Best Linux Distro for Gaming

[rojobahr]

Windows 10 has, generally speaking, been very nice to me. But when it screws up, it screws up hard. The latest screw-up I've had to deal with is Windows deciding not to recognize any Wi-Fi networks after the latest update even after rolling back. The only reason I'm able to make this post is because Windows, in all of its "divine wisdom and glory", has decided to give me back my internet access for some reason only Bill Gates knows. 

 

I'm sick of this crap, which is why I am considering moving to Linux. So my main question is: What distro of Linux is the best for gaming? 

 

The main reason I haven't already switched to Linux is compatibility. I own many games both old and new, like Prey, UItimas 1-6, Max Payne 1 and 2, Doom 2016, Arx Fatalis, Skyrim, New Vegas, Half-Life, KoToR, Alien vs Predator 2000, and MANY more, most of which are not installed. I want all of my games to be playable in some tolerable way, since I paid for them and wasting even the smallest amount of money is not something I like doing.

 

Another concern I have is whether I'll have to wipe my boot drive in order to install it. I could back it up to my secondary drive, but that's something I would like to avoid is possible. 

 

Something that I would also like to do, if possible, is to use both Windows and Linux of the same computer. Linux distro as my main OS and Windows for games that do not work with Linux. And if this Wi-Fi tomfoolery happens again, it would be really cool to download and install using Linux, then play using Windows. Is this possible?

 

Thank you.

 

Edit: With a few exceptions of games that don't have a launcher attached to them like itch.io games, all of my games are attached to either Steam or GOG. 

[wall03]

skimmed it, but if most games are on Steam, Steam OS.

[Sauron]

2 minutes ago, rojobahr said:

I want all of my games to be playable in some tolerable way

That doesn't depend on the distribution. Either it works fine with wine or proton or it doesn't (unless it has a native port). You can find this information about individual games online.

 

I'd say just try Ubuntu or Mint if it's your first contact with Linux.

4 minutes ago, rojobahr said:

Something that I would also like to do, if possible, is to use both Windows and Linux of the same computer. Linux distro as my main OS and Windows for games that do not work with Linux.

It's absolutely possible, I recommend using separate drives for a better experience.

[mahyar]

pop os is very good and you can use arch 

[Windows7ge]

There isn't necessarily a best and with Debian based distros you could use proton for gaming on really any of the main distros (Ubuntu, Mint, PopOS) but for the overview/tutorials outlined by Anthony on LMG you can have a whirl at PopOS.

 

If you'd like to run Windows & Linux at the same time seamlessly I have a tutorial on how to do this. It will need to be adapted to suit your distribution though 90% of the process is identical:

 

 

[Splash3579]

I would say probably Ubuntu or Debian, and if the game you want doesn't natively support Linux, you can probably find a user-created port of it somewhere on GitHub (those guys know everything). If that doesn't work either, you can try using Lutris, which allows you to run Windows games on a Linux OS by using over-the-cloud conversions (I don't know exactly how they do that, but it sometimes works), however, sometimes for me it's a bit unreliable due to some games not running properly, but that may be because I did something wrong, since that was when I just got into Linux. Whatever the case, if all else fails, just wait a little bit, because Linux is starting to see a huge rise in popularity, and a lot of developers are starting to work on programs and applications for Linux. Even Badlion, a Minecraft PVP client that used to only work on Windows, has confirmed they are working on Linux compatibility! If you're patient enough, the games you want will most likely eventually get Linux support.

[rojobahr]

So, Ubuntu, Mint, PopOS and perhaps Lutris. Alright, I'll try experimenting with those. 

 

Also, I found out what was causing my Wi-Fi to drop. Something installed some device drivers called "WAN Miniport." These drivers were using up resources usually allocated to my Wi-Fi adapter. Disabling them fixed it. I don't know of anything I plugged in that could of installed those and my problem only started after installing the 2004 update. So thank you Windows 10, for installing shit I don't need, that actively harms the user experience, without my permission!

[Seeboooo]

I've been using Manjaro for a couple years now and I'm a big fan of it for daily use and gaming. It's simple, pretty robust and has an active community on their forums if you need help setting things up. The main benefit is that you have access to the arch wiki (Manjaro is based on Arch) in order to troubleshoot what's wrong with your games and install the missing components (also validate that your game is compatible, because not all games that are tagged steamOS actually work).

 

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Steam/Game-specific_troubleshooting

 

Also, you will have access to the latest version of wine without adding extra repositories (PPA on Ubuntu) making it easier for a newcomer.

[r0flc0pt3r]

What graphics card do you have? How the distro handles GPU drivers is probably the most important aspect of game performance.

 

Usability wise, most distros are pretty similar with various degrees of hand holding. It's really just finding a desktop environment that works for you and what sort of update cycle you would prefer. Most of them will have Steam and Lutris available. Best avoid things like Debian Stable for gaming though. The software packages are soooo old. For game compatibility, check ProtonDB and Lutris.net.

 

I personally use Arch which I quite like. Although, the install and setup is somewhat... involved. Would not recommend to a beginner. Fedora would be my second choice. It's stable and up to date. I dual boot to Windows for the rare occasion when I need it. I have Windows installed on a seperate old SSD I had and switch between them using the UEFI boot menu. I am personally not a fan on installing them both on the same drive. I've never had good luck with it.

[rojobahr]

1 hour ago, r0flc0pt3r said:

What graphics card do you have? How the distro handles GPU drivers is probably the most important aspect of game performance.

I have an Radeon RX 580. I've heard that AMD's drivers are preferred among the community due to them being open source. Because of this, I assume that things will be smoother on average?

 

I'll add Manjaro and ProtonDB to my list. 

[r0flc0pt3r]

Yes RX 580 should just work out of the box on most distros. It's drivers are very mature at this point.

[AccordingOne]

I am also curious how linux deals with older games and hardware. I'm bulding retro ( from my point of view it's retro, ok ? ) gaming PC  on crazy low budget. I currently have (intel Q8300, Geforce 9600GT, 8GB of DDR2 RAM) working system for under 50$, and it would be bonkers to pay for windows 10 now ... also it doesn't support manny older titles. My end game is to have 2 or more systems on this platform and switch it when needed.

What do you guys think?

[Nayr438]

1 hour ago, AccordingOne said:

I am also curious how linux deals with older games and hardware. I'm bulding retro ( from my point of view it's retro, ok ? ) gaming PC  on crazy low budget. I currently have (intel Q8300, Geforce 9600GT, 8GB of DDR2 RAM) working system for under 50$, and it would be bonkers to pay for windows 10 now ... also it doesn't support manny older titles. My end game is to have 2 or more systems on this platform and switch it when needed.

What do you guys think?

CPU is fine, That Graphics Card is however unsupported, it may work for basic use but that's probably it. You will need a NVIDIA 630 or newer, or a Radeon HD 7000 or newer.

[HotCheeseNachozAndBurritoz]

On 7/31/2020 at 10:06 AM, rojobahr said:

Windows 10 has, generally speaking, been very nice to me. But when it screws up, it screws up hard. The latest screw-up I've had to deal with is Windows deciding not to recognize any Wi-Fi networks after the latest update even after rolling back. The only reason I'm able to make this post is because Windows, in all of its "divine wisdom and glory", has decided to give me back my internet access for some reason only Bill Gates knows. 

 

I'm sick of this crap, which is why I am considering moving to Linux. So my main question is: What distro of Linux is the best for gaming? 

 

The main reason I haven't already switched to Linux is compatibility. I own many games both old and new, like Prey, UItimas 1-6, Max Payne 1 and 2, Doom 2016, Arx Fatalis, Skyrim, New Vegas, Half-Life, KoToR, Alien vs Predator 2000, and MANY more, most of which are not installed. I want all of my games to be playable in some tolerable way, since I paid for them and wasting even the smallest amount of money is not something I like doing.

 

Another concern I have is whether I'll have to wipe my boot drive in order to install it. I could back it up to my secondary drive, but that's something I would like to avoid is possible. 

 

Something that I would also like to do, if possible, is to use both Windows and Linux of the same computer. Linux distro as my main OS and Windows for games that do not work with Linux. And if this Wi-Fi tomfoolery happens again, it would be really cool to download and install using Linux, then play using Windows. Is this possible?

 

Thank you.

 

Edit: With a few exceptions of games that don't have a launcher attached to them like itch.io games, all of my games are attached to either Steam or GOG. 

Check gaming compatibility lists in ProtonDB and lutris.net .

The best distro for you depends on whether you want rolling release or a standard release model? Also, which Desktop Environment you prefer? Do you have a nVidia card or AMD card? There is no such thing as a perfect distro , there is only a distro that suits you the best. If you do not want the bleeding edge in everything and want a low mantainance system and are okay with GNOME(although it can be changed later) and have a nVidia card, try Pop OS or MX Linux advanced hardware support edition. If you want the bleeding edge distro with all the latest software and not have to add PPAs or look on the web for things, try Manjaro. Keep Timeshift backups with Manjaro and you have yourself a very stable system. If you want to take Linux as a challenge and understand how it works, try mainline Arch and read the Arch Wiki.

[AccordingOne]

3 hours ago, Nayr438 said:

CPU is fine, That Graphics Card is however unsupported, it may work for basic use but that's probably it. You will need a NVIDIA 630 or newer, or a Radeon HD 7000 or newer.

How about quadro 600 ?

I have one laying around :)

[Nayr438]

6 minutes ago, AccordingOne said:

How about quadro 600 ?

I have one laying around

looks like it's still supported on the NVIDIA 390.138 Driver https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/160182/en-us

[AccordingOne]

Obviously, I ran into a problem:

 

Failed to install “nvidia-driver-390”
This may be a temporary issue or could have been caused by external or manually compiled software.
Error while installing package: new libnvidia-gl-390

 

For now i tried installing from POP OS shop.
I've downloaded it thou so maybe i will do it via console but i don't think it will have desired result ...

[sp331yi]

3 hours ago, AccordingOne said:

Obviously, I ran into a problem:

 

Failed to install “nvidia-driver-390”

Here's your driver -- https://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/78469/en-us  -- 340.46 . for the 9600GT.  Supported. 

Were you logged in as root and no X windows running when installing the driver?  Must do it that way.

 

Check out Steam.