The verdict
Power-user distributions
We’ve chosen Arch Linux as our current favourite power-user distro. Its installation documentation is easy to follow yet extremely informative. Some of its systems are specific to Arch, such as the package manager, but on the whole, it uses standard components that are suited to manual configuration. Putting time into installing, configuring and using Arch means you’re building useful skills that can be applied to Linux distros in general. Its large, well-established community is a lifesaver if you run into problems, and this means that you’re not going to be completely left in the lurch if you want to install a binary package or attempt something unusual.