I play games on Ubuntu. You can play games on any Linux distro as long as you can install steam or WINE or Lutris or any of the other compatibility layers that let you play most Windows games.
You probably won’t notice performance differences between distros. It’s likely a few percent at most. You can generally install all the same apps and tools.
If you’re new to Linux, pick based on the update schedule and desktop environment.
For updates you have periodic vs rolling release. Debian-based distros (Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora) tend to be periodic and give good stability if you’re using your PC for more than gaming. Arch-based distros (Endeavour, Garuda) tend to be more cutting edge if you’re solely focused on games.
For DEs it basically comes down to KDE If you prefer Windows or Gnome if you’re used to Mac. Though Cinnamon and XFCE are great lighter alternatives, and similar enough to classic Windows.
Mint with Cinnamon is a great starting point, and should be stable and comfortable. I’m personally switching to EndeavourOS with KDE mostly for its closeness to SteamOS.
If in doubt, grab a portable HDD, install Ventoy, and drop some live images on there to try the distros yourself.
Garuda makes it easier, and by easier i mean steam and everything you need to run it comes out of the box so you don’t need to download the one or two things. That said, it was like 5 minutes and no effort to get steam on kubuntu. Garuda does have the consequences of its very different from windows and isn’t as stable as many other beginner friendly distros
I got linux mint on a little laptop with a 2060 i got from a friend but for some reason steam and any games i try to run on it run ABYSMALLY it may just be the laptop and nvidia drivers but i havent had a chance to diagnose it much yet as I gotta replace the screen
Yeah you’ll want to make sure you have the latest proprietary Nvidia drivers. The open source ones work but don’t give the best gaming performance (not for a lack of community effort, from what I understand).
It’s really a YMMV thing with Nvidia on Linux. I’m running 3 computers in the house on openSUSE Tumbleweed (mine and my 2 boy’s computers). The computers all have various Nvidia cards and they all work just fine for gaming.
The “iffy” part for Nvidia is mainly focused on the troublesome issues some people run into with kernel updates and the drivers not keeping up. This is mostly a historical thing. It’s been several years since I’ve ran into any Nvidia driver update related issues in Linux. The other major complaint about Nvidia is screen tearing… it’s occasionally ugly. It’s hard to resolve or fix,a nd in many cases it just is what it is.
The issue you’re encountering with games running poorly on Linux Mint will probably not be resolved by distro hopping - I’m not trying to discourage some experimentation… that’s a fun/good thing :-) … but the Mvidia drivers on Mint will be the same ones you will install on Fedora, and openSUSE and and and. The very first place I’d look is at the drivers. Are you 100% certain that the proprietary Nvidia drivers are actually installed vs the default Nouveau Nvidia drivers? You’re running on a laptop… so that’s the hybrid video card thing. Are you 100% certain that the games are launching on Nvidia vs running on the default Intel? If the games run terribly… they are very very likely not using the full capability of the 2060… either because the full drivers are not installed or you’re running on the Intel by default even though the drivers were installed.
Double-check that you have Nvidia Prime configured/selected. It’s been a while since I’ve used Mint, but… try this…
Open the App menu (bottom left, same as in Windows)
Type "nvidia’ and this should show you the NVIDIA X Server Settings app. Click on it to launch.
Double-check that you see all the drive info, including the driver version. Close out the app of all looks “right”.
In the Mint system tray (lower right), click on the Nvidia icon (if you don’t see it, open the app menu, type “startup” and make sure “Support for NVIDIA Prime” is enabled) 5. Set the profile to “Active profile” (it’s hard on battery life in this mode). This forces everything to run on the Nvidia card only…
Test your games. Do they work better? If yes, you’ve found the root cause of the performance issue… if not… Hmmm, I’m not sure, then it’s time to try other things.
My experience with this is that Nvidia Prime was not being enabled/selected when I was trying to game. If this (forcing everything to launch on Prime) works and your games are working at a more acceptable performance level, you can leave it in “Active profile” at the expense of battery life… or you can set up the On-Demand profile… or explicitly switch between Intel and Nvidia, using Intel for all non-gaming things and pop it into Nvidia when you want to game… lots of possibilities depending on how you want to use the computer. :-)
BTW, an alternative to the systray method is simply setting the profiles right within the NVIDIA X Server Settings app (the last menu item on the left nav menu within the NVIDIA app). I just find that the systray icon is a quick/easy way, and it’s worth knowing about.
Accessibility is the predecessor to universal involvement in potentially complicated topics. I like computers. I enjoy tinkering with them, etc. However, I’ve thought for some time that Linux is complicated.
A “Linux Guide for the Average Person” that is linked in these threads would be helpful, I think, for a lot of people. Getting started is often the most daunting task.
The main thing is to make a USB that you can boot from, so you can test things out before committing.
Linux hasn’t really been complicated for a number of years, as long as you use something like Pop! or Linux Mint, running games through steam is painless.
…and as long as you are not doing VR, the games you play don’t run weird anti-cheat software that’ll ban you, you don’t need windows/mac-only software for work or a hobby, you’re not operating niche hardware.
Thanks! I meant that my perception was that Linux was complicated. My concern was that if me, an advanced user and interested in the space, still thought this that surely others did too. Definitely been on my radar though!
I have many PCs of different time periods and like playing games on appropriate hardware and software. Usually Win7 stuff runs on Win10, but this won’t be the case with Win17 without hassle.
These are the times I’m glad I don’t buy games on steam.
Now excuse me, I have to get back to my 386 to play some Monkey Island.
It is my understanding that Linux Mint will install the bootloader on the internal drive regardless of whether you tell it to install the remainder of the OS onto the external drive. You can change the boot partition wherever you want, but I suspect that does not affect its end behavior. I would like the external drive to contain the bootloader such that my internal drive isn’t touched at all by my fiddling with Linux. I currently have a Samsung 990 Pro 2TB SSD in an external USB case, Mint installed, but with no compatible bootloader. Is there a way to sort the bootloader problem?
This will depend on the Linux distro, some of the installers make it very clear which drive the bootloader will go to, and others won’t - more so in the case of BIOS/MBR based systems.
Systems that use UEFI should only have a bootloader where the /boot partition (which should have the partition type “ESP”, generally labeled in the installer) - however during the installation of this it may modify your PC’s boot order to try to boot from this first. Both legacy BIOS and UEFI systems should have a way to change the boot priority however, so that this won’t be a problem.
Sadly it’s a bit hard to be specific since every distro’s installer is different, and I haven’t used Linux Mint in 8+ years to know what their installer’s behavior is.
I understand Linux has come a long way, but it is not better for gaming yet, and people are delusional if they think so. I’ve ran into a ton of issues with Linux. Sifu, for example, crashes any time I go into a menu on Linux. Shit like that is pretty common.
Depends on what you mean by “better”. Linux respects my privacy, and that makes it “better”. Running some random new game is a secondary concern for me. I was fine with xgalaga in 2000, I was fine with WoW in 2005, fine with Minecraft in 2010, and the selection today is bonkers.
I agree but since many things require tweaking still it’s got a long way to go before your average person can consider it an easy alternative to windows
You can still upgrade, you’ll just have unactivated windows 10; that can be fixed in less than 5 minutes with a trip over to github. You might need a boot drive, but you won’t lose any data which I assume is the main concern.
It’s not though…like for instance I installed endeavor on my laptop with a 2070 and an i7 and the hoops I had to jump through to get the OS to use my graphics card over the integrated graphics was absurd for any regular user. It’s a good thing I’m in IT let’s just say that.
Eh, there is a problem with perspective here. Nvidia does not want to play nice for consumers on Linux. Linux would work fine for dual graphics if they allowed it basically.
Yes, I got that. I was just saying that the Linux community actively developed drivers with good results and that quite recently Nvidia closed off their hardware which stopped that effort for a while. You are free to think what you want, but I hold that your perspective is wrong.
If this has affected you, it’s time to try out linux, even if you are just running it off of a flash drive for a few days.
Linux Mint is very plug and play, and should feel pretty similar to windows.
Can you play games on Linux Mint? Or are other distros (like Garuda) better for gaming?
There’s not really a difference, steam packages it’s own libraries
I play games on Ubuntu. You can play games on any Linux distro as long as you can install steam or WINE or Lutris or any of the other compatibility layers that let you play most Windows games.
I went to PopOS after finding Nvidia driver management to be an absolute nightmare in other distros. If you have an Nvidia card I’d start there.
You probably won’t notice performance differences between distros. It’s likely a few percent at most. You can generally install all the same apps and tools.
If you’re new to Linux, pick based on the update schedule and desktop environment.
For updates you have periodic vs rolling release. Debian-based distros (Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora) tend to be periodic and give good stability if you’re using your PC for more than gaming. Arch-based distros (Endeavour, Garuda) tend to be more cutting edge if you’re solely focused on games.
For DEs it basically comes down to KDE If you prefer Windows or Gnome if you’re used to Mac. Though Cinnamon and XFCE are great lighter alternatives, and similar enough to classic Windows.
Mint with Cinnamon is a great starting point, and should be stable and comfortable. I’m personally switching to EndeavourOS with KDE mostly for its closeness to SteamOS.
If in doubt, grab a portable HDD, install Ventoy, and drop some live images on there to try the distros yourself.
Garuda makes it easier, and by easier i mean steam and everything you need to run it comes out of the box so you don’t need to download the one or two things. That said, it was like 5 minutes and no effort to get steam on kubuntu. Garuda does have the consequences of its very different from windows and isn’t as stable as many other beginner friendly distros
I got linux mint on a little laptop with a 2060 i got from a friend but for some reason steam and any games i try to run on it run ABYSMALLY it may just be the laptop and nvidia drivers but i havent had a chance to diagnose it much yet as I gotta replace the screen
Yeah you’ll want to make sure you have the latest proprietary Nvidia drivers. The open source ones work but don’t give the best gaming performance (not for a lack of community effort, from what I understand).
I hear nvidia is pretty iffy with linux but I am definitely using nvidia proprietary drivers i may distro hop a little too
It’s really a YMMV thing with Nvidia on Linux. I’m running 3 computers in the house on openSUSE Tumbleweed (mine and my 2 boy’s computers). The computers all have various Nvidia cards and they all work just fine for gaming.
The “iffy” part for Nvidia is mainly focused on the troublesome issues some people run into with kernel updates and the drivers not keeping up. This is mostly a historical thing. It’s been several years since I’ve ran into any Nvidia driver update related issues in Linux. The other major complaint about Nvidia is screen tearing… it’s occasionally ugly. It’s hard to resolve or fix,a nd in many cases it just is what it is.
The issue you’re encountering with games running poorly on Linux Mint will probably not be resolved by distro hopping - I’m not trying to discourage some experimentation… that’s a fun/good thing :-) … but the Mvidia drivers on Mint will be the same ones you will install on Fedora, and openSUSE and and and. The very first place I’d look is at the drivers. Are you 100% certain that the proprietary Nvidia drivers are actually installed vs the default Nouveau Nvidia drivers? You’re running on a laptop… so that’s the hybrid video card thing. Are you 100% certain that the games are launching on Nvidia vs running on the default Intel? If the games run terribly… they are very very likely not using the full capability of the 2060… either because the full drivers are not installed or you’re running on the Intel by default even though the drivers were installed.
Im fairly certain im runni g the nvidia drivers and only on the nvidia card at least the driver too and the nvidia tool says I am
Double-check that you have Nvidia Prime configured/selected. It’s been a while since I’ve used Mint, but… try this…
My experience with this is that Nvidia Prime was not being enabled/selected when I was trying to game. If this (forcing everything to launch on Prime) works and your games are working at a more acceptable performance level, you can leave it in “Active profile” at the expense of battery life… or you can set up the On-Demand profile… or explicitly switch between Intel and Nvidia, using Intel for all non-gaming things and pop it into Nvidia when you want to game… lots of possibilities depending on how you want to use the computer. :-)
BTW, an alternative to the systray method is simply setting the profiles right within the NVIDIA X Server Settings app (the last menu item on the left nav menu within the NVIDIA app). I just find that the systray icon is a quick/easy way, and it’s worth knowing about.
Ill give this a go thank you very much!
Accessibility is the predecessor to universal involvement in potentially complicated topics. I like computers. I enjoy tinkering with them, etc. However, I’ve thought for some time that Linux is complicated.
A “Linux Guide for the Average Person” that is linked in these threads would be helpful, I think, for a lot of people. Getting started is often the most daunting task.
Here’s the official basic guide for Mint:
https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
And here’s the official basic guide for Pop!:
https://support.system76.com/articles/install-pop/
The main thing is to make a USB that you can boot from, so you can test things out before committing.
Linux hasn’t really been complicated for a number of years, as long as you use something like Pop! or Linux Mint, running games through steam is painless.
…and as long as you are not doing VR, the games you play don’t run weird anti-cheat software that’ll ban you, you don’t need windows/mac-only software for work or a hobby, you’re not operating niche hardware.
Thanks! I meant that my perception was that Linux was complicated. My concern was that if me, an advanced user and interested in the space, still thought this that surely others did too. Definitely been on my radar though!
I’ll be saving this to use later. Appreciate it!
I have many PCs of different time periods and like playing games on appropriate hardware and software. Usually Win7 stuff runs on Win10, but this won’t be the case with Win17 without hassle.
These are the times I’m glad I don’t buy games on steam.
Now excuse me, I have to get back to my 386 to play some Monkey Island.
It is my understanding that Linux Mint will install the bootloader on the internal drive regardless of whether you tell it to install the remainder of the OS onto the external drive. You can change the boot partition wherever you want, but I suspect that does not affect its end behavior. I would like the external drive to contain the bootloader such that my internal drive isn’t touched at all by my fiddling with Linux. I currently have a Samsung 990 Pro 2TB SSD in an external USB case, Mint installed, but with no compatible bootloader. Is there a way to sort the bootloader problem?
This will depend on the Linux distro, some of the installers make it very clear which drive the bootloader will go to, and others won’t - more so in the case of BIOS/MBR based systems.
Systems that use UEFI should only have a bootloader where the
/bootpartition (which should have the partition type “ESP”, generally labeled in the installer) - however during the installation of this it may modify your PC’s boot order to try to boot from this first. Both legacy BIOS and UEFI systems should have a way to change the boot priority however, so that this won’t be a problem.Sadly it’s a bit hard to be specific since every distro’s installer is different, and I haven’t used Linux Mint in 8+ years to know what their installer’s behavior is.
Windows 10 is easier.
Pshh, it’s way easier to hunt down random drivers and still be unable to play any online game.
I understand Linux has come a long way, but it is not better for gaming yet, and people are delusional if they think so. I’ve ran into a ton of issues with Linux. Sifu, for example, crashes any time I go into a menu on Linux. Shit like that is pretty common.
Depends on what you mean by “better”. Linux respects my privacy, and that makes it “better”. Running some random new game is a secondary concern for me. I was fine with xgalaga in 2000, I was fine with WoW in 2005, fine with Minecraft in 2010, and the selection today is bonkers.
We are getting there with linux, especially with Steam OS.
I agree but since many things require tweaking still it’s got a long way to go before your average person can consider it an easy alternative to windows
It isn’t though, unless you can still upgrade from 7 without making a boot disk. But I’m pretty sure those days are long over.
You can still upgrade, you’ll just have unactivated windows 10; that can be fixed in less than 5 minutes with a trip over to github. You might need a boot drive, but you won’t lose any data which I assume is the main concern.
The Linux circlejerk here is so fucking annoying. We get it. Linux is clearly superior in every way.
It’s almost like linux users are up to trying new things like Lemmy.
It’s not though…like for instance I installed endeavor on my laptop with a 2070 and an i7 and the hoops I had to jump through to get the OS to use my graphics card over the integrated graphics was absurd for any regular user. It’s a good thing I’m in IT let’s just say that.
Eh, there is a problem with perspective here. Nvidia does not want to play nice for consumers on Linux. Linux would work fine for dual graphics if they allowed it basically.
Mmm I think it’s a Linux problem at that point.
Yes, I got that. I was just saying that the Linux community actively developed drivers with good results and that quite recently Nvidia closed off their hardware which stopped that effort for a while. You are free to think what you want, but I hold that your perspective is wrong.
No, see the problem here is cars. If we just had more bike paths and mass transit valve would still support windows me.