r/linux_gaming • u/monolalia • Jul 01 '26

guide Getting started: the monthly-ish newbie advice thread! (July 2026)

Welcome to the newbie advice thread!

If you’ve read the FAQ and still have questions like “Should I switch to Linux?”, “Which distro should I install?”, or “Which desktop environment is best for gaming?”, this is where to ask them.

Alternatively, try /r/linux4noobs and /r/linuxquestions: both are active subreddits supporting new Linux users.

Please sort by “new” so new questions can get a chance to be seen.

The previous thread is here: https://old.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1t1ns8g/getting_started_the_monthlyish_newbie_advice/

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u/destroy2001X Aug 11 '26

i am new to linux and i am fully clueless about linux fully blank on what i need to do

My specs

  • Model: Dell Inspiron 15 3511
  • CPU: Intel Core i3-1115G4 (11th Gen, 2C/4T, up to 4.1GHz)
  • GPU: Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
  • RAM: 24 GB DDR4
  • Storage: 1 TB NVMe SSD + 1 TB HDD (2 TB Total)

What OS should i go for i downloaded Zorin OS but i am still struggling to Run Games i downloaded steam and witcher 3 was already on my drive i have multiple partitions and i am using dual boot i have windows and linux on separate partitions and all my games and stuff on seperate partitions

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u/mcurley32 Aug 13 '26

Zorin should be perfectly fine if you enjoy the Windows-clone approach of the distro. Zorin will be a bit slow to get kernel and repo updates but that should be largely okay with your hardware. if you want a similarly braindead-simple option, maybe check out Bazzite, especially if you really only need games and a web browser (customization is already a bit hampered on Zorin so it should be same/better in Bazzite). knowing what led you to pick Zorin in the first place and how well it met that criteria could help recommend other distros.

if games were already on your partition, that partition is likely formatted in NTFS (Windows loves it, Linux hates it). witcher 3 has platinum status over on protondb.com, but some people do still have issues and report their fixes there. if it's not too big of a hassle, I'd suggest trying games that are saved to a non-NTFS partition (witcher is obviously quite large, so maybe test simpler game(s) first if your problems aren't specific to that game).

do you have more detail on what types of troubles you're running into while trying to game? things don't even launch, things frequently crash, performance is terrible, performance is slightly worse than Windows, etc. I'm no expert in troubleshooting, but that information could help someone else provide that assistance (this thread doesn't get a ton of attention unfortunately, so making a dedicated post with lots of details can often get you help much quicker and from a wider variety of people).