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 know you said you want to use KDE, but Pop is actually working on their own DE, called Cosmic, to be released with the 24.04 version. It's currently still in alpha, so it's far from finished, but if you're trialing other distros anyway I don't think it would hurt to boot it up and explore it (at least for a few minutes)
Well, since they missed 24.10 as well, it is going to be 25.04 at this point.
Yeah I actually know about that. Pop's whole shtick of versatile tiling and workspace management doesn't really benefit me at all, and I reckon the new DE will heavily feature that as well. That's not necessarily a downside, but it doesn't really make me want to use it over anything else either. What I do know is that KDE is great, I love using it, I love using its apps, and many of its apps don't work quite right on POP as it is.
However, I AM interested in Cosmic's support of nvidia hardware, variable refresh rate, and support for obscure nonsensical monitor setups (which I have haha). So I think I'm going to give it a try, and hope it isn't worse than gnome. I'm not particularly a fan of gnome, but it does have some cool plugins and wide support.
Yeah I thought it would be a long shot but I figured i should mention it just in case, good luck finding a distro