For all those suggesting Bazzite, Ublue (including Bazzite) images are offline installers only, see: https://universal-blue.discourse.group/t/couldnt-get-aurora-into-test-mode-in-live-usb/4567
this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2024
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Might check out distrowatch. Just note that popularity for them just means how many times had that entry been looked up.
Endeavouros has a live bootable version which is just basically better Nobara in my humble opinion, you just need to install steam through pacman and for the most part you are good to go.
I think a better option than live boot is VM. Live boot doesn't always save settings, and you may not get a full-install experience, since certain things are set up after install.
For gaming try:
- Bazzite (Atomic Fedora)
- Nobara (Fedora)
- Garuda Dragonized Edition (Arch)
- Linux Mint (Ubuntu)
- EndeavorOS (Arch)
- CachyOS (Arch)
This is the most accurate answer. I have found Nobara to be everything I could ask for gaming.
I might add that, if he also wants a normal desktop experience, separate from gaming, he should consider trying Zorin or Mint.
Iirc, Zorin comes with nvidia/amd drivers already installed and the experience is close enough to Windows that he might stay on Linux.
This is just for him to get a basic feel for the various distros, before choosing one to permanently install; setting up a VM properly is probably going to be too technical
And that's exactly my point. You aren't going to get a basic feel by booting a live USB. Better for him to try out the update mechanisms, install a few programs, and maybe test some theming from within a VM.
Plus, some of the ones I listed don't have live environments but would be great choices for gaming distros and better than some of the ones that do have live environments. You'd be limiting your options by having this unnecessary requirement.
The three "normal" suggestions are:
- Mint - https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php
- Pop!_Os - https://pop.system76.com/ ; and
- Bazzite - https://bazzite.gg/
For first-time Linux users, I always recommend one of the main user friendly distributions - it is much easier to ask or look for help this way.
So, Fedora, Ubuntu or Opensuse.
Their installers all can live boot
Tails is the closest I know
I typically search distrowatch for any need. Just use search filters. You’re likely to get the most comprehensive list in this way.
Mint can be live bootable and is the most often recommended distro for newbies.
Mint slaps
So does mIRC.
Everyone is replying as if the OP is asking about normal live environments, but I think he's asking about having Linux actually fully installed on a usb instead of the ssd. In that case, most of the replies don't apply. However, Mint has a way to install itself properly on a usb drive. Boot with the burned iso, insert a second usb drive, unmount it, and then install on it (you choose it during installation). It has to be unmounted first.