Raspberry Pi 3 Model B: Raspberry Pi OS vs Version of Linux...

Greetings all... I'm new to this and want to learn. I have a "Raspberry Pi 3 Model B w/ 1GB with No OS".
Can I use Ubuntu, CentOS or another version of Linux? or am I stuck w/ NOOBS process found on their site? I also found a link on the siite for a potential load of Ubuntu but I can't tell if this is a free do-it-yourself process or if it is a process I have to pay for. I want to go thru the process myself as long as I have the proven workflow steps for success. I plan to use a 64GB microSD card in the microSD slot on the backside of this unit. Thoughts? Suggestions? Please advise.

 

Why not Raspberry PI OS?
https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/
Using Internet Search Engines I also found these:
https://ubuntu.com/download/raspberry-pi
https://wiki.debian.org/RaspberryPi

 

you can definitely use ubuntu, I've done it myself, it was a while ago, so it may have changed with newer ubuntu releases, but several other files outside the ubuntu image were required for the install. i'd recommend googling for instructions, it's quite straightforward if you follow them.
If you go this route though, I'd suggest using the server version of ubuntu, the pi3 isn't the speediest of machines and if you add the ubuntu desktop as well, you're going to find it slow going, especially with only 1Gb of ram as well.

if you want a full gui experience and full speed networking/multi-hdmi/usb3 etc. i'd recommend upgrading to a pi4 with 8Gb of ram.

 

Thx you both for the feedback and the headup with the 1GB of RAM. I really don't want to use the native Raspberry OS. I really want to consider CentOS, Fedora, Ubuntu or even more recently I've been exploring Kali Linux. I need a good Linux OS PC with a small very footprint but has a little bit of a kick to it where it is not slugglish on this little hardware I have.

If anyone else wants to chime in... please do.

 

Using Internet Search Engines with

Code:

raspberry pi 3 centos

the first item found was this:
https://wiki.centos.org/SpecialInterestGroup/AltArch/Arm32/RaspberryPi3

 

i'd recommend sticking with ubuntu, Debian is pretty much identical, re base code, but I've not really used it, so not sure how much they've effort they've put in to make it user friendly for new users.

some people swear by and love centos, personally, I've always found it to be a complete pain in the arse, with some, what should be simple procedures, becoming overly complicated and problematic.
and kali Linux is, I believe, targeted at security specialists and not really the ideal platform for Linux beginners.

perhaps you should play around with each one and decide for yourself which one you prefer, you could download each distro and run it as a live-cd first. that way you can see what each one is like and work out which one you'd get along with the most.

 

Thank you both for your feedback and guidance. You both have provided good recommendations. Thanks again.