On my main tower PC, the boot screen lets me choose between two operating systems: Windows 11 and whatever version of Linux I’m testing at the time. I almost always choose Linux. Here’s why.

Dual-Booting Is Nice (When Done Right)

I dual-boot both Windows and Linux because I need to have access to Windows. It’s part of my job as a tech service journalist to test Windows software and keep up with what’s happening to the operating system, and being able to switch over with a few clicks makes my work convenient.

Sometimes dual-booting can be useful for my own troubleshooting, too. I run into a mysterious problem on Linux—does if the same problem come up when I try to do the same task on Windows? The ease of switching over can make solving my tech issues a little easier.

I should note that I don’t necessarily recommend dual-booting Linux and Windows, especially on a single drive. The chances for GRUB problems are high in that situation. I’ve not run into major issues in part because I put a secondary SSD in my PC for Linux to live on, allowing the two OSes to stay comfortably separated.

Windows Feels Like Someone Else’s Desktop

With all of that said, I let out an exasperated sigh every time I choose the Windows 11 option in my boot menu. It brings me to a login screen covered in advertisements and random facts on topics I don’t care about. After logging in, I’m get nagged to upgrade my Microsoft 365 subscription that I don’t use. Manufacturer bloatware I’ve never used shows me a popup about updates and yet another paid subscription opportunity.

Not to be ignored, the news widget prompts me with alerts about current events with no effect on me. The weather updates are useless to me thanks to the window to the outdoors next to my computer monitor. When I search for a file or app on my computer in the Start menu, I’m shown Bing web search results—by nature, not things on my computer.

Let’s not forget about Copilot. The taskbar, the Start menu, and the native browser Edge have all been colonized by Copilot, an “artificial intelligence” feature I didn’t ask for and have little interest in. I don’t know about you, but I only have so many PDFs that need summarizing.

Granted, some of Windows 11’s most annoying features can be disabled if you know where to look. I’ve done that before, and it’s a long process to make the experience tolerable. It involves buried settings menus and risky registry hacks. The problem’s made worse knowing I’ll have to do it all again the next time I reset Windows.

This is in contrast to Linux desktop environments, which are generally designed for one type of person: someone who wants to use their PC with as little fuss as possible. There no ads, no subscriptions, and no uninvited chatbots.

Linux Feels Faster

On top of the graphical experience of Windows feeling irrelevant and even hostile to me, it also just feels slow. Especially on boot up, it seems there’s constantly something loading in the background.

Admittedly, part of the slowness can be attributed to the fact I use Windows so little. The longer I go without using it, the more updates accumulate that then happen in the background or that I get prompted to apply. This all results in a more sluggish or nagging experience.

In contrast, when I boot up my Linux distribution, it loads the applications I set to launch at startup and nothing more, while updates happen when I’m darn well ready for them. So I just feel more nimble when I choose Linux.

Most of My Games Work on Linux Now

In the past, gaming on Linux was very limited. It’s come a long way over the past decade, though. That’s thanks in part to Valve’s push of the Proton compatibility layer into the mainstream with the Steam Deck. You still can’t play everything, of course. Many popular multiplayer games are unplayable because of anticheat software.

The landscape continues to change, though. For a while I needed to boot into Windows to play Hell Let Loose, but that changed recently when the developers enabled Linux support for its anticheat. Now it’s rated “Gold” on ProtonDB, a database dedicated to tracking Linux game compatibility.

Beyond that, I don’t do a ton of gaming, and when I do, the games are generally supported on Linux, if not natively then through Proton. With Lutris or Heroic Game Launcher, I can use non-Steam storefronts like Epic Games and GoG without too much hassle.

I’ve Found Replacements for Windows Exclusives

Speaking of Windows games, a knack of Windows is its near-universal software support. If an application exists for a desktop computer, it probably exists for Windows, while that’s far from guaranteed on Linux.

This is especially true for a lot of niche software for specialized work like 3D modeling, music composition, and graphic design. Applications that are considered standard in some industries have limited or zero support for Linux. You can sometimes run it in Wine, but often it’s an outdated version, or you face annoying bugs. Fortunately for me, I’m not in those specialized industries.

What I can do is edit documents and spreadsheets in LibreOffice instead of Microsoft 365. I can review and annotate PDFs in Okular instead if Adobe Acrobat. I can make the image edits I need in GIMP or, more often these days, Gwenview, instead of Adobe Photoshop. While I know not everyone can say the same because of their unique workflows, there isn’t much on Windows that I miss.

I’m not bothered if anyon else prefers the Windows 11 experience. I’ve spent a lot of time with Windows, Linux, and macOS, and I just prefer Linux plain and simple. If you decide to install Linux yourself, you might be surprised what Windows apps also run on Linux.