Much of the post is the author reminiscing about how the community has changed over time, the author’s Steam library, whether we need to dual boot and how great KDE is. After scrubbing through it I have no idea what makes the distribution special and why I’d want to pick it over other options.
It’s basically Ubuntu for Fedora. Some QoL changes, but really it takes all the mess out of Fedora that you’d have to manually change up to get the best gaming experience. F38 is hot garbage out the box for gaming.
Agree with this, I have just built a new gaming box (first time in 10 years - wow stuff has changed!). Anyway, I daily drive Fedora on my laptop and just automatically put in on the new rig - it took a LOT of tweaking to get it right for gaming (working like a dream now). In hindsight Nobara sounds like it would have saved me a lot of time
This is a fair comment, perhaps I got lost in thought and didn’t really answer the question well enough. It’s special because despite the small issues, all the major needs were met more than the other distros I tried.
Switching to Linux mainly motivated by privacy, security, flexibility, and performance.
The writer also supports Linux as a community-driven alternative to large corporations.
The author views dual booting as beneficial for resale value, software gaps, and gaming compatibility.
The Linux installation used was Nobara, though it had its own challenges.
The writer’s extensive experience with Linux dates back to the late '90s.
The Linux community’s condescending and elitist attitudes are viewed as a drawback.
The writer chose Nobara Linux due to its functionality and fewer roadblocks compared to other distributions.
The performance and user experience of Nobara Linux is generally superior to Windows 11, though there are issues like Bluetooth lag and system freeze. Gaming on Steam is generally favorable, though there are minor issues with certain games.
KDE is praised for its functionality and features, especially KDE Connect for multimedia transfers. Minor issues with accessing certain file types and RGB lighting preferences are noted.
I was dual booting because of some games but decided to delete the Windows partition anyway. There are some games that I cannot play (mostly because of anti-cheat) but I don’t care anymore. I’m more than 2 years free of Micro$oft and couldn’t be happier.
I too was dual booting for a while but the last straw was when a windows update erased GRUB a second time. I’ve been on Linux exclusively for 4 years now and I haven’t looked back.
Yeah, definitely the downfall that spans way back to IBM. Thankfully my place gives that choice to folks (Apple and Microsoft both being proprietary but hey one is Unix based).
Every time I have to use a Windows VM for something, I become more and more grateful that I don’t have to use their crap anymore. What got me recently was finding out that you are forced to create an account and be online to even install the latest version!
Technically there are still workarounds like disconnecting from the network or editing the installation sources, but it's still anti-user and worse than in older versions. Win will continue to get worse over time. Look at a freshly installed, default W11 Home consumer desktop for example. What most people probably use. Just open the start menu. It looks like the OS needs an exorcism first, before you can use it. But maybe many people have already become used to things being this bad
Disconnecting the internet no longer works, you’ll need to open a shell and put in a cryptic command to disable the check or use an email address which got banned
I use Fedora which defaults to BTRFS and never once had an issue with any game because of it. Your file system shouldn’t matter for gaming at all so long as you stay on Linux native ones and avoid NTFS Windows drives.
Unless you’re making hundreds of snapshots with massive changes between each it won’t matter. It might matter if you plan to use spinning rust as your main drive, but I imagine you’ll be using an SSD.
Yeah but when is that gonna matter? It uses a graphical installer so you won’t need to touch the arch-chroot command at all. And if for some reason you do, the Arch wiki is there for you.
Sure, I had chosen ext4 because it was unnecessary complicated with btrfs and I don’t do snapshots (all my data is in my private cloud, so I don’t loose data if I reinstall my linux)
Great, good for you. But what’s your point? OP explicitly said they have a specific use case for BTRFS and just wanted to know if there are any specific issues related to gaming with it. arch-chroot being slightly different with that filesystem is not an issue for 99% of EndeavourOS users.
My Linux stream library is on Ntfs, for theoretical compatibility purposes with Windows which I never boot any more anyway, but generally I have had zero problems apart from an issue with Dota 2 a few years ago where I had to symlink some folder. But I don’t think think it is needed anymore.
Good to know the situation with cross compatibility has improved! I just saw enough posts of people having issues with a shared Windows/Linux NTFS drive over the years to advice against that setup.
I mean this thread alone proves my point and my title. I have a video with 10 games coming up, DXVK, VKD3D, Vulkan on Proton and Native Vulkan. Let’s see how this goes with all the people that doubt that Linux Gaming is actually better than Windows.
You really feel like the only reason to use or not use Linux is how much you can game on it, eh?
I’d rather push Linux for its strengths than lie and spread misinfo to lead people to believe Linux is always better than Windows at gaming perf. There’s many times it’s not, or it’s incompatible, or you need to spend possibly hours finding the right community-developed launcher / recompilation to get it to run. Gaming on Linux is a mess, that’s the only certainty about it lol
The abject strengths of Linux are its command line, its customisability, its compatibility with various utility softwares, and its productivity. Instead of drinking copium over a fruitless effort, just focus on actual strengths lmao
But beyond that, I don’t care how Linux performs in games. I play CP on RT Ultra in Linux while on Windows it has double the performance. Too much of a hassle to reboot while Linux has liek 30 measurable advantages.
I just want to dispel the myth that Windows is better for gaming, cause it’s not.
Windows is more easily compatible for gaming, generally, and for 90% of people that’s all that matters. Specifically various anti-cheats do not play well with Linux.
I agree about the anticheat games. Beyond that if you don’t play some extremely niche 1995 game, Linux will most probably work fine and better on an AMD system.
Yeah, I’ll agree with that at least. Issue is how prolific kernal-based anti-cheat software is in multiplayer games. Hopefully some day they’ll become more generally linux compatible. Make that happen and get Playnite^no^ ^not^ ^Lutris^ ported natively to Linux and it’ll become my daily driver instead of just my development station and webserver.
Prople will debunk you then hit you to the ground. Just say the truth of the gimmiky things you do because a 25% performance boost is unreal.
A 5% to a maximum 10% is more believable but your stuff is a quarter of a video card processing power and this should ring you a bell of alarm because the doodoo you are eating there is pure BS.
Say what you will, I posted ALL the settings and updates and OBS Settings in video form. I am not obliged to do any of these things. People have come here stating that they don’t believe this is real without ANY arguments. When you want to talk seriously, maybe, we can do it.
Linux gaming is a little hit or miss. Some games have a performance boost. Some are about the same. And some games perform worse. This is the reality. And this is what should be expected.
Your post is still true for your specific hardware and this specific game, with these specific drivers, but let’s not go crazy here. Linux is good, yes. Fantastic even, on the Steam Deck. On PC most people are better off sticking with Windows, especially if you play a couple of competitive multiplayer titles. Or if you want to stream games from one device to another in house. Or if you have limited time and just want shit to work. Linux is getting closer, but the out of the box experience need to become way better and I don’t doubt it will sooner rather than later.
I really hate seeing the words “Linux is getting closer” as if the entire point of running Linux is an alternative platform to run games on.
It is not, Linux is really not any different than it was when the first distributions released. This is it. Yes things like DXVK and WINE and Proton are going to improve, but those things are not Linux, they are software that RUNS on Linux. If you actually want to make the switch to Linux, then you aren’t going to wait until it is “perfect” because none of it is ever going to be perfect, that is the nature of all things in the universe. If you truly want to embrace something, you have to embrace the bullshit as well, that’s why I made the switch 17-18 years ago and never went back to windows for a daily.
The entire point of Linux is to have a malleable free and open source operating system that can be used for any application from desktop to server to embedded. The fact alone that it is a different operating system will already change the ways you do things, but the additional fact that it is not supported on the desktop front by corporations but rather the community means you will have to make sacrifices, but a community backing will give so much more in the end.
I’d just like to interject for a moment. What you’re referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux,” and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use.
Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.
No, Richard, it’s ‘Linux’, not ‘GNU/Linux’. The most important contributions that the FSF made to Linux were the creation of the GPL and the GCC compiler. Those are fine and inspired products. GCC is a monumental achievement and has earned you, RMS, and the Free Software Foundation countless kudos and much appreciation.
Following are some reasons for you to mull over, including some already answered in your FAQ.
One guy, Linus Torvalds, used GCC to make his operating system (yes, Linux is an OS – more on this later). He named it ‘Linux’ with a little help from his friends. Why doesn’t he call it GNU/Linux? Because he wrote it, with more help from his friends, not you. You named your stuff, I named my stuff – including the software I wrote using GCC – and Linus named his stuff. The proper name is Linux because Linus Torvalds says so. Linus has spoken. Accept his authority. To do otherwise is to become a nag. You don’t want to be known as a nag, do you?
(An operating system) != (a distribution). Linux is an operating system. By my definition, an operating system is that software which provides and limits access to hardware resources on a computer. That definition applies whereever you see Linux in use. However, Linux is usually distributed with a collection of utilities and applications to make it easily configurable as a desktop system, a server, a development box, or a graphics workstation, or whatever the user needs. In such a configuration, we have a Linux (based) distribution. Therein lies your strongest argument for the unwieldy title ‘GNU/Linux’ (when said bundled software is largely from the FSF). Go bug the distribution makers on that one. Take your beef to Red Hat, Mandrake, and Slackware. At least there you have an argument. Linux alone is an operating system that can be used in various applications without any GNU software whatsoever. Embedded applications come to mind as an obvious example.
Next, even if we limit the GNU/Linux title to the GNU-based Linux distributions, we run into another obvious problem. XFree86 may well be more important to a particular Linux installation than the sum of all the GNU contributions. More properly, shouldn’t the distribution be called XFree86/Linux? Or, at a minimum, XFree86/GNU/Linux? Of course, it would be rather arbitrary to draw the line there when many other fine contributions go unlisted. Yes, I know you’ve heard this one before. Get used to it. You’ll keep hearing it until you can cleanly counter it.
You seem to like the lines-of-code metric. There are many lines of GNU code in a typical Linux distribution. You seem to suggest that (more LOC) == (more important). However, I submit to you that raw LOC numbers do not directly correlate with importance. I would suggest that clock cycles spent on code is a better metric. For example, if my system spends 90% of its time executing XFree86 code, XFree86 is probably the single most important collection of code on my system. Even if I loaded ten times as many lines of useless bloatware on my system and I never excuted that bloatware, it certainly isn’t more important code than XFree86. Obviously, this metric isn’t perfect either, but LOC really, really sucks. Please refrain from using it ever again in supporting any argument.
Last, I’d like to point out that we Linux and GNU users shouldn’t be fighting among ourselves over naming other people’s software. But what the heck, I’m in a bad mood now. I think I’m feeling sufficiently obnoxious to make the point that GCC is so very famous and, yes, so very useful only because Linux was developed. In a show of proper respect and gratitude, shouldn’t you and everyone refer to GCC as ‘the Linux compiler’? Or at least, ‘Linux GCC’? Seriously, where would your masterpiece be without Linux? Languishing with the HURD?
If there is a moral buried in this rant, maybe it is this:
Be grateful for your abilities and your incredible success and your considerable fame. Continue to use that success and fame for good, not evil. Also, be especially grateful for Linux’ huge contribution to that success. You, RMS, the Free Software Foundation, and GNU software have reached their current high profiles largely on the back of Linux. You have changed the world. Now, go forth and don’t be a nag.
The Linux gaming experience is better than Windows on AMD. Period. I’ve been testing games on many systems (mostly on AMD) through the Proton years. I just want t debunk the myth that Linux gaming is worse. Cause it’s not. It’s better.
Steam is made by Valve, and Valve, dispite their many failings, have shown a very strong commitment to FOSS.
Their contributions to Proton have played a massive part in making Linux a viable platform for gaming. Without them, Linux gaming would be stuck back 10 years at least. Back to the dark days of naked Wine and fighting with configs for hours just to hope to launch a single non-native game.
Valve has also locked themselves in with the Steam Deck. By creating a fresh hardware platform based almost completely on a FOSS software stack and by making it open, moddable, repairable, and upgradeable, they have made it very tough for themselves to break away to a proprietary solution further down the line.
All these things cause me to trust them quite a bit. Make no mistake, I’m committed to FOSS first. If and when Valve goes down the enshitification path, (once Gabe dies, sells out, or otherwise passes the torch), I will move off of the platform and only use FOSS games/software and resources like Lutris, Bottles, GoG, etc.
But until that dark day, I will support Valve at least passively. because by committing to so much development towards FOSS platforms, they are locking themselves into it and proving to us that they aren’t just giving lip service to the FOSS community.
I wish Steam was FOSS, I wish Steam wasnt DRM itself, but in a world where things are mostly grey, I personally feel comfortable currently supporting them with my money.
@Krzak@boo There used to be much more diversity in the marketplace, but those are bygone days.
Power, influence and greed are the prime movers these days and whowever is in a position to monopolize on this will have a caravan of equally minded people who will agree to participate in the slaughter of the free marketplace just for a piece of the action.
It actually depends on several factors. Surprisingly, games that are heavily CPU bottlenecked often run better on Linux under Proton than the native Windows version.
That being said, for games that are GPU bound, a 20% deficit on a Nvidia GPU is actually about what I’d expect.
Others have said enough but I just want to mention protondb.com look up a game you want to play here and you can see how others on Linux are doing with it.
Yeah, thanks for the mention, but it doesn’t seem very reliable unless people mention their HW. I’m on an all AMD system and even though it’s rated GOLD, it doesn’t even run on my system. (4600G & 6700 XT).
Yeah it should give you an idea if it’s Linux making it harder for you to game or if it’s your hardware. Or which version of proton they are using or any tweaks they did. Good luck!
This is a late reply so you may have already noticed by now, but in case you didn’t (or someone else who passes by doesn’t notice) - ProtonDB by default lists Steam Deck users on the top half of each game’s entry now so you won’t see those users hardware as it should be the same. However, on the second lower half of the page you’ll see people who aren’t on Steam Deck and generally users have their HW included so it shows up to the right of their comments.
I think its incredibly silly that it can’t be changed. I don’t have a Steam Deck for example, so I use this Tampermonkey script to add a collapse button to it (I don’t want them completely gone as its still a good rough indicator).
Yeah, I’ve (slowly) noticed this. At first glance it looks like something will run great, but then when you scroll down and read comments from people with other hardware, it won’t be that simple. The scores/ratings are, in other words, misleading (at a glance).
Want to add that on desktop steam you can also add the Deck Verified indicator to games. While this isn’t as in depth. It’s definitely more streamlined and makes it easier to find games that are supported well.
Proton isn’t designed to be a security layer and afaik doesn’t go out of its way to sandbox applications. I’d expect a lot of viruses will fail to do anything, but there’ll also be some able to do things like steal your browser or discord passwords.
There’s no reason to risk it; don’t run anything in Proton that you don’t feel safe running on Windows.
First of all nothing to apologize, no one should be forcing anyone to use any OS.
Secondly, you shouldn’t start with Arch, it’s a very manual process that has several small things that can be done wrong. I recommend you try Mint, Pop or any other beginner friendly distro, you can still tinker and customize them as much as you want, but you will be starting from something that works instead of having to build a working system from the ground up without knowing what that looks like.
I wouldn’t say in the works, this is one person who’s a web developer posting on Reddit about an idea. In the works usually tells me they’re already working on the project, not trying to find people to help start it. GL to them I guess.
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