My first was Ubuntu 06.06, but I was only messing around using a live CD. I tried it again with Ubuntu 12.04 when Steam added Linux support, but went back to Windows because gaming on Linux wasn’t really there.
Finally decided to dual boot and distro hopped a bit in 2015 between Mint, Kubuntu, then KDE Neon for a bit before settling on Manjaro some time in 2017. Eventually I switched to Arch in 2022 after Manjaro forgot to renew their certs again.
If you can afford it, Honeywell PTM7950. It’s very stable and avoids pump out, which is great in a laptop where you don’t want to repaste very often. It’s a phase change material, not a standard paste. To apply, put it the fridge to cool. Afterwards, cut to size and put it on. Once it warms up, it liquefies to fill all the small gaps.
Otherwise, most other pastes are fine. I’m partial to Arctic MX-4 but they’re all pretty the similar. On direct die like a mobile chip I would recommend spreading it out to ensure even coverage as gaps can cause hotspots which may eventually damage the chip.