No. You don't.

Oh yeah, check your `htop` (or my preferred `btop` or any of your prefered alternatives) to see whats your hardware usage. If you got something running that takes up that much RAM then thats likely the culprit lmao though Linux will try to maximise your RAM usage (because "unused RAM is wasted RAM"

if you open any of the programs that cause problems for you from the terminal, do you see any error / warning logs, especially in moments when they break?

its going to be mostly dependent on the specific software and some might be red herrings, but sometimes those can point you in the direction too

So what are specific signs you see for it being unstable? is it only videogames or is it something present throughout the whole system?

doubt***

there isnt really that many viruses for Linux, so dount thats the case.

NVIDIA drivers are a lot more finnicky on linux though because NVIDIA hated Linux until very recently, so thats what i'd look into at first

Also if you want the benefits of Arch (wider choice of packages / rolling release model / learn it by yourself approach) but the installation seems scary, go with EndeavourOS - literally Arch but its prepackaged with a lot of basic tools already and has an installer

dont pick anything too specialised and you're going to be fine.

my recommendations:

if you want something that's simple and easy to set up, go with Mint

if you are willing to spend more time on troubleshooting and learn by diving deep head first into a rabbit hole, go for Arch