiastically upgraded to Fedora 44 a couple weeks ago I remember not all my extensions were working immediately. It’s definitely not the greatest part of GNOME.
I’ll be trying Debian Trixie tonight and if it works well on my really old hardware, I’ll keep it. If not, I’ll stay on Mint as I am right now. Don’t want to go back to any Ubuntu flavor, and Mint XFCE is great… but Mint is based on Ubuntu which is based on Debian, so, why not try the original?
I think that is true of the modern PC industry in general. It is now a mature industry that is not going to have a lot of exciting innovation anymore. Look at Windoze it should have kept Win XP or 7 and just improved one of them. I would sat the same about gnome 2.
I’s not like we are going to see “OMG it’s a graphical interface with a mouse” kind of thing.
Windows was Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) — introduced 2016.
Apples last big innovation was the M1 chip—debuted in November 2020.
Linux’s most recent widely felt, is the addition of eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter). 2014 (according to the ‘experts’)
Installed this afternoon, everything seems to be working fine… I’ve got to do some fine-tuning and change the looks. As I’m coming from so many years on Xubuntu and a few months on Mint XFCE, everything feels great.
I hope no one visiting here ever receives an RTFM message.
I do miss GNOME!
Exactly! There really isn’t much that is new. Tweaks and tips, but all the basics are the same.
