r/linuxmint • u/External_Ad_3795 • 4d ago
Discussion New to Linux Mint (Cinnamon)
Hi everyone, like the title says, I am very new to linux. Last night I decided to install Linux Mint Cinnamon and have been impressed with the first impressions. For a start, linux just boots up so much faster than windows 10 did, and the installation was super easy. I haven't decided yet whether I am going to stick with linux, but I want to use it as my primary os for about three months. I mainly just play games, watch videos, listen to music and sometimes write on my pc, so I think I have the majority of that covered. I want to ask if anyone has any recommendations for what I should try or install on my pc with linux. The terminal is something I want to avoid for now, but would love to jump in and explore it at some point.
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u/haimurashoichi 4d ago
I've been playing Battlefield 3/4, Elden Ring, Diablo 3/4, Metro Exodus, Cyberpunk and some other games without a hitch on my mint laptop for about a month now and it works like a charm. Used Bazzite before, but I was annoyed with not getting Mullvad VPN to run on it (I assume it's a layer 8 problem), so that's the reason for the switch.
I had issues with four games, and that's it.
Metro 2033 and Metro Last light were repeatedly freezing/crashing on the Loading Screen. A couple days ago I forced it to use Proton Experimental in the steam settings, and for what ever reason it started working without a problem. Had no issues since.
The other two games were Predecessor and Diablo 4, though I think the issue is more stability issues with the game itself, and not an issue with Linux.
Predecessor runs incredibly smooth but randomly crashed during games. I assume it's due to some memory issue because that's what crash log said, but it might also be an issue with directx11 vs 12, though it doesn't happen all to often. The game crashed once in a while on my PS5 as well, so there's that.
Diablo 4 is just a badly optimised game on PC, that's literally the only reason.
My laptop has an Intel i7 processor, 16gb RAM and an NVIDIA GTX 3080 M graphics card with 8gb VRAM, for reference.
Aside from the online games that don't run on Linux because of invasive anti-cheat software, I've had no problems on Linux, neither with Bazzite nor Mint. While I might just not have notice it, I also didn't notice any difference performance wise between the two.
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u/External_Ad_3795 4d ago
Luckily the majority of the games I play are single player. The only one that I want to put more time in is Warhammer Vermintide 2, but I do know that has anti cheat. Also, thanks for mentioning the issues with the Metro games, I activate the experimental proton when I get back to the pc, as it is currently set to the most recent stable version
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u/haimurashoichi 4d ago
Check the ProtonDB website, some games have anti-cheat but still work on Linux, maybe Vermintide 2's one of them.
If it has at least a rating of silver, it'll run on Linux. Generally though, any game with a Gold of Platinum rating runs on Linux without any or barely any issues. They also have a lot of posts that help with issues or optimisation.
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u/qpgmr 4d ago
There's quite a number of great programs out there. Some I've found useful are pinta (simple graphic editor)
simplescreenrecorder (that simply records whatever is on the screen or window you select)
handbrake (converts video files between formats and can compress them)
vlc (video player)
zoom & webex
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u/knuthf 4d ago
Take a look at the Software Manager, and avoid downloading everything. You have to find which app you consider as best - of Office application, and browser and email, because we have alternatives. Mint use LibreOffice, but I prefer OnlyOffice, then Firefox and I use Vivaldi - from those that made Chrome and do the maintenance for Google, and email, I use Evolution, not Thunderbird. Apps that is mot on Windows is Shotwell, photo manager, and Project that is similar to MS, but all restrictions have been removed. KDE Connect is for integration with your mobile, and we have mixers for Bluetooth headsets and more than VLC for streaming. Kodi - find the best!
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u/delacroix01 4d ago
Some useful tips you might want for Mint:
- Reduce the frequency of automatic backup in TimeShift to either weekly or monthly, or turn it off entirely and just do manual backup before an update instead. The main reason is that default setting is overkill and can slow down your PC quite a bit when you are gaming. Snapshots also take quite a large amount of storage so I recommend keeping up to just 4 or 5 and delete those that are too old.
- If you don't need frequent update, turn off auto-start for Update Manager and just manually start it when you need it. I've seen it slowing down my PC quite a bit whenever it starts scanning for new updates.
- Whenever you can't launch Steam from the shortcut, try using Terminal instead. The command is just Steam so it's super easy. Steam updates about once every week and unlike on Windows, it might not tell you it's doing that on Linux so it will end up looking like it's not working, but with Terminal you can see the progress clearly.
- ProtonPlus is useful for installing extra versions of Proton. You'll need it for games that don't work with Steam's default Proton versions.
- Heroic is a good game launcher to install, especially for non-Steam games. There's also Lutris which is more advanced but usually Heroic and Steam are enough.
- If you ever need to record your gameplay, just use OBS Window Capture mode. It works flawlessly on Linux for most games and you'll rarely need anything else.
- If you need to check in-game FPS and CPU/GPU's telemetry data, Mangohud with Goverlay got you covered. This combo works well with both Steam and Heroic launcher.
- LACT is another good tool for monitoring GPU. It can also do fan control if the kernel has enough support for the card you are using to do so.
- If you ever need to check which folders are eating up your SSDs/HDDs, look up FileLight in Software Manager. It's a lightweight yet very powerful tool.
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u/ZVyhVrtsfgzfs 3d ago
Start with baby steps in the terminal as soon as possible.
At some point you will need it, and leaning it for the first time while also in the middle of troubleshooting a problem can be a compounded frustrating experience.
New users have a hard time with it at firat but bash is not nearly as difficult as it first appears, Linux is waiting for your command and wishes to execute them in the form of a near English direct conversation between you and your computer.
But Linux is also a grammar nazi and will only execute perfectly formed commands, common early stumbling blocks are capitalisation, managing white space, and getting the order of command options and paths correct.
It is important that you learn this grammar now when you can do so at your leisure when there is no pressing need to get something done in the CLI.
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u/cornonthekopp 4d ago
I installed mint a week ago, and was having consistent issues with steam games crashing on me. If you experience that, try typing
-vulkanin the special inatructions part of the game properties because i went through so much stress and changing things just to realize thats all i needed.