Our verdict

Nobara takes Fedora and does the gaming setup for you. Nobara 44 arrived in September 2026 with graphics drivers, video codecs and game related fixes already applied, so you install it, sign in to Steam and play. Bazzite is the other system in this category, and the choice between them comes down to taste: Bazzite can roll back a bad update, Nobara behaves like a normal Fedora system you can change freely.

Be clear eyed about who maintains it. The project describes itself as a hobby distribution that ships with no warranty and no link to Fedora or Red Hat. That is honest rather than alarming, but it means fewer people behind it than Ubuntu or Fedora have.

Nobara does not publish its own hardware figures. Use Fedora's, since that is the base: 40 GB of disk space and 4 GB of memory to install and run, with more of both giving a better time. Secure Boot needs switching off in your computer's firmware before you install.

Best for: Gaming PCs, Video editing, Living room computers.

What's good

Media codecs, NVIDIA drivers and gaming tweaks are there from the first boot
One download covers both AMD/Intel and NVIDIA machines
Console style Steam editions for a TV or a handheld
Fixes for common game and driver problems arrive quickly

What to know first

Run by a very small team and described by its own author as a hobby project
Comes with no warranty and is not connected to Fedora or Red Hat
You need to switch Secure Boot off before installing
Yearly version upgrades, like Fedora

The details

Memory (RAM) needed

4 GB minimum, 8 GB comfortable

Disk space needed

40 GB

Desktop look

KDE Plasma (also: GNOME, Steam HTPC, Steam Handheld)

Updates

A new version every so often, stable in between

Supported for

1 years per version

Built on

Fedora 44