Support NeoGAF

[64bitmodels]

I've been using Windows for years and while it's never really dissatisfied me, I always liked the idea of having more control and customization over my OS, for it to truly be mine. Plus, when everyone on the internet is gushing over how good Linux is you sort of have to try it out. Not to mention that there isn't really any thread on GAF explaining whether this OS is viable, it's brought up in Windows threads every once in a blue moon but no one actually has the cajones to make a thread on if it's good or not.

So, with assistance of my Linux friend who recommended me Nobara Linux for gaming (a Fedora based OS that comes with a ton of gaming software preinstalled and is finetuned to make gaming easier. It's made by the same guy who created Proton-GE), I've now been dualbooting Windows 11 and Nobara Linux for a week now. The majority of my games and data are still located on my Windows Drives, and whether they'll migrate to Linux or stay on Windows is a coin toss depending on compatibility, ease of use, and if in general i just like the OS more or not. Me uninstalling Windows from my drives though is extremely unlikely, as I went in knowing that Linux would not be 100% compatible

One thing I must say though.. Linux gaming works best with AMD or Intel GPUs. Nvidia's proprietary drivers i've heard are missing features & perform worse than on Windows. If you own an Nvidia GPU you're better off staying on Windows until Nvidia can get their shit together and open source their for Linux users to modify and clean up. Also for AMD guys, Adrenalin Edition is not available on Linux at all. ReLive is supported though.

This is also JUST a week's worth of experience with the OS so do take everything I say here with a grain of salt. Problems I may have faced when writing this thread would have probably been fixed later down the line, not to mention that this thread is exclusive to gaming and general user experience browsing, listening to music, and installing mods- productivity and creative apps are NOT considered here. Linux is evolving and changing like all operating systems.

I will return to this thread months down the line to give an update on this whole Linux thing BTW, to evaluate changes

I'm also color coding all my thoughts, green is positive, yellow is mixed, red is negative.

Don't use Ubuntu. If you want to, use an offshoot like Mint or Pop_OS. Ubuntu has become extremely greedy and now makes major attempts to lock people into their ecosystem and force them into their inferior package distribution software called snap. Not to mention they're inheriting a lot of the greedy practices in Microsoft. It's bad.

TLDR at the end, i list off the pros and cons

Finally, if you're using a wifi card or adapter you're going to have a terrible first installation. Many distros don't come with wifi drivers and out of the box only support ethernet. You'll have to hook your PC up to the router or your phone to connect to the internet and install drivers. Whether or not this is different for mobos that have built in Wifi, it's certainly something to look out for.

Anyways....

I spent most of my time getting shit set up and installing a couple games to test shit out with, mainly on Steam. Every Steam game I've tested works flawlessly granted you're not installing it on an NTFS drive which Linux cannot read.

BeamNG ran about as decently as it did on Windows (so like trash, LOL) And while I had some problems installing BeamMP it eventually installed and I was able to play the game online and partake in some destruction derbies.

Risk of Rain 2 had some scaling issues when I put stuff at fullscreen (I was using Wayland scaling, Xorg apparently is far more developed so I switched to that) but afterwards the game ran perfectly

Titanfall 2 Northstar also works well, and installing it was easier than BeamMP, There's a version of Proton configured exclusively for Titanfall 2 Northstar. You install it, configure the compatibilty tool to run Northstar, and then you win. The game runs.

I accidentally installed Arkham Asylum onto my Windows Drives but once I migrated it to Linux and ran it ran perfectly. Even mods worked as well, added one that changed the perspective from over the shoulder to just middle of the screen third person.

Elden Ring is a standout case since while the Windows version is home to stutters and low performance thanks to the terrible port and DX12 kind of sucking, DXVK manages to significantly improve the performance to the point where on Windows @ 1440p high settings i'd hover from 40-60 fps, on Linux it's a locked 60 with almost 0 framedips- the game overall objectively performs better on Linux.

Spelunky 2 ran well, Pizza Tower ran well, DMCV ran well... Steam games are a hole in one for this OS and if that's all you care about the experience is virtually indistinguishable from Windows, which makes sense. The Steam Deck's launch a year ago (time flies fast, lol) means that Steam's interface and user experience on Steam has improved drastically and games are getting to the point now where they just work. If only I had that luck with non-Steam games though.

If you want to go through the displeasure of making non-Steam games work on Linux, be sure to install Lutris (if it isn't already installed) as it's a great tool for cataloging your library, installing GOG and Epic games. Also, be sure to install Proton-GE via Proton UpQT as that's a great tool for updating proton versions, and Proton-GE is also just objectively superior to regular proton in compatibility

To get this out of the way, Outrun 2006 and Sonic and the Fallen Star (a fangame based off of... well, Sonic) worked with 0 flaws and those are the 2 games from unofficial sources I can think of that work well. GOG games too like Sands of Time and Splinter Cell work out of the box as well, so long if you're installing them from Lutris and not from the GOG website as those executable installers ran through wine can have some issues.

I play quite a lot of unofficial games, fangames, cracked stuff, the works. They work like SHIT on this OS. It's a toss in the air for when you'll be able to play them or not.

Kingdom Hearts for example, I had got the games from uh... lets say, unknown sources. On Windows they work flawlessly besides a few crashes. On Linux it's hell. You try to launch the EXE only to get met with deafening silence.
EDIT: THIS IS ALL NOW FIXED. KH WORKS PERFECTLY ON LINUX NOW THANKS TO SOME TUTORIALS I FOLLOWED. EVERYTHING CAN WORK ON THIS OS IF YOU GIVE IT SOME TIME & RESEARCH



Same for Spiderman too, does not launch in Proton, Wine, Proton-GE it is impossible. Maybe Spiderman will work on Linux if you buy the games on Steam, and Kingdom Hearts probably works if you own the games on epic and Install them via Lutris... but cracked games just don't work every well on Linux.

SMBX2, an engine for developing 2d Mario games does not work either. World Select and Level Editor works, the game does not. Weird as hell too, since everyone else claims that SMBX2 works with no issues and is one of the best versions for Linux. Just goes to show YMMV.

Silent Hill 2 Enhanced Edition spruces up the game to the point where it's the definitive way to play the game, PS2 effects missing were restored, widescreen and modern controller support were added, the game works best this way. On Linux you can launch the EXE but it'll only give you the normal ass 2000s exe with none of the enhancements and all of the bugs. Ick. I've heard that there's a way to get it installing and running on Linux through wine, but my current Windows installation ripped directly to my Linux drive just doesn't cut it

Honestly for these types of games you either reboot to your windows installation or use a virtual machine. Compatibility is spotty at best.

As for the general UX, this is based off of Cinnamon since that's the DE I've spent the most time using Linux on. You can change the DE to another one if you're not super into what is given by default, which is really fucking cool considering that most OSes pretty much stick you with what they give you. It's really good. If you're familiar with Windows, especially Windows before 8, it's practically a functional improvement on those old fashioned desktop environment interfaces. You can customize shortcuts, set hot corners for the edges of the screen, custom themes if you don't like the default, customize sounds, everything about the GUI can be tuned exactly to your liking. I made my installation look like Windows XP, and I dubbed it LinuXP.

UI wise it's the direction Windows long should have gone in the 2010s.

This is when you're able to use the GUI and avoid the terminal. When you have to get into the terminal.... It's actually really fucking cool! Downloading stuff from the net is shockingly fast and responsive. Errors will happen but they can be fixed, updating packages and stuff is really useful, it's a beautiful blend of the command line interfaces of yesteryear and the GUIs that dominate the 21st century. I can see why quite a lot of the community obsesses over the terminal when it's this fast and responsive... when you know the commands, at least.

The issue is that you gotta learn a lot of commands and new terminology. At times it can be finnicky since you're operating on commands which really don't have any room for error. Make a minor mistake and the terminal will spit out that it can't find the command or the directory. You are learning a brand new OS without training wheels and the adjustment period is going to have a lot of errors and compatibility issues. Just deal with it, it gets better once you become more experienced with Linux.

Not to mention that the file structure of everything contained in the OS is uh.... complicated.

Whereas on Windows, you can easily find your installed programs in program files, app data and save files in Appdata or Documents, and the actual Registry and OS in the Windows folder, Linux does not care about that sort of simplicity and familiarity. The file structure is weird.

You'll find program files sometimes in usr/bin, sometimes in usr/local, usr/app, shit is not consistent and you will be confused. The folders are heavily abbreviated and aren't easy to understand at a glance, and they're usually filled with a bunch of essential stuff that's powering the OS which means any wrong move could easily fuck up a package in your installation, or even the entire OS itself.

This, combined with the fact that Wine's prefixes create a sort of microcosm of the Windows directories to ensure the games work correctly, means that installing mods that don't just come from the Steam workshop and configuring files in your save files, game directories, etc is kind of hell. It's a bunch of stuff you WILL have to learn about Linux before you get the true hang of it, but it can be confusing as fuck. That being said, once you DO get it working, it works, and you can expect the OS not to break stuff since it's at your beck and command. There are times where Windows has broken some drivers like AMD ReLive due to Windows Update being a bitch, meanwhile nothing on Linux has broke. Everything that changes on Linux is a result of YOUR actions and not what Microsoft sneakily does to your PC while it's off.

The OS also does not use up many resources like Windows does, too. Windows at idle can use up to 4.6 gb of my 16gb ram

whereas Linux on idle uses....3.

It uses up to 6 gb of ram with 5 tabs of Firefox, Discord and Steam in the background.

Windows uses that same amount with 2 tabs of Firefox, Discord and Steam on in the background.

Speaking of, while it can take forever for Discord and Steam to turn on and start working, on Linux.... they open before you can even blink. And they run quite fast. Meanwhile Steam can freeze whenever you launch a game on Windows
On startup, my computer WHIRRS and BLOWS like a jet engine on Windows. on Linux.... Silence. shit turns on and then you're left with pure SILENCE. It's a very efficiently optimized OS and it's no wonder that it was used over Windows for the Steam Deck. To be fair, this is a 11 month old Windows install going up against a 1 week old Linux install so do take these with a grain of salt.. but i said what i said. it's real nice

So in summary, here are the pros and cons of Linux.

Pros:

Efficiently optimized, no TPM requirement and has low system requirements
Cinnamon has a great UI that's well fit for desktop environments, but if you want to use something else the choice is readily available for you
Most desktop environments are extremely customizable, you can truly personalize your PC
Compatibility has gotten significantly better since the Steam Deck and most Steam games just run
Games run like butter and can sometimes run better than Windows depending on the API
Terminal makes installing packages and software safe and fast
Lower risk of viruses due to Linux being less popular
A lot of windows's proprietary software has FOSS alternatives on Linux that are more community driven and in touch

Cons:

Many things that were set up out of the box for Windows are missing on Linux
Not EVERYTHING works like how it is on Windows
weird file structure that makes finding directories to stuff confusing
Terminal can be daunting and unfamiliar to people who've been doing this GUI thing for years
Not everything works and it's usually the obscure stuff so prepare to use a VM at times
bad support for Nvidia GPUs

There we go. I've been making this gargantuan post for a week now and I'm glad it's done.

Will I (FULLY) switch? No, not now. I've still got a lot of stuff on Windows and for as many issues that OS has, it's pretty convenient and set up out of the box. With Linux, you can only attain that convenience once you've tinkered and modified the OS quite a bit to the point where everything's in place and shit just works. And you also need to gain knowledge of how the OS works, that's a big un too.

However if you want to use it to replace Windows 10/11 for gaming, go for it dude. It works, performs better, doesn't ask much from your system (no TPM bullshit either), doesn't spy on you, and is overall a great alternative. It's come a long way these days and a lot of stuff does work out of the box.

Like I said, I'll be coming back here in a couple months to see if this Linux thing really stuck with me or not. By then I'd have far more experience with the OS and its inner workings

Happy Gaming, GAF!

 

[Cert.in.Death]

That is the wall of text equivalent of a Christmas Tree

 

[Tams]

While Linux has come an awful long way, and is certainly usable as a daily use OS...

It's still not there for me. Even with Microsoft's fuck ups, they do produce good software on the whole. And they support it, even if their main support forums are boilerplate response rubbish.

The thing is, as well as compatability issues, many parts of Linux distros are ugly or forced you into the Terminal. And the Linux community on the whole don't take anyone critical in that way well; at all.

Which is the worst part of Linux as a non-enthusiast; the community.

Edit: Oh, and OP, that RAM test is flawed. While Windows does use more RAM, the reported useage is reserved RAM. If the program isn't using some of it and there's a shortage of RAM that another program wants, Windows will free it up.

This is fine, as RAM not in use is wasted RAM as it's always on anyway.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[64bitmodels]

That is the wall of text equivalent of a Christmas Tree

i been workin on this thang for a week now

The thing is, as well as compatability issues, many parts of Linux distros are ugly or forced you into the Terminal.

Terminal usage has gone down by a lot. It's still needed for some essentials yes but not very often, and usage of it usually boils down to just copypasting what some installation guide on Github told you to punch into it.

 

[64bitmodels]

It's made by the same guy who made Proton-GE for one and it comes with a ton of software preinstalled to make gaming easier. It's basically Fedora but made for gaming.

Nobara Linux | The Nobara Project

nobaraproject.org

 

[Skifi28]

I've been experimenting with Linux for years and while it's a great OS for a secondary laptop I mostly uses for internet/media stuff, it still feels like it would be impossible to switch my main PC for the next 5-10 years. Sometimes you want to know something will work reliably, be it gaming or work related and are not up to tossing a coin or searching the web for 2 hours on how to jerry-rig it together. The steam deck is a huge step in the right direction, but we're still many years away from being able to swtich your main PC to Linux with minimal issues. Maybe if Microsoft manages to completely fuck things up we can expedite things, but 11 doesn't seem too bad so far.

 

[Tams]

usually boils down to just copypasting what some installation guide on Github told you to punch into it.

There's good reason why, while you can easily do the same on Windows and MacOS, neither Microsoft nor Apple encourage that.

 

[Midn1ght]

 

[Lasha]

I appreciate your willingness to try migrating from windows. I think you will eventually be back. I use Linux for everything except gaming and enterprise stuff. The driver and feature parity in games is annoying enough that I keep my gaming PC on windows.

 

[64bitmodels]

obligatory

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I've never used Linux and never will have interest to.

I remember the big roar Linux came about during the dot.com craze over 20 years ago with Red Hat and which ever other companies focused on it.

Unless Linux has some stupendously awesome features Apple and MS OS cant do, I always got the impression Linux was for tech dabblers, people who dont to pay for Windows, and people who are simply anti-corporate and think Linux is their rebel way of using a computer without Apple or MS software powering it.

The average person using a computer at home or IT guy at work running all the corporate programs are better suited just running Windows.

 

[ReBurn]

Linux is just too clunky for most desktop use cases. Not because it's bad but because despite how user friendly they try to make any particular distro it still requires just a bit more technical proficiency than Windows or MacOS to use on a daily basis. Apple and Microsoft have the resources to invest in product-focused teams to deliver a solid, consistent user experience. Most Linux distros are driven by community projects or non-profit initiatives that rely on volunteers and industry support with less consistent leadership and vision. Hopefully someone figures out how to flesh out the desktop experience and make it as good as the companies with budgets.

 

[64bitmodels]

Edit: Oh, and OP, that RAM test is flawed. While Windows does use more RAM, the reported useage is reserved RAM. If the program isn't using some of it and there's a shortage of RAM that another program wants, Windows will free it up.

This is fine, as RAM not in use is wasted RAM as it's always on anyway.

Linux does a similar thing

 

[Max_Po]

I been using Ubuntu a bit and it is a breath of freash air..

 

[ReBurn]

I've never used Linux and never will have interest to.

I remember the big roar Linux came about during the dot.com craze over 20 years ago with Red Hat and which ever other companies focused on it.

Unless Linux has some stupendously awesome features Apple and MS OS cant do, I always got the impression Linux was for tech dabblers, people who dont to pay for Windows, and people who are simply anti-corporate and think Linux is their rebel way of using a computer without Apple or MS software powering it.

The average person using a computer at home or IT guy at work running all the corporate programs are better suited just running Windows.

Linux shines in the enterprise and in university projects as a server OS. Freeing the power of Unix from companies like Sun, HP snd IBM and making it freely available is what made much of our connected world possible today. In most cases it is less resource intensive and much better at high performance computing tasks than Windows.

Companies use Red Hat more for the dedicated support than for any special features of RHEL. You can get pretty much the same level of performance and features with an open source Fedora install, you just won't get the same level of support.

 

[IFireflyl]

Linux will never be a daily driver for the vast majority of people without fixing three things:

The OS needs to be more structured. Like the OP said, things can get installed in too many confusing locations, and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for it. Additionally, Windows at least puts all of its Windows files in a single location (C:\Windows) which you're warned not to dick around with. Linux, by contrast, leaves files lying around in all sorts of locations.

Driver support needs to be drastically improved. This plus a more structured OS would likely lead to wider developer adoption and consumer adoption. The issue the OP mentioned regarding NVIDIA support comes to mind.

The GUI needs to take a front seat. Linux CLI shouldn't ever go away because its super useful for power-users, but most people aren't power users. The worst thing Windows did (in my opinion) was removing functionality that power users consistently utilized (or locking that functionality behind the pro version of an OS). But Linux will never be a daily driver for the masses if they have to mess with Linux CLI.

 

[MarkMe2525]

Does using Linux leave your computer vurnerable to the nefarious?

 

[adamsapple]

I have grown up with Windows both personally and professionally, so I'm happy with the eco-system. The little I've had to use Macs because of work, fucking hate them. Linux is eh, powerful but I'm gonna stick with Windows for the convenience and universality.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Topher]

ENTER:

Been a long time since I've used Windows 3.1.

 

[Bragr]

I don't see a reason to use Linux unless you are a developer, and as a gamer it can quickly become a pain in the ass. It just lacks too much compatibility. Good write up though.

 

[Topher]

Linux will never be a daily driver for the vast majority of people without fixing three things:

The OS needs to be more structured. Like the OP said, things can get installed in too many confusing locations, and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for it. Additionally, Windows at least puts all of its Windows files in a single location (C:\Windows) which you're warned not to dick around with. Linux, by contrast, leaves files lying around in all sorts of locations.

Driver support needs to be drastically improved. This plus a more structured OS would likely lead to wider developer adoption and consumer adoption. The issue the OP mentioned regarding NVIDIA support comes to mind.

The GUI needs to take a front seat. Linux CLI shouldn't ever go away because its super useful for power-users, but most people aren't power users. The worst thing Windows did (in my opinion) was removing functionality that power users consistently utilized (or locking that functionality behind the pro version of an OS). But Linux will never be a daily driver for the masses if they have to mess with Linux CLI.

I've tried Linux multiple times and I discovered that you have to love using Linux for the sake of using Linux. I get too frustrated with it in a matter of hours and wipe the drive. One of my big hangups about it is that there is no "Linux". You've got literally hundreds of different varieties of what was originally called Linux, but so many of them are so far down the rabbit whole that applications on one flavor of Linux won't work on another flavor. I think I went through four different snipping tools on my Steam Deck (using it as an alternate PC) before I found one that worked. Just a damn screenshot app.

Having said all that, I'm hopeful that Steam OS continues to evolve and becomes a viable option for PC gamers. It isn't there yet, but here is a fairly large organization who now has a console that could actually create something special with Linux. We will see.

 

[64bitmodels]

Good write up though.

thank you!

You've got literally hundreds of different varieties of what was originally called Linux, but so many of them are so far down the rabbit whole that applications on one flavor of Linux won't work on another flavor.

Not really, most distros boil down to either .deb (debian based distros like ubuntu or Mint) or .RPM (redhat based distros like fedora or Nobara)
Plus we've got flatpak and appimage now which ensures compatibility regardless of which Linux OS you use, it's really good!

 

[Topher]

thank you!

Not really, most distros boil down to either .deb (debian based distros like ubuntu or Mint) or .RPM (redhat based distros like fedora or Nobara)
Plus we've got flatpak and appimage now which ensures compatibility regardless of which Linux OS you use, it's really good!

Yeah, good point. Most have a common lineage, but I've still had a hard time with apps working even when installed using those package managers. I don't know.

Definitely enjoyed your write up bro.

 

[Rubik8]

I played with Linux on my laptop for a couple of months. I tried Ubuntu, Fedora, Manjaro, and Linux Mint. All were fine, but gaming seemed to work best on Linux Mint for me. A good chunk of my Steam library worked without issue. Linux has come a long way since I used to dual boot Mandrake Linux next to my Windows 98 install. But after an infuriating two days trying to customize the 4th and 5th buttons on my Logitech mouse, I said fuck it and went back to Windows. Simple things like that shouldn't be that convoluted. Linux isn't ready for the mainstream, but it's getting there thanks to Valve's work with Proton. I'll try again in a couple of years.

 

[Hoddi]

Using Linux is worth it just to learn Linux. It's not for everyone but it's incredibly rewarding once you get the hang of it. It also opens the door to other Unix-like systems like MacOS where building a hackintosh was a great learning experience for me. I'd 100% recommend it if you want to learn the underpinnings.

I haven't used it on the desktop for 10 years though. I ran CentOS (now Rocky) for a couple of years on my work machine but ended back on Win7 once we finally upgraded from XP. I liked using it but I just couldn't find the use case for it.

 

[Unknown?]

I use Mint exclusively and it's fantastic for games, also use Lutris.

I also use Whonix and Tails to avoid data collection on the web.

 

[Kindela]

I've had to use Ubuntu in my previous job for a year and a half. It's useable for sure, but its Bluetooth, and almost any drivers related to peripherals, are the reason I swore never to use one again in my life.
I don't think I have had a day of work where either my headset, keyboard or monitor haven't randomly disconnected. Just talking about it makes me dream about smashing my laptop in half.

 

[Unknown?]

I've had to use Ubuntu in my previous job for a year and a half. It's useable for sure, but its Bluetooth, and almost any drivers related to peripherals, are the reason I swore never to use one again in my life.
I don't think I have had a day of work where either my headset, keyboard or monitor haven't randomly disconnected. Just talking about it makes me dream about smashing my laptop in half.

Huh that's weird Mint works for me on everything I use, but then again I bought a laptop made specifically for Linux. The Starlabs Starbook. It's not a Windows laptop that had Linux installed on it.

 

[ReBurn]

Huh that's weird Mint works for me on everything I use, but then again I bought a laptop made specifically for Linux. The Starlabs Starbook. It's not a Windows laptop that had Linux installed on it.

I've often wondered whether laptops made for Linux provided any actual benefit over installing Linux on an identically specced laptop that shipped with Windows. Aside from shipping with bespoke drivers that guarantee the hardware will work with the pre-installed Linux distro are there other advantages?

 

[Hoddi]

I've often wondered whether laptops made for Linux provided any actual benefit over installing Linux on an identically specced laptop that shipped with Windows. Aside from shipping with bespoke drivers that guarantee the hardware will work with the pre-installed Linux distro are there other advantages?

Not in my experience. Not other than just coming preconfigured from the factory.

Most linux distros are already fairly good at detecting your hardware and installing the right drivers. The biggest issues usually show up when you want to update those drivers because then you'll often need to know your way around the terminal/command line. Many driver installers are distributed as scripts so you'll need to know how to run scripts to begin with. But even that isn't enough because you'll also need to know how to take ownership of those scripts and make them executable as well.

This isn't very difficult when you already know how to do it. But it's nothing like double-clicking a driver installer on Windows. It's still 100% worth learning these things if you're interested (and not that difficult) but it isn't for everyone.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

I completely agree with everyone about the Linux file system. It's just confusing. I wish Linux would pull some features from Android, like its package (app) management which makes installing and uninstalling apps very simple.

SurfaceFlinger is also a better window compositor than xorg and Wayland. It's so good that Nintendo uses a version of it to display graphics on the Switch.

 

[BennyBlanco]

I never really messed with Linux until I got a Steam Deck. It's pretty nice for all the reasons you listed but the way files are organized is so weird to me. My brain is just so used to windows I guess.

 

[Braag]

They force us to use Linux at work and not a day goes by when I don't curse that thing.

 

[Crayon]

I've been an exclusive user for a long time. It's really good.

 

[Jrecard]

I've started playing around with it as I toy with a steamos style build tethered to my tv for couch gaming + streaming to my deck. I don't think I would bother with linux as a straight desktop replacement as Windoze services me well enough there, but as a couch/gamepad only setup I can't think of anything that achieves it better than something like chimeraos or holoiso which can boot exclusively into Steam's Gamepad UI (literally the same thing on the deck) and does away for the need with a keyboard for majority of cases.

I am actually impressed with the work valve have done with proton. While I don't mind finding work arounds to get things set up, if I had to use a terminal and google every damn game I want to play for work arounds I'd definitely give up. Proton is out here doing god's work on getting majority of the games (that I play at least) working without issue. ProtonDB plugin loaded onto Deckyloader makes finding compatibility on the steam store/library super easy.

Outside of steam gaming I probably would keep it in the too hard basket for sure.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

You're lucky you didn't post this on an actual Linux forum, OP. Nerds would be coming for you it's not even funny. You can't write anything on there without being torn apart by an angry mob of "enthusiasts".

 

[adamosmaki]

I used linux out of curiosity a few times mainly ubuntu and while stability and responsiveness are great file structure and certain hardware( back then was my tv tuner and wifi card) and most games not working i went back to Windows. Having used w11 and w10 becoming more bloated i might give it another try now that game compatibility thanks to stuff like proton and valves foray into linux is much better

 

[crackajack]

I used Linux/Lubuntu some years as my internet machine, but it barely could run 2d games, so gaming was never on the table.
Linux is fine, when it behaves like Windows, once you have to go MS-DOS mode, the terminal, the actual Linux, on anything not Server Edition, which don't use a GUI at all because they manage network stuff or whatever and don't it, it sucks balls.
Ever since I tried Suse Linux some 20+ years ago the system seems very prone to get corrupted for some reason. My kind of retired Windows PC triple boots XP, Vista and 7 and all still work today and I have used all some time. On the other hand I managed to destroy almost all Linux installs I ever used or just tried in a relatively short period of time, and I have no idea how, since I did su stuff only with update and while installing the very few programs I used and needed, so some core stuff malfunctioned for some odd reason, while I was admin, at least with XP, all the time.

There are way too many forks and while they are supposed to be compatible, which makes all the specific forking actually nonsensical, the jungle it obviously presents, to anyone outside of nerd enthusiast, is a major flaw. Ubuntu could have been a high point but they wanted to milk it and now Valve was flip flopping on different versions until they landed on their current system. Maybe this will finally establish the go to solution long term. UT iirc 2003 had a linux install and ran fine, but gaming until steam machines arrived barely developed at all.

 

[polybius80]

It is good you try linux for your x86 computer(?) in fact its the best thing you can do if you are interested in computers in general as it is by far the most used operating system in the world, used in all kind of computers from different architectures from small embedded systems like smart cameras, tv boxes, arm soc's like raspberry/banana/orange pi, to gaming systems like steam deck, servers and the most used computers in the world: cell phones(android)

there is a lot of distros for x86, I personally recommend debian based, I use linux mint in most computers and also have a computer with kali linux with steam games, yes you can play games on a distro for hacking and security

an advice I can give you is to consider the case sensitive nature of the system when using windows applications, it is generally not a problem in games(specially if using steam or lutris) but there are certain applications where it can fail to find files and the reason may be that there are 2 directories where one is written with upper case letters and another in lower case letter this situation can happen when there is new content added regularly to an application in my case this problem happens with dazstudio where it is possible there is a directory called "Textures" and another called "textures", just make sure there is just one directory with all the content and it will work just fine also certain mods in games like skyrim or fallout4 can be tricky to install like SKSE for example, but they will work very well

 

[nowhat]

Every Steam game I've tested works flawlessly granted you're not installing it on an NTFS drive which Linux cannot read.

This is not true. Linux can both read and write to NTFS volumes just fine. https://github.com/tuxera/ntfs-3g

But the performance isn't the greatest, so you're better off using a native filesystem.

 

[RoboFu]

I've never used Linux and never will have interest to.

I remember the big roar Linux came about during the dot.com craze over 20 years ago with Red Hat and which ever other companies focused on it.

Unless Linux has some stupendously awesome features Apple and MS OS cant do, I always got the impression Linux was for tech dabblers, people who dont to pay for Windows, and people who are simply anti-corporate and think Linux is their rebel way of using a computer without Apple or MS software powering it.

The average person using a computer at home or IT guy at work running all the corporate programs are better suited just running Windows.

Linux is great as servers and when doing most types of practical development as you can create solid unchanging environments.

What’s funny is besides gaming 99% of daily pc users just need something like an iPad or really just their phones. Windows is not something you can leave off for a few weeks then turn on and just go.
It’s not really a lightweight os. It’s too easy to get fucked up with a mandatory update. Which is what my family calls me about the most to fix. Though I did buy my mom a m1 MacBook Air and she hasn’t had any issues in 2 years.

 

[old-parts]

Linux has the potential to be a viable alternative to windows but its not quite there yet.

1) Intel/AMD open source drivers are excellent but lack any kind of GPU control panel. Nvidia have partially open sourced their drivers but will take years before it gets into usable shape while they still push their closed source drivers.

2) Hardware acceleration for video/decode has finally be standardized around Vulkan video specification but it will be a while before everything moves over to this (driver development work is making progress).

3) Compatibility with windows games has made huge strides largely in part to Valve funding the development work of wine/dxvk etc. One of the best way to run windows software on linux is via the Bottles application but there are gaming front ends too like Heroic Games Launcher which covers non-Steam stores.

4) Many of specialized controls panels windows users take for granted on hardware in their PC's don't exist on the linux side, some open source revese engineered ones do and can control things like RGB lights.

4) The best linux desktop for windows users is KDE as it actually tries to match the function and features of windows but there are more than one UI on linux which is good for choice but also confusing. The amount of other UI's that try to match windows is a constant waste of resources and re-inventing the wheel justified by notions that are long of date.

More UI comments
Example is Linux Mint Cinnamon which is the number 2 windows like behind KDE, but Cinnamon is unpolished with lots of UI bugs, another is ZorinOS which also targets Windows users but this uses a modified version of the Gnome UI which is not at all like windows so it superficially looks like windows but lacks all of the functions, settings and features you'd expect from a win like user interface.

KDE is the only one which matches windows none of the others do and its why Valve went with it for Steam Deck and fund its development, however most of the big Linux distros don't use KDE by default but these are also enterprise companies and often clueless about the desktop and understanding PC gaming.

The linux file system is horrible even if it's logical to software engineers, basically think the contents of windows folder dumped into root of C:\ and that is what your looking at, also linux mounts extra drives as folders with its designated mount folder which can differ from distros like /mount or /media etc. The linux file system for any modern PC should be hidden as much as possible but because there are competing UI's this often exposes differences, these distros are not a platform like windows or macos, they are often are just a UI atop of linux so hiding the very ugly parts of linux can only goes so far, meaning you have to resort the the terminal to fix/change something if the UI doesn't have it.

One of example of a linux platform that hides all the ugly stuff is Elementary, this is a macos like system were Apple (Next actually) civilized Unix turning it into OSX, Elementary tries to do the same by civilizing Linux, however the company is small and lacks the resource's for rapid development.

So all these distros your using are not platforms like windows, though SteamOS is the next closest due to it having the Steam app store and the weight of Valve behind it and as a I pointed out above they are trying to polish the rough edges of linux.

Software installation
Next you have software installation which until recently on linux has been a complete nightmare, often resorting to the command line (terminal in linux land). Thankfully Flatpaks as a linux app store and linux app images (offline standalone app) are becoming more common making GUI usage of linux apps a lot more easy (more brownie points to Valve who understood this with SteamOS) but....

The company behind Ubuntu doesn't support Flatpaks and pushes its own system called snaps so you have these competing systems, even though you can enable Flatpaks on Ubuntu systems it's not out of the box. Ubuntu is used as the base by a large number of linux distros, though some do modify it so it uses Flatpaks like Mint and Zorin.

Best linux distros for Windows users is
Tuxedo OS - a German PC company that sells PC's with gaming in mind, they ubuntu as base but support Flatpaks, they use KDE and also update the drivers and kernel more quickly than Kubuntu does. You don't have to own one of their PC's to use Tuxedo OS you can install it on an x86 system. Tuxedo is basically are you a PC enthusiast but don't want to have to learn everything about how linux works then this is the distro to use.

SteamOS would of course be the primary choice for PC gamers but Valve arent ready yet to pull the trigger on a desktop version of it, winsapos is an mod of SteamOS to to make is desktop centric along with HoloOS.

So in summary if you have the right kind of hardware Intel/AMD no Nvidia and can live without some things from windows then yeah it can work but I dont think linux os are ready for PC enthusiasts who are not linux savy, even the youtubers like gamers nexus and digital foundry are clueless about linux, it needs more polish before they entertain switching over.

The Linux Experiment on Youtube is a good channel worth watching, he's not a blind fan and covers the pros and cons of linux PC desktop.

 

[The_Mike]

Every Steam game I've tested works flawlessly granted you're not installing it on an NTFS drive which Linux cannot read.

Shouldn't really be green as NTFS is superior to fat32.

I play quite a lot of unofficial games, fangames, cracked stuff, the works

Hanging pc gamers in bad stereotyping.

Bad OP.

Thanks for your contribution though.

I have too many work programs to ever wanting to go Linux. Also I want the convenience with Windows.

I paid zero bucks for win 10 and 11. Can't get any cheaper than that.

 

[nowhat]

Shouldn't really be green as NTFS is superior to fat32.

But native Linux filesystems are superior under Linux, so you shouldn't be using either for gaming.

 

[Nihilum]

I keep trying to like Linux but it always feels like 25 million ways to do the same thing in the most complicated way known to man

 

[nowhat]

Nvidia have partially open sourced their drivers but will take years before it gets into usable shape while they still push their closed source drivers.

No they haven't. The Nouveau project is a completely clean room, reverse-engineered effort. The official driver provided by NVidia has a tiny bit of GPL code in it (as the driver interfaces directly with the kernel, this is required by the GPL), but the rest of the driver is just a BLOB. A firmware, if you will, if you can call something that's tens of megabytes a firmware. So essentially a black box, which means if something goes wrong, the kernel devs have very little way of debugging it. Much to the annoyance of Linus et al.

 

[The_Mike]

But native Linux filesystems are superior under Linux, so you shouldn't be using either for gaming.

Fat32 has limitations on how big a drive can be, and how big a file can be in size.

 

[Filben]

I've grown up with Windows, know its oddities and how to get around them. I don't feel the need to learn something new that doesn't really add on top of something I don't really miss... I need my computer for a littley productivity (emails, word, excel, cutting videos) and mostly for gaming. For both of these needs Windows 11 works perfectly.