10 Best free Operating system that you can install on your computer or laptop. Most people either have windows for Mac OS on their computer. If your computer comes with a digital license for the OS that it runs, then you already paid for the operating system.
Upgrading to the new edition (eg. from Windows 10 single language to Windows 10 Pro) requires acquiring a license key, which cost a handsome amount of money.
Sep 15, 2017. Jul 10, 2020. Jun 17, 2013. Apr 08, 2019. Dec 16, 2019.
I assume you already knew Ubuntu (the Simplified, and overrated) and the Debian (Stable-again-simplified) it’s time we talk about other free operating systems which includes some Linux distributions.
These operating systems are completely free to use, you don’t have to purchase a license or pay to download and most are open source means you can view the whole operating system codes.
We’ll start with good-looking and rich-features wise operating systems, then lightweight Linux distros.
Next read: Alternative Operating Systems For Your Computer
1. Korora
Korora is a good looking free and open source Linux operating system. Very similar to Fedora but with some nifty options such as wallpaper shuffle, nice selection as far as wallpapers are concerned. Material design somewhat inspires the UI, and the functions are overall enough for an average user.
The top taskbar is minimal, elegant and looks really nice. From the right-side, you can manage volume level among other settings. Without a second thought, I’ll advise anyone to try this Linux distro as this can be easily your best operating for your computer.
2. Cub Linux: [Discontinued]
Based on Linux, Cub Linux is similar looking to the Chrome OS (or Chrome OS forks). The Operating system is sanctified toward replicating the Chrome OS (Found in Chromebooks).
It has Chromium Browser as the main element of the operating system hardwired with the Chrome App Launcher.
Since it is based on Linux, you can install packages and use the terminal to do things as usually people do with Linux. Also, it’s a kind of lightweight distro of Linux and can be used directly from a USB Drive, while you can make a persistence USB to save user data without the need to install on your Hard Drive.
Update: As I can see the official website is down you can visit their GitHub and SourceForge page to download builds. As far I think the project is discontinued which means no support from its community if you can compromise with future updates you can still try it. I mentioned it because it is worth to try, even now when its discontinued.
3. Ubuntu
The number one Linux distro of all the time. The newer Ubuntu builds have long-term support which makes it a reliable operating system. It does support video drivers and another driver according to your hardware. For instance, if you have Intel HD graphics, related drivers can be installed using the tool created explicitly for Linux by Intel. That’s why if your concern is the graphics performance you should go with Ubuntu or the godfather “Debian” to get graphics driver support. Latest build requires at least 2GB of RAM to function properly. If you’re running on a low spec, check the rest distros.
4. Elementary OS
It is designed to look and feels like the MAC OS. At least to me, this doesn’t seem a Linux distro. Also, an open source project without any kind of ads and comes with a store to install packages. There is also a new release that is called Loki, and since it is in Beta, you should try that if you don’t mind a bug or thousands. The stable builds are good if you want to start out with a good-looking Linux distro.
5. Antergos
Actually I kind of like this—I did install the OS just to experience and wrote about it, and trust Me I fall in love with it. I did test the Minimal version of the operating system. The minimal version ISO file is around 550+ MB which is a bandwidth saver and will support even older computers. Not much older computers maybe. Here is what supports older machines. (the Minimal ISO does require an internet connection to be installed on your computer, I’d suggest downloading the full ISO instead). When talking about the settings and file manager interface, they have quite more options. Also, the apps catalog somewhat reminds me the Start menu of Windows 7, I mean not UI wise.
6. Manjaro
Another user-friendly Linux distribution, have 3 flavors: XFCE (lightweight), KDE (rich-and-cool) and the Minimal net edition. It brings the Start Menu, and that is useful to find programs do other functions. There are also some other community editions, which means you have options, many flavors available maintained by different manjora team members. It’s great that this is the only Linux distro offers options when it comes to appearances. And it’s not quite common among other Linux based operating systems.
7. Zorin OS
Zorin OS is one of the few Linux distros that I actually liked, It reminds and maybe the combination of the appearance of Windows 10 and Windows 7, but even better. You might have a rough time while installing graphics drivers as per your computer hardware, but there are tutorials about them. Despite, you’ll get such a nice user interface, where most of the settings and functions are one or two clicks away. Such as the start menu contains the shortcut to Settings, software and power options. Sound like Windows 7, hell yeah. Overall the interface is decent and more of modern design. It comes with some apps like Chromium browser, Wine to play Windows apps, office, utilities and some games built-in.
8. Android OS for PC
Remix OS tried a high-profile attempt to bring the Android OS on computers but that didn’t went very well, they’ve discontinued the project. It’s a real bummer when a team promises to deliver “lifetime” and “stay-up-to-date” operating system fade like this. But Phoenix OS is still here, but the development is around the Chinese marketplace.
Android is also based on Linux Kernel but it is completely different from the typical Linux based operating systems and the major feature is that you can install apps and games from the Android web store aka Google play store. The good part? It’s totally free os for PC so can install on as many as computers and be using it without worrying of any activation or license.
Android has a major stack in mobile operating system worldwide, but Android OS on computer is still underrated as users who run Android OS on the computer are less than 1%. Today mobile is capable of (sort of) doing everything that a computer does. So if you use an Android OS on your computer the learning curve is almost nothing since you are using Android on your phone or tablet.
To get started visit the Android-x86 website and from there grab a system Image (At this time nougat rc2 port is the latest) and burn it to a USB drive. Then boot from it to use Android OS on your normal computer and you’ll be amazed to see all those android apps running apps on your laptop screen. The Android-x86 provides near-to-stock android experience but other project such as Phoenix OS provides better desktop experience.
jide’s Android OS for PC created a hype among internet users that they can install a useable android operating system on their computer but soon they discontinued the project. After a short time, another similar project took place and are still supported and gets updated often. The worthy mention is Phoenix OS which simulates a Windows similar desktop interface including Taskbar, start menu and action center like features. However, The Phoenix OS has some Chinese bloatware that I was unable to uninstall as they appear as soon as when you try to remove them. Hopefully, with new version there is less bloatware and better stability and support for more hardware.
Compatibility wise both remix and Phoenix OS do not support wide range of hardware, but on the other hand be original Android x86 Port does support a wide range of hardware including older computer. So if you are unable to run Phoenix OS then try Android x86 build (not to mention that the older port will be more stable on old hardware). While both projects are not totally open-source but consider them free os for pc just like the parent project.
There are these other projects like bliss OS which offers little functionalities like Taskbar and navigation buttons meanwhile keeping the original stock Android experience. ||
If you want to know more about Android operating system confused which Android OS you should choose read the following article.
9. Chrome OS for PC
You can load unofficial Chrome operating system on your computer and have a taste of what’s it like owning a Chromebook. Chrome OS is elegant and powerful and lets you focus on your work.
Google’s Chrome OS is also built on Linux Kernel and optimized with user-level software and user-friendly desktop environment that eventually uses chrome browser and chrome apps. You obviously can’t install the official chrome os if you don’t have a Chromebook, but there are several unofficial forks of Chrome OS goes by many names, one which is arnoldthebat project that you can download and boot using a USB drive.
If you want to hop in, check this Chrome OS installation guide to install it on your normal computer or laptop. At this time, specific features like running Android apps are limited to some Chromebooks. But that’s ok, because if you solely want to run android apps there are Android operating system as well.
The good part about Chrome OS is that you’d won’t miss your old operating system because there are so many Chrome extensions for almost everything. You need a VPN chrome store has it, you need a grammar checker, the store has that as well. So yeah, overall Chrome OS can be a good option to dump your typical Operating system, surely there is a learning curve that eventually it’ll become easy to adapt to the Chrome OS because the key feature is the Chrome Browser which we all love to use.
There are also options when you want to install an unofficial Chrome OS port on your computer, these are some of the options you can start with.
Aarnoldthebat: Updates Daily, Weekly and monthly.
Learn more about Chrome os //(options)
10. Solus
Requirements: 2GB of RAM for optimal experience and 64-bit CPU architecture.
It comes in three desktop flavors which are Bungie, Gnome, and Mate. The Bungie is for modern computers, GNOME offers balanced desktop experience, Mate can be used on older hardware. So all of these flavors are around 1.2–1.3 GB in size. So it is just a Linux based operating system but you will get better functionalities and different user interface and it is far easier to get used to it rather than Ubuntu and other distributions.
I would like to mention another Linux operating system which goes by “PoP_OS” a very developer friendly Desktop Environment but you will fall in love with this operating system even if you are not a developer, it is so beautiful that I find myself using it in the weekend.
Best Free OS for your computer>
For a new user maybe all the Linux distributions are same, in fact, they are. You should try more than one Linux distro before settling on to one, the more you’ll try, the more chance you’ll find a better one. Don’t stick. Try more and more.
These are the best Linux distro you can try else you can visit a list of all Linux distro here at Wikipedia. There are many more Linux distributions that may be lesser known such as niche-Linux-distros that are supported by a small community. That’s all for now, in coming days more Linux guides will be published. So stay tuned, Stay happy.
One such downside of custom Linux distributions is that you can’t install or maybe a hard time finding and installing graphics drivers according to your computer. This is not a major issue with some top distros like Ubuntu and Debian and Fedora. Feel free to spend hours, days or even month exploring the Linux.
All of the operating systems are totally free to download and use and can be directly booted from a USB drive. our pick for the best free os for pc is definitely Android OS projects because they are easy to use, supports thousands of Android Apps and games from the Play store.
Are you done with MAC, Windows 10 and Linux OS? Isn’t there any free OS for PC (operating system) apart from these 3 giant OS? And if there are other operating systems, which one is good and free to use? Any good and totally free operating system for my computer?
Today we have written this article to answer these questions. this is so true that most of the people use either Windows or MacOS and they are not free. Although, Windows 10 comes pre-loaded with many laptops with activation detailed soldered in the BIOS. So when you Fresh install that same Windows 10 variant it will automatically get activated. But when you install another version of Windows it won’t work at all and it left you with only option to buy a windows license. Despite the fact that the number of pirated Windows users are very high that Microsoft even admitted that “Only 1 out of 10 Windows computer is genuinely activated” but cracking Windows with 3rd party tool is dangerous as most of them are fake, bloatware, viruses and does nasty stuff to your computer.
Contents
Is your system not supporting your gaming treasure properly? Well, get to know about best OS for gaming in this section here. Sometimes, operating systems might respond to all your games but eventually get slowed or do not assist you in the longer run.
To sort this issue out, you must know that whether your current OS is adequate enough to be involved with heavy gaming periods or not? To support you in the same issue, I have listed down the best gaming OS here in this section.
10 Best OS for Gaming
Being a hardcore gamer, this is something which you should be completely known to.
1). Windows 10
Website:https://www.microsoft.com/
The first one is the newly released Windows 10 in the list of best OS for gaming. In fact, many experienced gamers are urging people to upgrade to Windows 10 because of the amazing compatibility it has for heavy games. Windows 10 is the latest product of Microsoft and already installed by more than 15 million people around the world.
When you will start playing the games like Arkham City on Windows 10, you will experience a better presentation and more frames being covered per second.
Windows 10 basically focuses on Xbox Games app and games bar. It allows you to stream your games from Xbox to PC easily. Microsoft has used DirectX12 in it which is especially put there to empower the gaming concepts more. Hence making Windows 10 the best OS for gaming.
You can expect more updates to come soon in Windows 10 which can further improve the gaming experience of users on this operating system.
2). Windows 7
Website:https://www.microsoft.com/windows7
Despite being Windows 10 as the reigning king of the Microsoft Empire right now, Windows 7 is still the favorite of many gamers. The most probable reason of this likeness is the simplicity of this operating system that has given a smooth platform for even the most complex games.
It would not be wrong to say that for many users, Windows 7 is still the best OS for gaming. All that gamers want is a platform that does not slow down while high gaming hours.
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And Windows 7 does the same. It keeps the fast response rate so that you can play your games peacefully on it. This gaming operating system also utilizes the latest DirectX system and hence strengthens itself as a gaming platform.
What gamers like the most about this Windows is it’s easy to customize settings which in return makes the process of gaming even easier. Microsoft will withdraw support from Windows 7 in 2020 till then you can enjoy your gaming sessions on it.
3). Linux Ubuntu
Website:https://www.ubuntu.com/
Linux has come a long way since its launch, and Linux Ubuntu is the perfect example of it. Of course, people’s first choices always remain Windows and Macs, but Ubuntu is something which really deserves a try too. In fact, it is the most popular distribution of Linux till now.
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If you think Linux OS comes with some complexities then you are completely wrong. Ubuntu is quite simple to use and hence listed here in the category of best OS for gaming.
Of course, you can run Linux on Windows console too but for that you need an additional emulator to support it on Windows. You are going to find it even easier to operate than Linux SuperGamer. However, I would not consider it to be a great option as compared to Windows and Macs for gaming.
What you may lack there is the information that there are very less games which are made by considering Linux to be an operating system for them.
4). Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
Website:https://www.apple.com/
There is no doubt in the fact that Apple is Microsoft’s biggest competitor right now. And of course, when it is about the technology used in putting its software and console forward, Macs can give a huge competition to any of Microsoft’s creation for sure.
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One such operating system by Apple is Mac OS X 10.8 which is popularly known as Mountain Lion and amongst the best OS for gaming. The platform of OS X was launched in 1999 and had 6 iterations of the same.
All of these iterations are based on the name of big cats and Mountain lion is the last one in it. You would love this version because of basically two reasons. First one is the stability despite being flooded with multiple programs at the same time and second is its virus free system.
All of the Mac OS X are UNIX based systems which differs it from the conventional Windows based systems.
5). Steam OS
Website:http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/
Every gamer knows it very well that how popular is Steam for the gaming freaks. This is like a whole new world for them giving endless opportunities to play millions of games on it. In fact, when you will enter this OS, it will give you a feel of a battle ground that you need to conquer with endless gaming hours.
This platform can surely called as the best OS for gaming. But like the rest of the options mentioned here, it has also got some loopholes too.
When we are comparing Steam with Windows then for sure the later one would emerge out as the hero of the story. You cannot play as many games on Steam as you can on Windows for sure. But still, if you are done with trying the rest of the OS then for a change trying out Steam would not be a bad idea at all.
Despite having some issues, Steam is still worthy enough to be included in the list of best OS for gaming.
6). Windows 8.1
Website:https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/software-download/windows8
If you will compare the platforms of Windows 10 and Window 8 then you will find endless similarities between the two. They might differ in the interface but the basics remains the same with a bit of upgrading included.
As I have already discussed that how Windows 10 is the best OS for gaming, the same applies to Windows 8.1 too.
However, many people have reported that Windows 8 lacks the features which make it slight inappropriate for gaming as compared to Windows 7 and Windows 10. The main thing here is the time for loading of the game which is higher as compared to the rest of the systems.
Still, when it comes to the OS by Microsoft, then best windows for gaming might include the name of Windows 8.1 in it. The only thing that lacks it behind than other versions of Windows is the interface it uses. It proves to be a bit complex when it comes to gaming. Still, if you are using it then it won’t be that bad to use it for mass gaming.
7). Linux SuperGamer
Website:http://www.supergamer.org/
This is another one from Linux and this version of OS is called Linux SuperGamer. As it is cleared by the name only, the version is entirely dedicated to gaming only. This is a type of open source operating system which is mostly used in server administration and other works.
Like the other one of Linux system Ubuntu, SuperGamer also utilizes the concept of UNIX and its architecture is basically comprised of this only.
Now, the big question arises that why it should be called the best OS for gaming? It has high graphical interpretation which makes the gaming experience way better than other types of operating systems. However, there are less games which can be played on this OS.
But, there is a twist too. You can modify the games according to the SuperGamer platform to make them compatible to it. This makes it super perfect for being the best OS for gaming. Make sure that you already know the tactics about Linux SuperGamer otherwise it might be a bit difficult for you.
8). iOS 8
Website:https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-11/
The apple phones after iPhone 6S are based on upgraded iOS systems. So, I am talking about an OS of Apple here which is a bit backward than the latest one of iOS11 which is yet to be released in some time. To be true it was this version of the apple OS which was like the revolution in gaming world.
What gives Brownie points to iOS 8 for being the best OS for gaming is the fact that it is just the perfect operating system for multitasking.
This means play your games, and do something else in continuity and your system won’t be exhausted at all. I think that is the thing which counts the most for hour long gaming sessions. iOS 8 remained the reigning king of Apple dynasty for a really long time. This really proves the fact that iOS 8 has been a great support to the gamers.
9). Android Lollipop
Website:https://www.android.com/versions/lollipop-5-0/
You must have been wondering that even after the launch of better versions like Android Marshmallow and Android Nugget, why am I mentioning Android Lollipop here. Well, like the other options of this list Best OS for gaming, this version of Android has its own pros and cons.
Keeping every aspect in mind, this version was worthy enough to be included in this list. Especially, the fact that is less complex than the other ones.
What I liked the most in this OS is that you do not have to keep irritating yourself with the annoying game notifications as you can turn them off. And you can also connect it to the TV Set Top Boxes for a better gaming experience.
However, like the other best OS for gaming, there is also issue here. This one here is the compatibility issue which might be perfect for low quality games but not for other HQ ones. You can still consider it for the hassle free gaming experience.
10). Mac OS X Yosemite
Website:https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/48498/os-x-yosemite
The last mention in this list of Best OS for gaming is Mac OS X Yosemite. This belongs to the same trail as of the Mountain Lion but a bit backward than that. The most important thing that every Mac user should know is the fact that upgrading to Mac OS X Yosemite is absolutely free.
This gives a better promise than the paid versions of Windows 7 and 8. Yosemite easily allows phone linking which means controlling your phone from your Mac.
This is a big breakthrough for all the game lovers out there. You might still feel a little disappointed here because of course this is not as upgraded as the latest versions of Mac. There are as such not that much of issues but still the process is not that smooth as compared to the other OS listed here. Giving it a try won’t be that bad as it is free to use.
Special Mention: Windows XP
Website:https://windows-xp-service-pack-3.en.softonic.com/
There is no doubt in the fact that Microsoft has withdrawn Windows XP long ago and there are various better versions of Windows that I have mentioned above which are very compatible to all types of latest games right now. But you cannot forget the development or rather revolution that Windows XP brought to the gaming world.
Of course, most of the games are not even compatible to this platform right now. But still, there was a time when it was the best windows OS for gaming for sure. Hence, it is a special mention for this Windows OS.
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Conclusion
There are various other Operating systems which may also prove to be advantageous for you considering the console you are using. In fact, some of the oldest OS are quite good as compared to the current ones like Windows XP.
But, you want such best OS for gaming which not only supports each and every game but also do not end up being exhausted. Keeping every aspect in mind, I have come up with the options I mentioned above. So, by now you must have understood about the best of the OS right now.