When Windows 10 support ends I was planning on transitioning to Linux on my desktop. I just tried CachyOS KDE Plasma and immediately ran into two serious issues:
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I could not figure out how to get audio to come out of my headphones. Everything is connected, and sound totally works on Windows 10 with my Audioengine D3 USB DAC, but not in CachyOS. I messed with all the system audio settings, profiles, and mute control, and nothing worked. No audio at all, not from test sound, not from browser.
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Apparently Wayland is the name of the default/best video compositor for Linux, but it doesn't seem to support ycbcr subsampling modes. In Windows 10, I use the Nvidia-provided 4:2:0 subsampling mode with my RTX 2060 Super to get 4K120 support over HDMI to my LG C1 (genuinely hard to see the difference unless you're running a test pattern). It seems you have to use the X11 compositor in Linux to get that feature, but I've read that X11 provides a poor experience compared to Wayland.
Not to mention, my first CachyOS install attempt bugged midway through (installing from DVD disc) and I spent a lot of time unsuccessfully trying to restart the install process not realizing something was borked in that session that was preventing partitions from being formatted for the installer. So I rebooted and manually set to load the installer into RAM, and finally was able to get it to install.
Seeing my experience hasn't improved since the last time I tried Linux (Mint, a few years ago - really bad audio stuttering), now the plan has switched to sticking to W10 until software inevitably stops supporting it (Nvidia is already ending W10 game ready support this year), and then switching to W11. I'll just have to use mods to improve the usability, specifically for start menu and right click menu.
I would like to use Linux but it really disappointed me seeing all the hype on LTT's channel, only to see that it's still user experience hell. It's either "works but evil" (Windows) or "doesn't work but not evil" (Linux) and that's unfortunate.
Hmmh. Isn't there some way to fix those two issues? I mean it's usually the case that we have to put in some effort when starting fresh. You probably put in time to get the audio how you like it with Windows, and configured the display subsampling to your liking and now that's all set up perfectly. And now you're trying to set up the computer in a different way. And I'd expect that to sometimes come with a bit of friction?! At least it won't just continue exactly as is, because you're starting fresh with a new operating system.
If you really like to switch... I think configuring a USB DAC should be possible. Not sure about the Nvidia stuff. You'd have to blame the big companies for deliberately messing up HDMI. And LG for not providing any alternative. I mean if it's worth the effort for you, you could try asking for help. If you're okay with Windows and like to avoid starting all over again, maybe just stick with it?!
I mean it's going to be some sort of tradeoff anyway. Currently you have the subsampling right. Maybe on the flipside your CPU performance is worse than it could be with Linux. And it's a bit wasteful with the memory and spies on you. With Linux that might improve, but you might trade it in for a few different quirks. Computers rarely come anywhere close to being perfect. But you can pick your poison.