Linux

Mint is fine, Ubuntu sucks ass, don't use that. Zorin OS is also fine.

Whatever beginner friendly distro you choose, I suggest you use it as if you were a grandma, especially if you have experience in troubleshooting Windows. It's natural to try to find the solution to a problem by doing a Google search, but first of all Linux changes quickly, so solutions that are older than 2 years may be outdated, over 5 years they likely are, and they may apply to different distros than yours, so be careful. Always check your DE's settings app first, those have gotten really good in the last few years.
Don't be afraid to ask in chatrooms if your distro has any, the myth of the rude Linux community is just that, a myth.

I'd recommend either OpenSuSE or Fedora, both with KDE. They're big, well supported distros, which should install without issue and provide a slick modern experience. I use OpenSuSE, as I find the YaST system tools convenient and user friendly.

I'd avoid Ubuntu, multiple issues. Mint is a good distro but I think any big mainstream distro "just works" now, so I'd go for something that uses a slicker desktop. I prefer KDE, which is available on Mint but just isn't as tightly integrated as their own Cinnamon desktop.

Lots of people are going towards ZorinOS, since Windows died with the canning of W10. However, I'd say go for Mint, as that doesn't implement the Snap packaging format (if you need GUI apps, go for Flatpak if you want them sandboxed).

The thing about Linux is the back and front are separated, and you can customize the ux like crazy. So as you try stuff, pay more attention to package manager, how easy things are in terminal, compatibility, etc.

Try some shit.

Bazzite for a first try. If you never hit a wall needing to make system tweaks, stick to it in the long term. Otherwise, I’m really liking Fedora. KDE/Gnome is personal choice.

Btw you can load them to a USB and try out without installing if picking one is kinda hard tho remember performance will depend on USB quality.

Mint is fine. I went with pop!_os because at the time mint didn't play well with my hardware.

Make sure you test things from the install live disk before you commit. Internet access, displays, audio should all work.

Don't use Mint or Ubuntu, use Bazzite. It actually is "just works" with the added benefit of "you can't break it". It's perfect for both beginners and experienced users who are looking to do work rather than tinker with their OS.

And if you have a graphics card (which you probably do since you mentioned gaming), Bazzite comes with Nvidia or AMD drivers preinstalled, so you don't have to do anything extra to get it to work.

But if you really want to follow the YT influencer Linux memes, at least go with Ubuntu instead of Mint. Mint is just Ubuntu with a different default desktop, but ~~worse in every other way~~ less reliable (edit: toned down the exaggeration)

sounds like you have a decent computer so try bazzite gnome for your gpu

it's great for normal stuff, development and gaming

I use Pop! OS and I'm also a first time linux user! The installation process was pretty straightforward and I got used to it pretty quickly

As someone who's been using Linux for around 12 years now, I just came back to Mint a while ago and it's a good choice for close to everyone I reckon.

I used pretty much all the major distros and some niche ones as well, but in the end I want a PC that does PC things without having to fuck around all the time. Mint does exactly that, it just works.

That being said, feel free to mess around with live USBs, try some distros on an old laptop etc, it's good fun and you might find something you really like.

As long as you don't pick Ubuntu, you're good to go!

(p.s. not to scare you lol, if you pick ubuntu you'd be fine, just some of their decisions on where they are taking their os have been bad imo)

Fedora.

Ubuntu

Pick any of the more popular ones at random; it really doesn't matter that much.

I've been using Nobara, it's good, it has a dumbed down utility to help you install the important stuff. It's made for noobs, in a way. I recommend the Plasma desktop instead of Gnome, Gnome is super basic and inflexible. I'm using it because it has support for my wacom tablet but I miss KDE Plasma.

Everyone has their own preferences, many of the loudest pretend Linux is sport betting, it's not.

What you care about is:

• how well does it support your hardware
• how well does it support your use case
• how open is the community around the distro to new users

The core OS's have pretty good support and open minded communities.

Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint

Then you have distros that try to cater more to specific needs, like Bazzite focuses on steam and video drivers staying 100% ready out of the box. That's not to say that current Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu and Mint can't install and just work, but it's not their primary focus.

Debian was old and rigid about non-free software Ubuntu forked and allowed free, and their community blossomed. Ubuntu made marketing decisions with Amazon and some other stuff that wierded people out Mint formed the community started heading over there. Ubuntu tried to start doing snap package manager which people hated, so Mint got stronger. Debian finally said ohh fine you can have non-free software, no mint and Debian are both strong and well liked with pretty good support and communities. Fedora is from the old Redhat lineage and is a strong contender with an ancient community and lots of support. Mint, Debian, Fedora and Ubuntu still all have strong communities and lots of support. They're a great place to start. Bazzite is a Fedora port that focuses on Gaming and Video driver support.
There is some stink in the air about Fedora dropping 32 bit support, if that happens Both Fedora and Bazzite will have a very hard time supporting games. As long as Fedora keeps 32 bit support, Bazzite is the best for getting your games running out of the box.

Video editing can be challenging. Divinci Resolve is pretty good, but the free version has harsh limits. KDEnlive is free and ok, but it really lacks authoring features.

Watching streams is easy

Streaming live video is messier. OBS still works a treat, but you don't have Nvidia background removal, and most of the other removal options in Linux are anemic.