Some friends have been telling me about the performance benefit of running blender in Linux, enough where I think i’ll grab another ssd to run linux from my main pc.
I have used linux, very sparingly, years ago, but what is the major differences between:
Ubuntu vs Clearlinux (performance, I know clearlinux is fast).
Ubuntu flavor - Gnome vs Mint
I would not recommend using Clear Linux as a desktop Linux choice. It more of a specialized thing especially for Intel equipment and on the server side more than anything. It is fast. Yes you can use it, with some work as a daily driver, but I would not make it a first choice for anyone.
Ubuntu and Mint are not simply two different sides of the same coin. Ubuntu and Mint both will have some of the greatest support out there for anyone wanting to get into Linux. Ubuntu has many desktop environments to choose from. The base directly, from Canonical uses the Gnome desktop, however You can choose XFCE from Xubuntu, Lxde in Lubuntu, KDE Plasma from Kubuntu, Ubuntu Mate, and so on. It’s going to be what you are more comfortable with. Ubuntu Cinnamon is also trying to get into the group, but is new.
Mint is based on Ubuntu, but handles some software installation slightly differently, like pulling only required things to run what you are installing, rather than required plus some recommended packages on top of it like Ubuntu does, but this generally isn’t a problem in daily use, meaning, you won’t notice. Mint has three desktop environments to Choose from; Cinnamon, XFCE and Mate. It is based only on Ubuntu Long Term Support, so major upgrades come once every 2 years, security updates and patches continue for up to 5 years, minor point releases that include improvements from the Mint team every 6 months or so. Software can get a bit dated, but then that’s when you start getting into using Flatpaks for things that are newer.
Out of these two, Mint is generally the first place to start, unless you like to get into things a bit, and then Ubuntu is fine as well. Mint just provides a few more ease of use items in its software.
If you are really adventurous, I would recommend, yet hesitantly, to give Manjaro a look. Arch based while not being arch, rolling release and stable, at least in my experience, and a large amount of software. Again, this is probably something I would recommend to someone comfortable with tinkering or has used GNU/Linux at least a year, just so you have a base understanding on how the OS works.
All Linux distributions use the Linux kernel, perhaps just a different version, but they are all GNU operating systems at their heart, and follow general guidelines, command structures and directory structure. Package managers are the things that differ the most.
Confused?
It is really difficult to tell you which is best because everyone has different tastes and likes. I would personally start with Linux Mint with Cinnamon or Mate interface to start with, but that is my prejudice. But then, Cinnamon or Mate is closer to Windows than some other GUI’s. If you like Apple IOS you might prefer the Gnome interface which is close to what Pop OS! has. Check out Distrowatch for a list and synopsis of various distros, and download and create some live DVD’s or USB’s of the distros you may be interested in and try them without installing them to help you decide which feels the best. (Check the list of distros on the right side of the page).
I tried Manjaro for about a year and it was a good distro but it is a rolling release, meaning it updates on a periodic basis. I’ve had it update and as a result I lost features because some dependencies would become incompatible with the newest release. This would require searching for and updating the latest dependencies to make all features functional again. After the second major update and lost dependencies, I deleted Manjaro and Installed MX Linux which is also a good distro. Linux Lite, Zorin, and Anti-X are also distros that I like and are rather user friendly. But, which Distro is better for you is really dependent upon your likes and preferences.
WHat I think is better is to compile their custom kernel that they use and use the Clear Linux’s default GCC flags and install it into Arch-based distro or whatever distro you are using. That way you can get similar performance of Clear Linux while not having to deal with their bloat such as using flatpak package manager, honestly it is harder to use it over pacman and yay and flatpak creates a lot more bloat.
Whatever you choose, avoid Gnome 3 is my suggestion. It’s like cancer and HIV combined.
I really like MATE which ironically is modeled after Gnome 2 which is superior in every aspect over it’s successor.
Some people might imply that this is subjective, don’t trust them - trust me. 
Hey now, I like Gnome 3.
You shouldn’t have said that-
I just lost all the respect i had for you (if there was any…idk).
Now i am even contemplating to put you on a special list. 
Is it a special list of totally cool people who have actual taste in their desktop environments? If so, then hell yeah, slap me on there! I ain’t ashamed!
I can neither confirm nor deny that your name is placed on a dark grey list together with other dubious entities.
I bet the people who may or may not be on this alleged list of yours are truly rad and well adjusted individuals who fully understand the notion that desktops aren’t for icons.
Linux desktops can be a very personal choice for sure. 
It depends on what you are used to. If you like OSX than Gnome is your desktop, if Windows than FXCE, MATE, or Cinnamon is a good choice. I used Gnome for many years until Gnome 3 came out. At the time I used the new version for about 4 months and it irritated me the whole time, a lot like OSX does. I dropped Gnome when they started taking features away and I just couldn’t stand the irritation anymore. I went to FXCE and then to Cinnamon, which I really like.
You’re know I’m not being serious, right? 
Though I do think that Gnome 3 is better than a lot of people give it credit for. It is a much heavier DE than XFCE and MATE, and isn’t nearly as customizable out of the box as KDE, but it is consistent, fairly logical, and once you get used to it (and also add the minimize button back to the title bars), it’s incredibly quick to navigate.
I also like the way it looks, especially its dark mode.
Oh Yeah, no problem, that is what the smiley face is for. 
My first Linux installation was Ubuntu and I have never tried anything else. In the end it is Linux and you can customize it as you like. And yes, the change is not easy, but certainly much easier than 10 years ago. At least when someone asks me for help with the computer and I see this F… (funny) operating system, I am always glad that I am using Linux.
I have ran a CentOS for 2 years and i was constantly struggling with the DE. At first everything was fine, i suffered a little because of the lack of customization. Readability of certain programs was deteriorating because of mismatching colors and fonts. Then it became buggy, messing with my fonts and some stuff always crashed every session, I couldn’t fix it.
The sentiment on forums was kinda hostile towards any forms of customization. I had people tell me that if i want to customize my system that much i should just use another DE or i should just adapt and swallow my frustration.
Which i didn’t, i nuked the system and installed a barebone CentOS with an Mate which runs to this day without any big problems at all. I never had this much problems with any DE except the old Ubuntu one.
I don’t even hate the design, i actually quite like it - but the usability was just not there.
I wouldn’t recommend it as an workstation DE because of that.
Things might have changed since then, but i lost all motivation to give it another chance.
So I read every response, and googled some of the suggestions, but didn’t find what I was looking for: a comparison of not visual difference of desktops, but speed benefits. I’ve heard there are as well, but is it just the end render is faster on linux or is it viewport as well? What about undo speed, and render preview? Any legit info about daily use?
maybe this helps
I only take the occasional trips over to Linux Land, though I did keep a Ubuntu Gnome install up and running for about 6 months here a couple years back. Other than the occasional animation hiccup that’d occur when jumping into Expose, I never experienced any problems with it.
Though during my most recent trip over, I did have this weird issue where desktop animations and video playback would freeze for a quarter second every 10 seconds or so that annoyed the everliving hell out of me. I couldn’t nail down what was causing it, everything looked to be working as intended at a more than casual glance. In the end, it bothered me so much, I ended up bailing out back to Windows 10.
You’re essentially talking about completely different DE because the CentOS version of Gnome 3, depending when used, was for a long time missing significant updates.
Gnome 3 in Fedora and Ubuntu is great. CentOS Gnome is probably in a better place these days as well.
.I know nothing about Clear OS.