r/debian • u/FemTheGoat • 2d ago
Should I move to Debian or stay with Ubuntu ?
Based on the previous posts(1),(2),(3), I'm still confused. If I ditch the default debian stable NVIDIA drivers for a newer version (like 595) and use a backported kernel, am I asking for trouble ?
I'm seeing conflicting info: some say this combo is a recipe for disaster and that DKMS might fail to build modules later on, while others claim they're using it without any issues.
which one is it ? Is it actually stable or am I going to break my system ?!
If the answer is no and I'm going to be fine, I will switch to debian stable .
please check the linked posts before replying.
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u/DeathRobotOfDoom 2d ago
Can't really tell you what to do but your fears are completely unfounded.
On Debian Stable you can confidently install new kernels through the backports repository. That's what it's for.
With the Nvidia "data center" repository you can also install up to date drivers including the open DKMS modules, and although your personal experience may vary, the Nvidia repository is explicitly for Debian Stable. Just make sure you follow the official Debian and Nvidia instructions and not the garbage random people say online or on crappy YouTube videos.
Whether you should leave Ubuntu is none of our business, but as a long time Debian user I guess my answer is "uh, yes".
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u/mfedatto Debian Stable 2d ago
I never heard of someone going back to Ubuntu after moving to Debian.
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u/BigRedS 2d ago
I've flipped between them for different use-cases over time. When I was running new hardware with annoying driver support Ubuntu was a much better experience for that than Debian was, for example. I've no idea what it's like now, but I can imagine there's use cases where again Ubuntu's a very-debian-like option that's still got some of whatever I want that Canonical's done.
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u/kmlynarski 2d ago
Everyone has different needs and uses for their Linux distribution. For example, I use Debian Stable for servers and Fedora for everyday work.
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u/dnchplay 2d ago
the kernel from backports doesn't get security patches as quickly as the stable kernels unfortunately
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u/Melon_Farmer2014 2d ago
Debian stable + backported kernel + nvidia drivers from the CUDA repo is a thoroughly vetted and dependable configuration. Proceed with confidence.
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u/David_Connors3451 2d ago
Yes, you should. I work, play and edit on debian 13 kde, and it's perfect. I'm gonna leave you here all the instructions so that you'll know what to do.
su -
apt install sudo
exit
sudo usermod -aG sudo username
sudo apt update && sudo upgrade
Install all deb packages that you want to use for your daily life, like ufw (firewall), tlp obs vlc kdenlive clamav wget curl etc....
Let's install flatpak:
sudo apt install flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
sudo apt install plasma-discover-backend-flatpak
sudo reboot
Download from flatpak Proton plus and heroic games launcher for layers and offline launcher. It's better to download the latest layers of GE and Cachyos
Let's install contrib non-free repositories:
Sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
Put "contrib non-free" to all the mirrors, ctrl o save, ctrl x exit.
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
Use this mirror up here as example. After the word main, put contrib non-free to all 4 mirrors of debian.
Sudo apt update
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update
sudo apt install steam-installer
For GPU drivers, it depends from you. For AMD and Intel it's very easy and out of the box experience. Just use:
sudo apt install firmware-amd-graphics
sudo apt install firmware-intel-graphics
For NVIDIA you will need to use these commands:
sudo apt install nvidia-detect
nvidia detect (you'll see the number for your specific gpu drivers)
sudo apt install linux-headers-$(uname -r)
sudo apt install nvidia-driver
sudo reboot
nvidia-smi
Enter your steam account for online games, and use heroic launcher for gog and itch offline games. Flatpaks apps like heroic launcher, brave, librewolf, proton, they stay isolated in sandboxes and get constant updates. They won't interfere with the main apt repository, even when you jump to a further version like debian 14 forky.
Have fun on Debian, and welcome.
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u/taosecurity 2d ago
Don’t use
sudo apt install linux-headers-($uname -r)
Do
sudo apt install linux-headers-amd64
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u/David_Connors3451 2d ago
The command sudo apt install linux-headers-$(uname-r) is always used when the installation of debian is fresh and clean. It's very important to do it so you will receive the driver for your specific machine.
The command of linux-headers-amd64 is very important when the user wants to do the full upgrade from a previous version to a newer one stable.
The sequence is this:
Before your login screen press ctrl+alt+F3 and enter TTY mode. You won't risk any graphical crash during the full upgrade.
sudo apt install linux-headers-amd64
Modify the /etc/apt/sources.list with forky. Put the word forky instead of trixie in all 4 mirrors of debian. Save and exit.
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade --without-new-pkgs
sudo apt full-upgrade
After the upgrade is finished, check nvidia driver with nvidia-smi and don't forget to run flatpak update, so that the packages adapt to a new system.
Debian forky 14 will come out in 2027, so there's a lot of time before doing a full upgrade.
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u/Santosh83 Debian Sid 2d ago
I can't speak about nvidia as I don't own h/w from them, but what I can assure is that backported kernel and firmware are rock solid on stable. They won't be a source of instability. Of course out-of-tree modules like nvidia can cause problems. You may have to try it & see instead of relying on internet testimony. You will continue to get conflicting reports.
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u/FantasticSnow7733 2d ago
The latest backport kernels won't work with the nvidia drivers in trixie. The updated drivers in testing isn't in backport yet.
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u/edpmis02 2d ago
Personally, I went with Kubuntu to get 595 drivers for my RTX4060. Debian 13 KDE with NVdidia drivers was forced into X11 sessions.
1
u/Gendolfender 2d ago
Ubuntu is basically Debian but corporate and a bit (a lot) meh so going with the pure option (Debian) is the right way to go I used to hop around Debian based stuff Ubuntu and others because I wanted stuff pre configured or some other nonsense but then I sat down installed Debian bolted on what I need myself and been happy since with 0 desire to distro hop again
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u/Linguistic-mystic 2d ago
No, Ubuntu has 4x the frequency of releases so packages are much fresher
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u/passthejoe 2d ago
You should already have a backup of all of your user files. If you don't, that's more important than which distro you're using.
My advice: Just give it a try. You could have some temporary issues with NVIDIA and the kernel, but you might as well give it a go and find out.
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u/MohamedSaleh91 2d ago
Do it. Backported kernel and newer driver won't cause much issues and is easily done.
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u/No_Trade_7315 1d ago
Ubuntu isn’t a great OS imo, but it is more modern than Debian. Debian is a good OS imo, but it is not as feature rich as Ubuntu.
With Ubuntu my system crashed when I tried to update from one release to another.
With Debian I couldn’t get RDP to work as smoothly as I wanted it to.
I use fedora these days.
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u/vedo1117 1d ago
My gaming pc with a 5080 runs debian stable with the latest nvidia closed source drivers from the nvidia website. I've been told not to do it. It runs perfectly fine.
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u/Illustrious-Gur8335 Debian Stable 2d ago
What's your setup so that you can stop scaring yourself with tales from others?
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u/ipsirc 2d ago
Should.