« Getting Started with Ham Radio | Main
Review of Bazzite Linux 2025 August
By Derek | August 10, 2025
Summary
I’ve been using Bazzite Linux 42 for a couple of weeks now, and I really like it.
Why?
I don’t want to move my Windows systems to Windows 11.
I hadn’t used Desktop Linux in years, so I expected to have some difficulty adjusting. For the record, I work with Linux daily, for my day job, but nothing nearly as modern as this, and specifically always in CLI mode, remote into various servers.
What I Have
I wanted something that felt like my SteamDeck, but didn’t want to run Valve’s OS directly on my desktop, mainly because it’s very strongly targeted at their hardware.
I currently have a Windows 10 gaming laptop (i7 + GTX 3070m), and an M1 MacBook Pro, a Windows 10 Microsoft Surface (for my HAM radio stuff), and various Raspberry Pi computers.
What I Bought
I did buy a new mini computer to run it.
- AMD 9 Pro 8945HS (Minisforum UM890 Pro Barebone, no OS/RAM/Storage)
- Radeon 780M graphics
- 96GB RAM (likely overkill, but it’s max for this computer)
- 1TB NVMe
- Using existing keyboard, mouse and monitor.
I wanted something primarily great for a desktop, and for running virtual machines, but also something that could easily play some casual (or not so casual) Steam games. My SteamDeck plays several AAA games very well.
Currently running KDE Plasma 6.4.3, with a 6.15.9 x64 kernel.
I’ve learned how to use rpm-ostree as Bazzite has an immutable core. Essentially, that means when you add base level packages, you must reboot to activate them.
I do like their software installer Bazaar, which hooks up to Flathub, but doesn’t seem to have quite as many options as other software stores. There are some things in Flathub that do not show up in Bazaar. One example is Merkuro Calendar, which I wanted to try out.
Software I’m Running
I use the following apps, and this mostly mirrors what I can do on Mac or Windows.
- Communications: Beeper (Google Chat, LinkedIn Chat, Signal and Telegram); Goofcord (Discord); Slack.
- Games: CurseForge (for Minecraft); and A little bit of Steam.
- Internet: 1Password; Brave browser.
- Media: Plex; PlexAmp; Haruna.
- Sync: IceDrive; ResilioSync; and working to set up ODrive for Box/Dropbox/Google Drive. I’m migrating away from these three to ResilioSync, so I don’t/won’t need them full time.
- Productivity: LibreOffice; Obsidian; RealVNC; I chose Mailspring for my IMAP mail, which is somewhat similar to Spark on Mac/Windows, and of course Proton Mail.
- Virtual Machines: Gnome Boxes.
Beeper, CurseForge, IceDrive, and RealVNC client are .AppImage apps, everything else is from Bazaar.
What’s Still Missing
Still trying to find the best way to get my iCloud storage mounted, and of course iMessage is difficult. I’m currently using Synergy (from Symless) to access my MacBook next to my monitor, for that.
With Merkuro not working, and no access to my favorite calendar, Fantastical, I don’t have a scheduling solution yet. I can use Proton Mail for scheduling, but it’s not my primary calendar (yet). I’ve also added my Google Account to KDEs “online accounts” in System Settings, but nothing seems to show up in “Calendar”, and choosing “Online Accounts” in Calendar doesn’t do anything. More troubleshooting needed here, obviously.
So far, though, I’m very happy with it.
Pros
- Installed flawlessly on this hardware. Partially, I chose an AMD/Radeon system for that very reason.
- KDE Plasma is pretty, and feels very responsive. Mostly, Bazzite is very, very fast on this hardware.
- KDE is very customizable.
Cons
- Software selection in Bazaar doesn’t seem as good as a couple of other distros I’ve tried, although it is pretty comprehensive.
- Some learning was required to use the immutable system tools, namely
rpm-ostree, instead ofdnfwhich is typical on Fedora-based distros. Orapt, which I use in my daily work and Raspberry Pi systems, which are all Debian.
Topics: Linux, Me, Reviews, Technology | No Comments »
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.