I've always wanted to daily-drive a Linux distribution on my primary workstation for a multitude of reasons. For one, it makes programming much easier than on Windows, since I already know my way around a Linux terminal from classes and my primary laptop, a MacBook Pro. Also, I wanted to learn more about Linux and how it works. I had previously tried Ubuntu, but I found it to be too bloated and slow for my liking. I wanted something that was more lightweight and customizable, so I decided to give Arch Linux a try.

I had heard a lot of good things about Arch Linux, and I was excited to try it out. I had also heard that it was a bit difficult to install, but I was up for the challenge. I followed the installation guide on the Arch Wiki, and I was able to get it installed without too much trouble. The installation process was a bit daunting at first, but once I got the hang of it, it was actually quite straightforward. But keep in mind, for the average user, I would not recommend Arch Linux, unless you are willing to put in the time and effort to learn how to use it. It is not a beginner-friendly distribution, and it requires a lot of manual configuration. However, if you are willing to put in the time and effort, it can be a very rewarding experience.

To give you an idea of the specs and options I've chosen so far, I'll list them here:

Hardware

  • CPU: Intel i7-12700F
  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founder's Edition
  • RAM: 64GB DDR5 5600MHz (for whatever reason, my motherboard can't handle the overclock now that I have 4 sticks instead of 2. So I have to run it at 4000MHz)
  • Storage: 2 TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 T-Force Cardea Z44Q for Arch Linux, 2TB NVMe PCIe 3.0 Samsung 970 Evo Plus for Windows and its games
  • Motherboard: MSI Z690-A Pro
  • Monitors: LG 27GP850-B 4k 160Hz (got it on sale for $500, which is a steal), 27" Asus TUF Gaming 1440p 165Hz, 27" LG 27GLL83A 1440p 144Hz
  • IR Camera: This random one from Amazon. Anything will work.

Options

  • Desktop Environment: KDE Plasma
  • Window Manager: Wayland
  • Theme: Tokyo Night

What Surprised Me So Far

On only day 3 of using Arch Linux, I was surprised about more things than I expected.

  1. It is really really fast. I was expecting it to be a bit faster than Ubuntu, which is already considerably faster than Windows, but I was not expecting it to be this fast.
  2. The installation process was actually quite straightforward. To each their own, but archinstall is a great tool for installing Arch Linux. I was able to get it installed without too much trouble, and I was surprised at how easy it was to get everything set up.
  3. The Arch Wiki is a great resource. I had heard a lot about the Arch Wiki, but I was not expecting it to be this comprehensive. It has everything you need to know about installing and configuring Arch Linux, and it is very well organized.
  4. The keyboard shortcuts are the same as Windows, at least for KDE Plasma. I was expecting to have to learn a whole new set of keyboard shortcuts, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the shortcuts are the same as Windows.
  5. The Proton compatibility layer has support for a lot more games than I expected. I was expecting to have to use Wine for a lot of games, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the games I wanted to play were already supported by Proton.
  6. The performance of games is actually better than I expected. I was expecting to have to tweak a lot of settings to get games to run well, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that most games ran well out of the box. Interestingly, Minecraft Java Edition runs better on Arch Linux than it does on Windows! It was extremely smooth and responsive, and even with mods with PolyMC, it was still very smooth and it loaded much quicker.
  7. Claude has been getting me through a lot of the issues I have run into. I was expecting to have to do a lot of troubleshooting on my own, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the issues I ran into were already documented on the Arch Wiki or on forums.
  8. Howdy, a Windows Hello imitation, can replace sudo password and alert password prompts with a quick facial scan.

What Is Holding Me Back

  1. Setting up hibernation is taking way too long. I have to keep searching the internet and asking Claude, but I can't seem to find a solution that works for me. So far I have already spent 4 hours on it.
  2. I have to keep switching between Windows and Arch Linux to get things done. I have a lot of software that I use on Windows that I can't find a good alternative for on Arch Linux, so I have to keep switching back and forth. This is really annoying, and it is making it hard to get anything done. Hopefully when I can get hibernation working on Arch Linux, it won't be as big of a deal.
  3. There isn't a great Chrome build. It's very glitchy when you move the Window around.

On my what will hopefully be my last day of daily-driving Windows, I will be blogging in this post about my experience as I continue to learn more about Arch Linux and how to use it. I will also be documenting my experience with the installation process, as well as any issues I run into along the way, as software continuously updates and someone may be looking out for something that I did. I will be using this blog post as a sort of journal to document my experience with Arch Linux, and I will be updating it as I go along.