Most GPUs have their drivers already built in - unlike on Windows. If you need proprietary Nvidia drivers, on most distros you just need to open the software center, search "nvidia" and click install.

Honestly in this regard, Windows struggles to be a drop in replacement for Linux, not the other way around.

That wasn't enough - I had to shut down the X server to install the driver properly. I make software that runs on Linux exclusively for a living. I know very well how Linux works. It is still necessary to run stuff from the terminal from time to time. Even on user-friendly distros like Steam OS - some games will require some tinkering - but they run flawlessly on Windows.

And another thing. I could not get Thunderbolt working on Linux at all. It worked just fine on Windows on that same laptop.

> I had to shut down the X server to install the driver properly.

And you would have to reboot on Windows. Rebooting would also restart your display server on Linux, so that is at worst equally as painful as Windows.

> I know very well how Linux works. It is still necessary to run stuff from the terminal from time to time. Even on user-friendly distros like Steam OS - some games will require some tinkering - but they run flawlessly on Windows.

I think you probably choose the command line way to do things because you "know very well how Linux works". The whole GPU driver installation process can be done without knowing what a terminal emulator is. If you choose to take advantage of your existing knowledge, that isn't a flaw of the system.

> Even on user-friendly distros like Steam OS - some games will require some tinkering - but they run flawlessly on Windows.

I have not opened a terminal on my Steam Deck with the intention of making a game work. The most I have ever had to do was copy launch options from steam reviews or ProtonDB. Sure, that's not perfect. And that still leaves a few games unplayable. At this point about 80~90% of games can simply run though, which is way more games than anyone has time to play, and is a sizeable catalog when compared to other gaming systems. It may not be a "drop in replacement" in the sense that it can play 100% of games, but functionally it is a drop in replacement.

> And another thing. I could not get Thunderbolt working on Linux at all. It worked just fine on Windows on that same laptop.

I'm a noob when it comes to thunderbolt vs usb-c vs whatever else looks identical. I dock my work laptop (which runs Fedora) with some usb-c-like dock though and I didn't have to do anything to get it to work. I don't have anything to add other than that anecdote.

I had to shut down the X server and then run the driver installer from command line. And then start the X server again. That definitely isn't necessary on Windows.

Also, it doesn't really matter if 80-90% of games work if the one that you really want to play - doesn't. And some very popular games still don't work on Linux.

Yes - the USB-C standard is a mess. A USB-C port that supports Thunderbolt looks identical to any other USB-C port. In my case, I was trying to use a PCI-E enclosure, and it just refused to work on Linux - no matter what I tried.

Even though I actually agree with your main points, I regularly upgrade my Nvidia drivers on windows and it definitely does not need a reboot to do so.

They did say "install" rather than "upgrade". I have an Nvidia GPU in my work laptop running Fedora, and I often upgrade my system without rebooting or restarting Sway. Now I'm not sure that I actually am using the new drivers until I reboot, but that doesn't matter to me, and I suspect it doesn't matter to most people.