Fedora is an important piece of the Linux landscape, and has even become a distribution many would consider viable for new users. But if the GNOME desktop (which is the default for Fedora) isn’t your thing, you have options, thanks to the numerous spins that are available.
Or you could go with a Linux distribution like Nobara, which is based on Fedora but packed with extra goodness. For example, Nobara ships with all the necessary multimedia codecs, so you can view movies or listen to music without having to install third-party software. Nobara also includes (out of the box) LibreOffice, Firefox, Steam, ProtonPlus, Kate (an advanced text editor), Inkscape, Kamoso (a webcam app), Elisa (a music player) and much more.
What’s important about Nobara is that it’s what I like to call a point-and-click Linux distribution, which means everything you do is a point-and-click affair. Even though Nobara includes all of the amazing Linux command-line power, you don’t have to use it, as there’s a GUI for everything you need in this distribution.
As I mentioned, Nobara is based on Fedora, but it’s not just someone slapping a customized desktop environment over an existing distribution. Nobara makes several key changes to Fedora, such as:
- The Nobara kernel includes several patches (zen, OpenRGB, AMDGPU and Steam Deck support).
- To fix Wayland freezes, QSG_RENDER_LOOP=”basic” is set for Nvidia cards.
- The latest Mesa updates for AMD, Intel desktop and GL drivers.
- The clone3 patch has been disabled.
- The DNF
max_parallel_downloadssetting has been increased to six. - Regular updates for Gamescope, GOverlay, MangoHud and vkBasalt.
- If an NVIDIA GPU is detected, the correct driver will automatically be installed.
- SDL2 was patched to resolve an NVIDIA frame-rate problem.
- Third-party codec installation.
When you combine that with a themed KDE Plasma desktop, the results are impressive. And if KDE Plasma isn’t your jam, you can grab a version with GNOME or even Steam or Steam Handheld. There’s even a version with a non-Nobara themed KDE Plasma desktop. Essentially, you can have Linux your way and not have to bother with installing tons of software out of the box.
That’s not to say you can’t (or shouldn’t). Nobara also includes a GUI package manager called Yum Extender (Figure 1), which simplifies installing, updating and removing applications. Yum Extender also has Flatpak support rolled in, so there’ll be even more applications installed (even third-party proprietary apps like Spotify and Slack).
From that same app, click Update System to run an update (if one is available).
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Figure 1: The Nobara package manager.
What About Performance?
One area where Fedora has started to shine is within the realm of performance. Five years ago, I would never have said that Fedora was even in the top five most performant Linux distributions. Now Fedora can stand toe-to-toe with the best of them, and Nobara follows the same path.
I set up my Nobara test instance as a VirtualBox virtual machine with 3 GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores. I was not surprised that it performed as well as it did. It’s fast. Apps open instantly, menus are navigated without delay and desktop effects are smooth.
The combination of KDE Plasma and Fedora is a barn burner, and Nobara doesn’t diminish that performance by one bit.
Extra Goodies
One very cool addition Nobara makes is the addition of the Web Apps application. With this simple app (Figure 2), you can create a web app for any site that you use. A web app version of a site removes all of the usual trappings of a web browser so it appears the site is running as its own application.
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Figure 2: The New Stack makes for a great web app.
This is great for sites that don’t require the usual Back, Forward and Home buttons or a search bar. I find web apps very convenient for sites I regularly use, but don’t want to crowd my browser with yet another tab.
There’s another extra package called Nobara Driver Manager, which is exactly what it sounds like. When you open this tool, if it detects hardware that requires a special driver, it’ll assist you with the installation.
My Experience With Nobara
I’ve reviewed so many Linux distributions that they often start to blur together. Because of that, I always try to find a sort of theme that runs through a particular distribution to see if it holds up throughout.
With regards to Nobara, it’s all about simplifying the user’s desktop experience without losing Fedora’s power and reliability. To that end, Nobara does a brilliant job of following through. For example, I almost always want to jump right to the terminal window to take care of a few things, but with Nobara, I decided to refrain, and still found the distribution viable.
For those who want to employ Linux for everyday use but also want to play a game now and then, the combination of Steam and Proton Plus is outstanding. If you only use Steam, you miss out on a lot of Windows games. With the help of Proton Plus, you can manage things like Proton-GE, Luxtorpeda, Boxtron, Roberta, NorthstarProton, Proton-GE RTSP and Proton-TKG, which makes it possible to play even more Windows games. For example, Luxtorpeda provides Linux-native game engines for specific Windows-only games.
If you don’t game much, those tools probably won’t matter to you. If you do, those two applications will be a must.
In the end, I found Nobara to be the complete package. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to Linux or have been using it for some time; this distribution would make for an outstanding replacement for whatever OS you currently use. And with Windows 10 EOL coming soon, it might be time to install Linux on that aging PC and see what a real operating system can do.
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