Hey there i consider myself a relative noob, but I’ve been using Linux as my main operating system for about four years now, transitioning from Windows 7 to Linux Mint and then to MX Linux. Recently, I encountered a login issue, and I know I’m partially to blame for this. When I try to install projects from GitHub and things don’t work out, I often give up without deleting or cleaning up the configurations and fragments. Over time, this has led to a huge clutter on my system, which is why I’ve been wanting to do a fresh install for a while now, and I’m taking this as the opportunity to finally do it. My Hardware:

CPU: AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800X
GPU: AMD Radeon™ RX 6700 XT
RAM: 32 GB

What I’m Looking For:

I’d love suggestions for a Linux distro that:

Has relatively up-to-date updates
Can optimize the performance of my hardware
Supports both programming and gaming

Currently, I have a minimal installation of Windows 11 set up for dual boot, but I’m considering moving it to a VM if the performance impact is manageable. If that doesn’t work out, I’d like to continue with Windows 11 in dual boot. I want to play games like Space Marines 2, and while I know about tools like Proton, Wine, and Lutris, I just don’t wanna dive into that right now. Please, no fundamental debates about how I don’t really NEED Windows. I fucking know! And just wanna know if its possibly or not. ;)

Additional Preferences:

I’d like to use Flatpaks wherever possible, except for programs that aren’t available or those where permissions issues arise, like password managers with browser integrations.
I’m interested in some "ricing" but don’t want to spend all my time troubleshooting or making constant adjustments.
I’d like to run a local AI on the machine so i hope for something that can squeze the last drop of performance out of my hardware.
I appreciate the extensive guides available for Debian-based systems but am open to exploring new options.

I’m excited to hear your recommendations!

Thanks in advance!