Switching to Linux from Mac

Switching to Linux from Mac

Reasons

• Mac OS starting to feel very bloaty
• Need to use NVidia Graphics Cards for Blender ML and Video Editing
• Wanted to see the current state of Linux, see if it sticks

Distro: Pop!_OS

• Super easy to install
• Works right out of the box
• NVidia drivers built right in
• Minimal customization needed

Biggest concern: Creative Apps

• No Adobe Software runs on Linux
• Gimp and Krita work fine and are functional as Photoshop replacements
• Gravit.io as an illustrator replacement. Does many things Illustrator doesn't even do
• Blender runs better on Linux already
• I've already switched to DaVinci Resolve for editing and it's great

Apps installed:

• Gnome Tweaks (Customizations for Gnome (The windows system in Linux))
• Chrome (Browser)
  • Plugin: LastPass (Password Manager)
  • Plugin: GNOME Shell integration
• VS Code (Code editing and writing)
• Blender (3d software)
• DaVinci Resolve (Note: Has kinda crappy codec support on Linux: No AAC decoder, No MP4 decoder. Have to use ffmpeg to transcode NABD)
• Gravit Designer (Web based Vector design)
• Spotify (Music)
• Github Desktop (Source Control Client for Code)
• Screensaver (To blank the screen to black for OLED TV)
• OBS Studio (for Screen Recording)
• Steam (Gaming - Actually, there's no games on Linux)
• Command line:
  • sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras
  • sudo apt install nodejs
  • sudo apt install npm
  • sudo apt install ffmpeg

Pop OS Customizations

• Dark Theme
• Black background wallpaper (Downloaded a black png)
• Switched Alt and Control keys to be more like mac (Gnome Tweaks: Keyboard & Mouse: Additional Layout Options: Ctrl position: Swap Left Alt with Left Ctrl
• Make Caps lock be Backspace (Gnome Tweaks: Keyboard & Mouse: Additional Layout Options: Caps Lock behavior: Make Caps Lock an additional Backspace
• Mouse Natural Scrolling (Settings: Mouse & Touchpad: Natural Scrolling)
• Added Key Bindings for Logitech MX Master 3 Mouse for side scroll wheel for Volume up and down (https://github.com/Brian-Lam/Logitech-MX-Master-Key-Mapper-Linux: .xbindkeysrc: "xte 'key XF86AudioLowerVolume'" b:7, "xte 'key XF86AudioRaiseVolume'" b:6)
• Added Gnome Extensions:
  • Dash to Dock (Set it to autohide a dock at the bottom of the screen like Mac OS)
  • Hide Top Bar (Hides the top bar unless you put your mouse there)
  • Sound Input & Output Device Chooser (Hid unwanted sound devices)
  • CPU Power Manager (Control CPU to control Fan Loudness)
• Disable auto switching of sound device (/etc/pulse/default.pa: #load-module module-switch-on-port-available, #load-module module-switch-on-connect)

Dual Boot: Windows

• Default boot is Pop OS
• Installed windows from downloaded ISO
• Won't activate it
• Switch using BIOS key: Need a wired keyboard or wireless with dongle. Bluetooth doesn't work.

Hardware

• CPU: Intel Core i9-10850K / $487 (10 Core / 20 Thread 3.6-5 GHz)
• Mother Board: MSI Z490 MEG ACE Intel LGA 1200 ATX Motherboard / $400 (2 PCI Slots 3 spaces from each other for 2 Graphics Cards)
• Graphics Card 1: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 / $3000 (BOUGHT FROM SCALPER OUCH)
• Graphics Card 2: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 / $1500 (Dont haave this yet)
• Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1600 P2 1600 Watt 80 Plus Platinum / $480
• Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 64GB / $470
• CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X73 360mm - RL-KRX73-01 / $176 (OMG I HATE THIS RGB LIGHT SHIT)
• Case: NZXT H710i - Black / $170 (looks alright, big, ripped the LEDs out WTFFFF)
• Storage: SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus SSD 2TB - M.2 NVMe / $350
• Keyboard: HP Pavilion Wireless Keyboard 600 (Swiss Black) / $45
• Mouse: Logitech MX Master 3 / $100

Total Cost: $5678