It’s been about 8 years since I gave Linux a real chance. I have an Sony VAIO PCG-3D3l Laptop which was abandoned by it’s previous owner.
I have no real plans for it, except to install Linux, and if I get comfortable with it, it’s probably what I will end up doing my banking on, because as much as I love Windows, I can’t say I ever feel secure using Windows.
What are your recommendations? I consider myself an advanced user with most forms of technology (Have an A+ certification that’s older than this laptop), but not on the level most of the people reading this are probably on.
Most would do, especially if it has a dGPU. Almost any distro you pick will have very low minimum requirements. Linux is good like that!
Depending on your configuration, you may want to tweak some settings.
Pop_OS! and Linux Mint are very popular for beginners. Pop_OS! especially if you have an Nvidia GPU because they have a specific install just for that. Both are based on Ubuntu, which is based on Debian.
Others might recommend Fedora, which is based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux or OpenSUSE. They’re also simple, stable, and reliable like the others, but a bit different under the hood.