The success of Steam Deck has helped a lot. Prior to that Linux ports tended to be very perfunctory and they weren’t tested or supported very well. I guess that now there are actual Linux gamers (via Steam Deck), that support has improved. That said, I think outside of Steam Deck and SteamOS, your experience of gaming is going to be extremely dependent on your GPU, driver support and a number of other factors. Things are far more likely to work well on Windows than they would for Linux.
I could drill down into the work that went into DXVK before Proton came about, enabling the Steam Deck, but that’s a boring history lesson. I will concede that newer bleeding edge hardware is far more likely to be plug and play on Windows, but one of the leading reasons I transitioned was Windows removing support for the audio chipset on the motherboard for my Ryzen 1600. Every time I rebooted, I’d have to unpack a zip file and reinstall the audio drivers, it was maddening.
In my experience (so, totally anecdotal), my hardware is stable longer on Linux than Windows.
My experience with Linux with Nvidia drivers was basically - hey execute this “.run” file and you get drivers. Okay that worked but then if the kernel updated, the drivers broke and had to be reinstalled. And if the dist upgraded to a new version then the drivers broke completely. And NVidia gave up providing drivers at all for their older GPUs and I was stuck with Noveau which is better than nothing but useless for gaming.
Conversely, some dists are supported by graphics manufacturers with proper packages but there is always that gap where the driver dependencies and the kernel dependencies are out of sync. Or the graphics driver only works on the last couple of dists and support disappears after that. Or you upgrade the dist and then discover there are no drivers for it yet.
I know it rankles some purists, but really there should be an long term, versioned ABI for graphics drivers on Linux. There is sort-of is one with Gallium3D but it’s still not supported properly by all vendors.
I just took an old Optiplex with a GTX1650 and got it going with Ubuntu 24.04 and my experience was mostly okay but I saw a number of issues which could confound a newbie. Firstly, I had to go to the command like to run the ubuntu-drivers auto install because the card wasn’t set up properly. If I hadn’t then games wouldn’t run properly. But then I was able to install Steam and get some games going. Acceleration looked okay and I tested games which were running under Windows emulation and natively with some success - however there was a long delay launching some games, like it was having to transpile shaders or something. Still, when they worked they seemed to work well.
The most egregious issue I had is that Ubuntu defaults to an X11 desktop and the desktop is slightly off but the games work well. If I change to a Wayland desktop, then the desktop is buttery smooth but the games are very choppy. I suspect that’s the driver for this old card just doesn’t work properly with the window manager for some reason in that mode, that the wm is not giving the game a proper surface to render in or is somehow interfering with performance.
I never had a single issue so far. Actually, performamce is better on Linux every single time for me. I finally got rid of Windows since I have zero use for it. The only problem could be games with anti cheats.
I’m always surprised when I hear people claiming they work in IT and find Linux to be complicated. I just installed Fedora on two of my friends’ machines. Both are cluless about computers and they are doing perfectly fine. Now for basic tasks including gaming, a granny could use it without much issues if any.
When was the last time you tried Linux? If it has been a while, you might be surprised how it has changed recently. Proton made everything so much easier.
I’m not a technical person by the way; just a normal dude who uses Linux now.
I didn’t say it was complicated, I said it was fractured and incomplete and terrible for desktops, but I can see where your mind is going just by that statement
Fucking linux elitism rearing its ugly head.
Oh I’m so sorry that my pet OS is too tough for your poor mind to comprehend, maybe go read twenty or so manuals to get up to speed?
When was the last time you tried Linux?
2015 I tried Mint again and Manjaro because some users claimed it had great hardware detection and that’s been one of my biggest problems my entire time, and guess what? It didn’t work! Nothing I could do would get even OpenGL and linux native 3d games to run
I’m not a technical person by the way; just a normal dude who uses Linux now.
And now I know you’re a liar too. It’s really sad how quickly lemmy fell as compared to reddit. At least on reddit I got a few years before the forum sliders showed up
A decade ago you tried Linux and it was hard, try again or butt out. Windows has become even more of a privacy violating, data snorting, market manipulating whore in that time and it will not stop.
I’ll bet they roll out subscription based drivers before you make a legitimate atempt.
Get a techie to set gaming distros for you. My brother installed Bazzite for me and troubleshoots. Speaking of which, Bazzite is meant to be for average users who are less literate on computers. I have rarely had issues on Bazzite unlike with other distros. Indeed, newer distros are better.
I understand. Linux can be daunting for us average Joes. Plenty of information i see on the internet are either outdated, or simply doesn’t work.
Still, Bazzite is pretty much one of the best Gaming distros out there. All drivers are included with the installation (you select which Hardware you have before downloading) and the OS itself is immutable, so you don’t have to worry about damaging the OS in any way. The only downside is that it exclusively uses Flatpaks, which does have a few problems regarding interoperability between programs (e.g. Firefox doesn’t allow KeePassXC to interact with the KeePass add-on). However, I would recommend Flatpaks either way, since it adds better security and reliability, since you don’t have to worry about an update breaking programs.
However, if you don’t need that interoperability, I’d say there is little reason not to use it if you want to play games. And when a game doesn’t work, protondb usually gives enough hints to how to fix these issues. Generally, I had less issues with games on there compared to other distros (e.g. OpenSUSE).
I don’t think you want the targeted hate that will ensue when I try your suggestion and get stuck on some ridiculous thing with no solution for days.
Just like the other 12 times I tried some rando cultist’s ‘sure bet’ suggestion in a forum
You clearly see my disgust for the OS and entire community, yet still you proselytize. Do you not even get a tiny glimpse why most normal people can’t deal with your kind?
Your experience isn’t normal, I give fedora to the elderly and they have less problems than on windows. You also aren’t saying what any of your problems are, bad trolling.
If all you do is game, outside of a few key games (Destiny 2, uhh,couple others) the experience on Linux is better for many folks.
The success of Steam Deck has helped a lot. Prior to that Linux ports tended to be very perfunctory and they weren’t tested or supported very well. I guess that now there are actual Linux gamers (via Steam Deck), that support has improved. That said, I think outside of Steam Deck and SteamOS, your experience of gaming is going to be extremely dependent on your GPU, driver support and a number of other factors. Things are far more likely to work well on Windows than they would for Linux.
I could drill down into the work that went into DXVK before Proton came about, enabling the Steam Deck, but that’s a boring history lesson. I will concede that newer bleeding edge hardware is far more likely to be plug and play on Windows, but one of the leading reasons I transitioned was Windows removing support for the audio chipset on the motherboard for my Ryzen 1600. Every time I rebooted, I’d have to unpack a zip file and reinstall the audio drivers, it was maddening.
In my experience (so, totally anecdotal), my hardware is stable longer on Linux than Windows.
My experience with Linux with Nvidia drivers was basically - hey execute this “.run” file and you get drivers. Okay that worked but then if the kernel updated, the drivers broke and had to be reinstalled. And if the dist upgraded to a new version then the drivers broke completely. And NVidia gave up providing drivers at all for their older GPUs and I was stuck with Noveau which is better than nothing but useless for gaming.
Conversely, some dists are supported by graphics manufacturers with proper packages but there is always that gap where the driver dependencies and the kernel dependencies are out of sync. Or the graphics driver only works on the last couple of dists and support disappears after that. Or you upgrade the dist and then discover there are no drivers for it yet.
I know it rankles some purists, but really there should be an long term, versioned ABI for graphics drivers on Linux. There is sort-of is one with Gallium3D but it’s still not supported properly by all vendors.
I just took an old Optiplex with a GTX1650 and got it going with Ubuntu 24.04 and my experience was mostly okay but I saw a number of issues which could confound a newbie. Firstly, I had to go to the command like to run the ubuntu-drivers auto install because the card wasn’t set up properly. If I hadn’t then games wouldn’t run properly. But then I was able to install Steam and get some games going. Acceleration looked okay and I tested games which were running under Windows emulation and natively with some success - however there was a long delay launching some games, like it was having to transpile shaders or something. Still, when they worked they seemed to work well.
The most egregious issue I had is that Ubuntu defaults to an X11 desktop and the desktop is slightly off but the games work well. If I change to a Wayland desktop, then the desktop is buttery smooth but the games are very choppy. I suspect that’s the driver for this old card just doesn’t work properly with the window manager for some reason in that mode, that the wm is not giving the game a proper surface to render in or is somehow interfering with performance.
I do a lot more than that, so, hard pass.
Is it all in your browser, because pretty much everything is a web app now.
lol no
lol ya
except not, not at all
Saying that there is a gaming focused linux distro is like saying there’s a cliff-climbing focused dolphin.
I’m sure the delusional believe in it, but actual reality says otherwise.
Yeah see, based on your other comments on this post, I don’t feel obliged to take anything you say about Linux seriously
Do you think I posted this to somehow convince you of something? I don’t even know who the fuck you are
Name checks out
“FINISH HIM!”
I should be allowed to ban every hundredth person that replies like this, instead I’ll just block you
FATALITY!
It’s better by every metric except anicheat, which is malware anyway.
I never had a single issue so far. Actually, performamce is better on Linux every single time for me. I finally got rid of Windows since I have zero use for it. The only problem could be games with anti cheats.
I’m always surprised when I hear people claiming they work in IT and find Linux to be complicated. I just installed Fedora on two of my friends’ machines. Both are cluless about computers and they are doing perfectly fine. Now for basic tasks including gaming, a granny could use it without much issues if any.
When was the last time you tried Linux? If it has been a while, you might be surprised how it has changed recently. Proton made everything so much easier.
I’m not a technical person by the way; just a normal dude who uses Linux now.
I didn’t say it was complicated, I said it was fractured and incomplete and terrible for desktops, but I can see where your mind is going just by that statement
Fucking linux elitism rearing its ugly head.
2015 I tried Mint again and Manjaro because some users claimed it had great hardware detection and that’s been one of my biggest problems my entire time, and guess what? It didn’t work! Nothing I could do would get even OpenGL and linux native 3d games to run
And now I know you’re a liar too. It’s really sad how quickly lemmy fell as compared to reddit. At least on reddit I got a few years before the forum sliders showed up
A decade ago you tried Linux and it was hard, try again or butt out. Windows has become even more of a privacy violating, data snorting, market manipulating whore in that time and it will not stop.
I’ll bet they roll out subscription based drivers before you make a legitimate atempt.
Dude, you need to chill. Why not take a break and unclench you jaw and fists for a while?
This conversation doesn’t deserve this level of blood pressure.
Maybe depends on what distro you are using. There are ones dedicated for gaming.
Well I tried redhat ubuntu gentoo fedora knoppix mint arch MEPIS and even fucking slackware because apparently i am a masochist
And you will say ‘Oh but those are old distros, now they’re much betterer!’
Nope the weeks of frustration aren’t worth revisiting. You really don’t understand how much PTSD I got from the linux forums
Get a techie to set gaming distros for you. My brother installed Bazzite for me and troubleshoots. Speaking of which, Bazzite is meant to be for average users who are less literate on computers. I have rarely had issues on Bazzite unlike with other distros. Indeed, newer distros are better.
I understand. Linux can be daunting for us average Joes. Plenty of information i see on the internet are either outdated, or simply doesn’t work.
… us average joes…
Son I’ve been an IT admin since the early 90s
The great news is that all you really need to do to use bazzite is click on things in the gui so your skill set will be a perfect fit.
💀💀💀
Your unwarranted sarcasm is delicious, I mastered CLI before you were even born
I doubt the quality of your work.
Still, Bazzite is pretty much one of the best Gaming distros out there. All drivers are included with the installation (you select which Hardware you have before downloading) and the OS itself is immutable, so you don’t have to worry about damaging the OS in any way. The only downside is that it exclusively uses Flatpaks, which does have a few problems regarding interoperability between programs (e.g. Firefox doesn’t allow KeePassXC to interact with the KeePass add-on). However, I would recommend Flatpaks either way, since it adds better security and reliability, since you don’t have to worry about an update breaking programs.
However, if you don’t need that interoperability, I’d say there is little reason not to use it if you want to play games. And when a game doesn’t work, protondb usually gives enough hints to how to fix these issues. Generally, I had less issues with games on there compared to other distros (e.g. OpenSUSE).
I don’t think you want the targeted hate that will ensue when I try your suggestion and get stuck on some ridiculous thing with no solution for days.
Just like the other 12 times I tried some rando cultist’s ‘sure bet’ suggestion in a forum
You clearly see my disgust for the OS and entire community, yet still you proselytize. Do you not even get a tiny glimpse why most normal people can’t deal with your kind?
Your experience isn’t normal, I give fedora to the elderly and they have less problems than on windows. You also aren’t saying what any of your problems are, bad trolling.