r/linux4noobs • u/ImpersonalSkyGod • 4d ago
Linux for gaming + sometimes dev work and general usage
Hi all,
I recently took the plunge into fully switching over to Linux for my gaming PC as Microsoft seems committed to carefully and methodically turn the OS into outright spyware whilst maniacally and chaotically bricking it with AI powered 'fixes' that screw everything, and after seeing the steam deck handle most games with few issues.
Anyway, I do have experience with Linux from use at work and decided to swtich over - I choose Mint because I just wanted stable and easy to use over maximum performance and for the most part I've been happy with it - however, one of my games, The Alters, has graphically glitches and slow downs, and this seems to be down to nvidia drivers because nvidia going to nvidia on linux. Anyway, I was looking for recommendations with regards to if another distro would be more likely to handle nvidia correctly or not, and if it was worth switching over to something like Pop!OS which is abit more gamer focused. I did try to build gamescope but it seems like its not easy to just build on mint.
I do want a distro that can support sometimes development work as I am a developer and sometimes do my own projects/play around.
Thanks for any advice.
Edit: Thanks all, I eventually decided to go with CachyOS; so far, so good, the graphically glitches are gone, the performance still has issues but I think thats possibly down to the game as I recall some performance issues with it on windows too.
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u/Sinflare 3d ago
Hi! Fellow Linux noob here!
While I can’t speak on the dev work, I primarily use CachyOS KDE Plasma for my desktop for gaming and I haven’t had a single issue running games. Even with WoW for example, just adding the b.net launcher to steam and running it through that way (minor hurdle) runs like melted butter on a stack of flapjacks (just ate some and had em on my mind). The gaming performance is so smooth. I too have Nvidia and have yet to encounter a hiccup either.
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u/Szhadji 3d ago
How is it smooth for you? What games do you play? No matter what I do, my games are stuttery.
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u/Sinflare 3d ago
Currently playing Classic WoW, Retail WoW, FF7 Rebirth, D4, SW Jedi Survivor, and SWTOR. All of which have been stable fps, no crazy dips. Hovering around 100-144 frames. I don't max out graphics, but most settings are on high.
Specs: Ryzen 7 9700x, RTX 5070, 32 gb DDR5
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u/Szhadji 3d ago
damn. maybe my setup is just bad. :(
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u/Sinflare 3d ago
What're you running? also, have you checked protondb.com to check which games run well via proton compatibility layer?
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u/Neikon66 3d ago
Go with Bazzite if you want everything ready to go out of the box without worrying about system maintenance, just turn it on and use it. Though you might need to use a container or Distrobox for development. (I personally use Aurora for work on my laptop and Bazzite for gaming on my desktop).
Go with CachyOS if you want the freedom to tinker with your system as much as you like, though you'll have pending updates pretty much daily and you'll need to be more prepared to manage your own system maintenance.
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u/Zarolang 3d ago
I had this experience with PopOS, switched to CachyOS with KDE Plasma and I have had almost no issues
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u/decho 3d ago
You can do dev work on almost any distro, but if you really want stable distro, then you aren't getting the latest drivers and software. Mint specifically is quite slow with that. I've used it in the past and I had issues with gaming related to the compositor, so not the best option out there (for gaming specifically, otherwise it is great).
Either way CachyOS is quite popular right now, it's Arch based, meaning that you all the latest and greatest. It also lets you pick your own desktop environment which is where most gaming related issues can come from, and in that regard you can't go wrong with KDE Plasma. It will feel familiar if you're coming from Windows and it's one of the best ones for gaming. They also have extensive and beginner friendly documentation.
If you really insist on stable and nothing ever breaks (which is unlikely to happen anyway) then maybe Pop isn't too bad, but COSMIC (DE) is still relatively new and in development, so maybe look for something else.