Edit: Tumbleweed and bazzite are currently the most attractive options based on what I've learned from the comments. I will trial run those and 1 or 2 others.
I am currently on Pop OS.
I am dissatisfied with the DE/UI and I've been playing with others but half the point of this distro is it's custom UI. So I figured I would try another. I have several criteria that may narrow it down.
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I am going to use KDE or KDE Plasma (preferred). This is the only non-negotiable criteria.
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I will be gaming. This means I would like relatively up to date kernel and software. Rolling or semi-rolling releases are preferred.
2.5. I also work from this pc. This mainly entails using discord and Firefox though so no special requirements. I do have 4 different sized monitors with 3 different refresh rates that I use for work. Only one for gaming. One is vertical. I can tell I'm pushing x to its limits with that setup.
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I would prefer Debian-based as that is what I'm used to and because .deb packages are so common.
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I don't want it to be a ton of effort to set up. Pop OS worked out of the box with my Nvidia GPU and all other hardware. I am willing to put in some effort though.
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I have been using and very much like apt and flatpak. This is not a requirement, just an observation.
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Wayland is neat
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Active community with lots of support to search through. Pop OS has been good for this as it's Ubuntu based and has its own great community.
Ultimately I want an easy to use desktop OS that uses some sort of KDE, supports up to date packages and drivers, supports most games and isn't a pain to maintain.
Here are some contenders that fit at least some of my requirements.
KDE Neon user edition
Opensuse tumbleweed
Kubuntu
Endeavor OS
Debian
Manjaro
Bazzite
Mint Debian edition
Right now I'm leaning toward KDE Neon, Kubuntu, or Debian (whatever the rolling release version is), but the others all have their draws. I've heard the aur is great but I have come across several applications only available in website downloads of Deb packages so I'm hesitant.
I have been using pop as my first desktop distro after Windows and I've enjoyed it a lot. I barely run into anything I can't solve with some effort and headache and not a single game I can't play. I'd like to keep it that way.
Now that that's out of the way, does anyone have suggestions? Am I looking in the wrong direction? Am I asking the wrong questions? Should I just install arch, live in the terminal, and throw away my mouse? /s
Thank you all for your advice in advance.
I am also gaming a lot and used nvidia in the past and by the description you give I would say openSUSE Tumbleweed is the one. It is rolling release, but they also have extensive QA tests before letting packages get released as updates so it is very stable for a rolling release. And another thing that openSUSE is awesome for is that they have BTRFS snappshotting very nicely configured out of the box so before and after each update it creates a snappshot and if something goes wrong you can just select an old working snappshot from GRUB boot menu. And with Nvidia this breakage was happening well more often the I would like. I also like their Open Build Service where you can find many additional packages which might not be packaged by distro people themselves.
Thank you for this. From the replies in both of my posts, I'm leaning towards either tumbleweed or bazzite/aurora. Both seem great, but maybe tumbleweed is slightly ahead in my mind. I'll probably try 2 or 3 distros anyway.