They offer three versions of Nobara: Official, GNOME, and KDE. I tested the the Nobara-36-KDE-2022-09-16.iso (at 4.83GBs) and the Nobara-36-Official-2022-09-16.iso (at 4.82GBs).
Nobara is loaded wid gaming ‘n streaming ‘n “content creation” ‘Stuff‘ plus all kinds of 3rd party drivers. The “Official” version is GNOME wid “pre-enabled” extensions that give it a Windows and/or Cinnamon look.
Installing Nobara Linux 36
I used Fedora Media Writer & balenaEtcher to create a ‘Live‘ bootable USB for installing Nobara, and both worked. It’s not for testing before installing, i.e., it goes directly into the Anaconda installer.
Windows users might be interested in testing this user-friendly Nobara, but the Anaconda installer can be tricky for any first time users. Here are two posts (wid pics) on how to delete & reclaim the Target disk space: #1 & #2. That is possibly the most difficult choice for new users of the Anaconda installer. Oh, use an Ethernet connection if possible.
I also never create the standard ‘Password Dependent‘ OS user…just create a “Root Password” and you won’t be bothered by annoying “Authenticate” popups slowing down your workflow. However, the Official version required a standard user be created. There is a login window when booting to the OS, so just enter root for the other user and then the root’s password.
Post-Installation
Have now installed ‘n tested both the Official & KDE versions. Had started testing the KDE version a few days ago, and loved it, but am starting to lean towards the Official version early in its tests.
Official:
The Official version, GNOME comes wid “pre-enabled extensions,” and the ArcMenu GNOME Extension is one. It gives the desktop that Windows look (for Windows users) and/or that Cinnamon DE look (for Linux users). It uses dnfdragora (a GUI frontend for DNF) Software Management & GNOME Software utility for updating ‘n adding apps.
Here is the desktop:
Here is System’s About:
Official version seems to have a 🪳bug when opening dnfdragora:
You have to enlarge it by dragging the left side of that Line (highlighted w/ red rectangle) to the left. Sometimes it opens up correctly.
- NOTE: The KDE version didn’t have that issue. Also, not sure of what the actual release date of Nobara was, but it may only be 3-4 months old, i.e, 🪳bugs can expected.
KDE:
The KDE version uses KDE Plasma 5.25.5 for the desktop, which also has that Windows look that a majority of OS users want. It uses dnfdragora (a GUI frontend for DNF) Software Management & the KDE Discover Software Center for updating ‘n adding apps.
Here is the desktop:
Here is System’s About:
Point & Click OS users
Linus Torvalds calls Point & Click OS users “normal people” – ‘Technical people‘ are basically defined as Developers, Programmers, Sysadmins, IT Specialists, Maintainers, etc.
I haven’t used the terminal at all, other than a couple quick inxi -F commands in order to verify what Graphics driver was being used. All apps and updates have been done wid dnfdragora (a GUI frontend for DNF) Software Management & GNOME Software utility & the KDE Discover Software Center.
For example, here is a pic wid dnfdragora & KDE Discover offering me a choice on LibreOffice:
Here is dnfdragora showing me my NVIDIA driver options:
I went wid the version 515.65.01 driver for both the Official & KDE versions. Note from Nobara:
Please note that as Nobara is a forward-moving, gaming-focused distribution, it is required that if you have an Nvidia GPU, it must be supported by Nvidia Proprietary driver version 515 or newer for compatibility with the latest VKD3D and DXVK updates, OBS, Gamescope, and Vulkan. Older driver versions do not have the functionality and vulkan extensions that are required for these and will have performance and rendering issues, or may not work at all.
Neither the GNOME Software utility or the KDE Discover Software Center offered that new 515 Nvidia driver, which is why I use dnfdragora mostly, but users have two choices in both the Official & KDE versions. BTW, having used Fedora for years I have finally accepted dnfdragora as a great packager manager – ESPECIALLY wid the huge improvements to it since Fedora 36.
NVIDIA Settings & driver:
Nobara makes it easy to install the latest Nvidia driver. AMD? I’m done wid AMD ‘n so are a growing number of people.
Games
I don’t know anything about games, but apparently Nobara does. They mention ‘Stuff‘ like OBS Studio, WINE, Davinci Resolve, Proton, Discord, Stream, Lutris, ScummVM, plus “content creation” ‘Stuff‘, and lots more that I don’t know anything about.
Conclusion
Excellent job by the Developer/s!
NOTE: this is an updated version of my Nobara Linux 36 – ‘New modified version of Fedora Linux, for normal point & click users, and tailored for gaming, streaming, and content creation experience out of the box.‘ post from the Linux Newbie – since 1996 blog.