Linux

If you need Adobe, just don't bother with linux on your primary work / study machine. Save linux for another system.

I really want to switch to Linux as my main gaming/production OS but need the Adobe suite

That's not a hurdle... that's a wall.

If your livelihood depends on running a Windows-only application, run it on a Windows computer.

You are, of course, free to also have a Linux computer for everything else. Use a KVM switch to toggle between them, or something like Synergy or Barrier to pass the mouse/keyboard/clipboard between both PCS. Share the storage between them over your network.

I went Mac. it’s UNIX, and far better than suck-ass windows… but there’s a real limitation when it comes to gaming… Linux is supporting more and more games and macOS isn’t so much… that might change soon, it might not.

Personally, I’m not so much of a gamer, and I really like the Apple ecosystem. I run linux on my server and love it, too, and macOS plays really nice with linux. But if gaming is big for you AND you need Adobe apps like I do, then you’ll have to dual-boot if you want your main OS to be linux.

As for learning the ins-and-outs: there’s a leaning curve we ALL go through, and you’ll always be learning more as you go. But there’s never been a better time to learn as there’s never been more resources to help nor more community to support you with any and every problem you could ever have. Now is a very exciting time for linux. it’s super.

So, if I were you, I’d consider the switch away from Windows. You can dual-boot (or run a VM) or find a way to run Adobe Apps via Wine (not sure how that works). Personally, I couldn’t live without them and am very happy with macOS, but it’s not for everyone. Maybe you’ll be able to live with dual-booting into windows for wen you need to work and living the rest of the time in linux. it’s a journey you’re just going to have to take.

best of luck to you!

Stick to Windows. Linux is fine for IT pros and as a hobby. For graphic design with Adobe I just don't see your productivity would be the same.

Don't feel bad because you're really good at using a tool that doesn't follow your values. I use Windows during the work week and I use Linux for gaming on the weekend where I literally can't work even if I wanted to.

For me Windows is a tool box with propriatry tools that have no Linux compatibility. That's OK for me. People get emotionally invested but that's neither healthy nor helpful. No point being angry at work, it's like being angry that your work uniform is made by one textiles vendor not the other.

You get to choose what you use at home in your own time. If you feel good using Linux then, do it!

Youre stuck on Windows Im afraid, and Im pretty sure Adobe will never make a linux port

Looks like someone created an install script for photoshop on Linux. Uses wine to run.

Github Page

Dual boot is really your only option aside from straight up staying on Windows. You can game and general use on Linux, then switch to Windows when it's time to work. Not the most ideal and I know you said you don't want to do that, but if you rely on Adobe products (which sadly many people do) you kind of need a Windows install or a Mac.

Another, much more expensive, option is to get a MacBook (or another laptop I suppose, not sure if the goal is to fully cut out Windows) and have that at your desk for your Adobe uses, and have Linux on your desktop. Not really feasible for most people but I don't really know your situation so I thought I'd throw it out there.

You don't need to "switch to Linux". It's not a binary decision. Dual booting or dual partitioning is completely fine. Adobe even with wine and GPU pass-through has far worse performance than if you just boot up windows. It is fine to combine any software you want. That's the "free" in "free software."

Adobe suite is one thing that is still an immense pain to get running on Linux, if you can even get it running at all. There aren't a whole lot of good alternatives depending on your workflow, either. GIMP can be a good Photoshop substitute, but there isn't really a good Illustrator substitute (Inkscape doesn't support CMYK, for example), and it gets worse for the other tools in the suite, so your mileage may vary with that approach.

As others have said, a VM is an option. But, how about a KVM? Maybe it sounds old school, but you could have a Linux box for home / fun / gaming that just shares peripherals with a Windows box that is just for work. Then you get a few advantages:

• Linux PC as normal with no fancy setup needed

• Windows work PC has Adobe as usual, and you just do your non-work stuff on the Linux box. Network them together for easy file sharing.

• You don't need to reboot to go between one or the other; simply switch your KVM over. Let Windows do its update nonsense or other data processing while gaming on the Linux box.

Obviously this does mean you need two physical machines, which might be a dealbreaker for you unless you have parts sitting around.

Edit: something else I just thought of: it is also possible to dual boot but get fancy with hibernation (not sleep, but hibernate = write all RAM contents to disk). You hibernate either installation to switch to the other, so while technically a reboot, all of your apps / windows etc come back up as if you hadn't rebooted.

need the Adobe suite as I am a graphic designer.

Then simply use Windows when you need to design something and Linux for everything else.

"But I don't want to dual-boot!"

Then buy another PC and install Linux in it. A $10 single-board computer can run Linux just fine -- even play 4k videos.

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I do design work in Inkscape and Photopea. I actually prefer Inkscape to Illustrator the software is very impressive. Sadly GIMP is still limited and I don't use it much.

Photopea however is nice and has good PSD support including smart objects, adjustement layers, etc

I agree with the posters who are telling you to stick with Windows if your career depends on software that isn't Linux compatible. If you want to play with Linux you can install WSL on Windows, run Linux in a VM on Windows or buy a cheap used/refurb business laptop and Linux to your heart's content on that.

Mac.

Steam installs perfectly well on Debian and most games pick up a small performance boost from running on an OS with less overheads.

Unraid servers can be hosted from Debian with few issues .

I'm sorry...You can blame Adobe for not porting their tools.

Give a look if Adobe provides their tools through the web.

Not sure how good this advice is since I'm not a professional, but: You could try out running Adobe programs in a VM with VMWare (vmware.com). They have an excellent 3D acceleration support already. Just give your VM a good chunk of your hardware resources (I use half of my CPU cores and 3/4 of my system memory). I use that for running Affinity Designer 2 from Sarif, and it works quite well for me. Windows VM boots up in between 6 – 8 seconds and I have a shared folder, where I can drop stuff to interact between my Windows VM and my Linux main system. But like I said, I'm not a professional.

Just found this: https://www.maketecheasier.com/install-adobe-creative-cloud-linux/

Still, it might be fickle and bite.

I've tried switching to Linux many times over the years. There are many things about it that rock... But, unfortunately plenty that do not. Financially it doesn't make sense for Adobe and others to support Linux (sadly).

Dual boot is an option, as you mentioned. However, Linux will run on a toaster. Fire it up on a thumb drive, or an old laptop, or whatever you've got and putz around. It's fun just to explore.

Keep using windows for adobe buy a used PC on eBay for cheap or goodwill and install Linux on that

Just stick with Windows, it works for you (as it is for me); as the saying goes, if it ain't broke, why fix it?

Has 3 stars on crossover? Grab the trial and check it out.

You can use Windows apps by setting up a KVM(Not a VM, but a KVM for virtual machine manager) and use a utility called Winapps along with it. This will allow you to launch and use Windows applications as if they were native(drag and drop support, clip sharing and whatnot).

As I recall, Adobe products are supported by Winapps and/or Cassowary

Edit: keep in mind, you only do the above if you really want/need it. Since the initial setup is not hassle free at all

I have a single passthrough VM that I use for building Windows binaries.

I followed this tutorial:

https://gitlab.com/risingprismtv/single-gpu-passthrough

Get a Mac for Adobe related stuff, install Linux on your other machine. /thread