Hi all
with a new PC coming I'll install also a Linux distribution. My only experience with Linux was a 20 years ago, and I dislike the Gnome experience at the time. Never used again. Not used to CLI, I'm more a curious person than a technician.

Will be used for prototyping and not development (not a developer myself), so to evaluate data science / ML packages, frameworks, skills needed, potentialities, planning product features.

The hw will be a Ryzen CPU (2600X), and possibly a double GPU with old AMD HD 7950 Boost for graphics + Nvidia GTX 1070 for compute, 32GB RAM. I can use also only a single GPU if too complex.

Linux will be installed on a second SSD, with the first SSD having Win10 from my old PC. A NTFS HDD will be shared btw Win10 and Linux with data.

Will use containers (such as Docker) for testing in Linux, 3D graphics probably on Windows, Python for prototyping using various frameworks.

Ubuntu appear to be a logical choice since supported from all the app and frameworks I'm looking about.

Having maintained my bad taste for Gnome I'll like to try a different DE, with the best possible experience in term of easiness to use, modern look and feel, compatibility with hw and sw, support.

Coming down in my research I was coming to consider these options:
- Kubuntu (like it but appear to be in descending adoption, also dubious about the support, easiness to install different applications, compatibility with GPUs)
- Linux Minit (didn't like so much the Cinnamon DE, dubious if being "derivate" from Ubuntu mean is less compatible with the various hw and sw, but widely used and appear to be newbie friendly)
- Ubuntu Budgie (like the DE, less consolidated respect the others, didn't find any adoption among data science practitioners, dubious about support and compatibility)

So pretty a lot of doubts, after looking at various specific distro forums I decided was the case to ask the broader Linux experts and users community.

Just by the name, and the RHEL parenthood (one of the most supported distributions in scientific environments), have a look at Scientific Linux.
www.scientificlinux.org/
Yes, it will have Gnome as default DE, but several others are available and supported like the pure Windows Manager IceWM, but the full KDE Plasma one too.

PS: I have no experience with this distro, but did work with both RHEL and CentOS, another RHEL ofshoot.

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Given your requirements, what you suggested so far, as well as what's been suggested above, you could also have a look at openSUSE.

While Linux Mint, Ubuntu, etc maybe a little more "beginner friendly", openSUSE isn't unfriendly towards people new to Linux. It's a kind of middle-of-the-road distribution if you will. I used it myself for a number of years. I think the biggest advantage for you with that is that, you will get a choice of graphical environments when you install it - it's installer/"control panel" YaST will ask you during it's installation which graphical environment you want to install, and you can easily configure it with YaST after installation. There is a wide variety of software packages available for it as well.

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@ehartman

@jsbjsb001

Thanks for answering. I was looking at ScientificLinux, but being based on RedHat I didn't consider it in the first place. Same for OpenSuse.
All the programs I'm looking for support Ubuntu LTS so as beginner I consider safer to focus on Ubuntu or Ubuntu derived distro.
What about the one I listed.
Or in fact any distro can execute any package? It's all a bit confusing for a newbie.

Well, basically in terms of software packages, just because one distribution uses the same type of package, it doesn't mean it will work on another distribution. Basically it depends on the dependencies involved, eg package A depends on package B, and so on and so forth to work.

You're best sticking to packages built for the distribution you're using. But that said, you can install Ubuntu packages on Linux Mint - Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu. But a package built for Red Hat Linux would very likely break openSUSE, because Red Hat Linux packages have not been built for openSUSE.

I won't confuse you anymore than that.

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Thanks @jsbjsb001
And what about Desktop Environment?
I've tested the various distro on VM and I appreciate the cleaniness of KDE, but didn't understand if also this is meaning I will be able to use correctly only app made for KDE or also Gnome app.
Reading and reading appear also KDE is slowly fading in term of support, so I might be ending in a dead end?

No, you can use any graphical apps - it doesn't matter which desktop environment you install. But for KDE apps to work, you'll need the kdelibs installed. Which they will be if you're using the KDE desktop environment (which I use myself as it happens). This is where your package manager comes in; it should sort out which dependencies you need and offer to install them automatically for you.

KDE is far from dead, the latest version of it is KDE 5.x (where "x" is the latest minor version available).

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Thanks again @jsbjsb001 (btw no way to cite a person without quoting his post?).
Just testing KDE Neon on VM, as newbie can I expect problems, or just the same as Kubuntu.
Also really important, about hardware compatibility (GPUs mostly) might I expect better/worse support based on the distributions (I did say the choice is narrowed down to KDE Neon/Kubuntu or Linux Mint).

You can cite a post, quite easily, just write something like "post #x" (where "x" is the post number you want to cite), if you don't want to quote it. Or you could just quote the relevant part of whatever post it is.

Just testing KDE Neon on VM, as newbie can I expect problems, or just the same as Kubuntu?
Also really important, about hardware compatibility (GPUs mostly) might I expect better/worse support based on the distributions (I did say the choice is narrowed down to KDE Neon/Kubuntu or Linux Mint)?

A VM isn't really going to give you much idea about hardware support - you should try a "live system" for that, that will give you the best idea about that.

You should have a look at this as well - it will give you a good idea about software packages, etc.

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Ok creating the bootable usb right now with KDE Neon, will test it and the others soon on the old PC with the new GPU arrived yesterday, the other new PC components will need to wait a bit more.

Actually "KDE 5" has been split into three:
(latest release announcements from www.kde.org)
and only the latter two thus carry a 5.x number.

But lots of firms deliver rpm's that will work on both Red Hat (and CentOS/Scientific Linux) and SLE (including openSUSE Leap).

Then: openSUSE has theand Debian is the root (base) for all flavors of ubuntu, Linux Mint etc
(and for rpm based distro's they forgot to mention Mandriva/Mageia).

BTW for the OP: Fedora is the open source development version for RHEL, community supported and mostly MUCH in advance of RHEL, which goes for stability (10 years of support) and not the newest/latest stuff.

ehartman, I never said that KDE hasn't been split into three, I was talking about the desktop environment it's very self, which I would have thought would have been clear. The OP had already stated they were getting confused, I had already stated that I didn't wish to confuse them anymore than what they already were.

I was talking about packages built by Red Hat Linux them-very-selves, not packages built by third party vendors. As I clearly stated before, I used openSUSE for a number of years. I therefore know that openSUSE has their OBS repo's.

Can you please consider the OP - you don't need to be pedantic - it doesn't help someone who is new to Linux, and you are only telling me what I already know - the OP has clearly shown that they have done research and can ask the question if they are not sure about something. Please start considering the OP, please.

You also need to direct your responses towards the OP, instead of other members - I'm not the OP asking the question to begin with...

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