Questions from a Linux noob

[Nosmada09]

Hey guys, so I am heavily debating switching to Linux Ubuntu on my next build but I am a total noob when it comes to Linux and have some hopefully simple questions below.

 

What is hardware support like? Ie: can I run SLI/crossfire, is there a hardware company that handles Linux better, and how is the driver support?

 

What is app support like? I'm not going to be doing anything crazy but I am going to be using this unit for web browser, gaming and general document creating. Are there apps like outlook for emails and such?

 

 

And lastly What should I look out for and stay away from and what should I look for and try to get ?

[Technomancer__]

there are almost no games on Linux

check libre office for ms office alternetive

[Technomancer__]

just get windows

[Artechz]

Gaming in Linux? I wish you luck finding any AAA game able to run in Linux. If you are into Indies, lots of them are Linux-compatible but I wouldn't build a Linux rig for gaming. 

[QBtech]

As a long time Ubuntu user: Gaming support on linux is crap. There arent a ton of games supported natively and Wine is a drama, you are better of dual booting into windows.

 

As to the other things, everything can be done in the browser so there wont be a problem.

[Technomancer__]

Just now, Artechz said:

Gaming in Linux? I wish you luck finding any AAA game able to run in Linux. If you are into Indies, lots of them are Linux-compatible but I wouldn't build a Linux rig for gaming. 

doom

see i already found one

but youre right.

lilux compatible games are like 3% of what windows has

[Wild Penquin]

Hi Nosmada09,

 

There is no "one right answer", as one size does not fit all. YMMV! However, I find this guide quite enlightening on the subject (at least it tries to "list all the questions" you need to seek out the answers to yourself): https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/5ohlyv/the_ultimate_guide_for_migrating_to_linux/

 

 

My thoughts:

 

There definitely are more AAA titles on the Linux than could be understood from this thread... that being said, if you are serious into gaming and do little else on the computer, I do not think installing a Linux distribution is (yet) a good idea. However, things are improving all the time.

 

Here is a list of (some) A(A(A)) games runnable on Linux (probably not exhaustive): https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/3gv4bp/aaa_games_for_linux_on_steamother/

 

If you are not that serious into Gaming (or, if whatever it is that makes you want to try out Linux weighs more than the possibility you can not run all the games you'd like), search beforehand which games can be run under Linux. It's a case-by-case thing: Changes are 1) there is a native port, 2) You can run it under Wine (which can be a hassle) or 3) you can not run it at all.

 

Also, under Linux some things WILL work differently and be done differently than on Windows. You WILL need to use google, read documentation and at some point use the terminal/command line (or, your computer life under Linux will be a lot easier if you learn to use the command line).

[Wild Penquin]

About driver support:

 

Again, this is different than on Windows. From a gaming perspective, GPU is the main concern: NVidia used to be the only way to go until now. Things are perhaps (?) changing so that AMD starts to be a viable alternative. Anything else can not be used for anything else than very basic / casual gaming (but it's the same on Windows).

 

About drivers in gerenal: in some ways, things can be easier than on Windows: In general, things are bundled with the kernel as modules or installable from the distributions repositories as external modules (which equals: less surfing around on different manufacturers web sites!). If a device is supported by Linux kernel, it will work OOTB. But this works the other way around, too! There is HW that does not have an open source driver, or even a closed-source driver readily available in repositories. In those cases getting the device working, can be a hassle especially for a Linux novice. Just recently someone posted here trying to get Asus Maximus XIs integrated networking (intel i219v) working (here).

 

Do your research before getting the HW, if you are serious in converting to a Linux user! Choose HW that has good support on Linux (search your MBs network chip, sound chips etc. via Google).

 

EDIT: As for SLI/Crossfire, SLI should work AFAIK, AMD is a bit immature and I have no idea about Crossfire, if it is not there yet, probably will be in the future. But if I was in your shoes, I'd opt out for a single-GPU setup, as SLI will introduce even more sources of complication in the setup, and - as already stated - there are fewer AAA titles which can actually benefit from it.

[Wild Penquin]

Ah, about applications:

 

As already stated things are better on the application side than on Gaming on Linux. All basic stuff can be done quite easily. One thing that is poorly supported is content creation: especially Video Editing can be a pain. But I'm not a content creator by any means. I've used GIMP, Scribus, some vector editing etc. and recorded some audio, but that's about it. There is Blender for those who do 3D stuff.

[Linus_torvalds]

hardware support is great. games start to come out for linux too. vulkan turned out to be on par with dx12. but it's multi platform so games that use vulkan api can run on many platform including linux. after steam os and steam machine many developers released their game on linux too. so maybe in 3 years we will be able to use linux for gaming without thinking how many games are on linux.

[Nosmada09]

Okay so I understand the gaming limitations and for the most part I am content with the available titles, But does anyone know if Elder Scrolls Online or WOW are supported ? I cant find anything for ESO. 

[SCHISCHKA]

1 hour ago, Nosmada09 said:

Okay so I understand the gaming limitations and for the most part I am content with the available titles, But does anyone know if Elder Scrolls Online or WOW are supported ? I cant find anything for ESO. 

You can look on winehq on how well they perform under wine.

Winehq lists this one as bronze

https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=15787

and wow as platinum

https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=1922

 

All the games i have on steam that are native are old except for maybe mad max, rocket league, and alien:isolation. If games are brought to the platform they tend to be released 12 months after windows. Im gona encourage you to use linux if you like rocket league and CSGO and take part in the steam hardware surveys. If we can show game developers more people are using linux then it will encourage more to publish on the platform.

 

[slicknux]

https://steamdb.info/linux/ is not zero or none. Those are confirmed to be working plus 1000 give or take that may work plus a few thousand that work with Wine (configured right).

 

But you have to understand if you will go with Ubuntu, you will have to LEARN how to install drivers the right way, how and when to use wine and so on. Most people just jump on Ubuntu, try double click setup.exe, next next next, doesn't work, and immediately start crying like babies "Linux suuuuuuuuucks". I can understand the kids and young people. Things need to be easy for them and just work. No time to waste with stuff that is not fun. But the older ones have no excuses

 

So here are your options:

1. Go with Windows. Everything will be fun and easy.
2. Go with Ubuntu, read, learn, understand how to do BEFORE you do. You will do it right. Trust me, you will feel very satisfied when you yourself made something work. If a game is buggy in the beginning and you debug it for half an hour or more, when it finally works you will feel happy and much more satisfied with a sense of accomplishment. But it's not for everybody. If IT is not a passion and you just want to play, don't go this route. If you do like such tinkering though, it will help you later on in life when getting a job or learning new stuff. Linux can teach you how things really work inside an OS. So if you study programming let's say, you won't start from level 0 like the rest of your friends. With the basics you know from your Linux experience you will be a few steps ahead and will find things easier to understand.
3. Go with Ubuntu. Read tutorials and just copy paste stuff. Most things won't work. You will be frustrated and say Linux sucks and go back to Windows

So I would say pick 1 or 2. If you pick 3 you will just waste time.

[vorticalbox]

15 hours ago, Wild Penquin said:

Ah, about applications:

 

As already stated things are better on the application side than on Gaming on Linux. All basic stuff can be done quite easily. One thing that is poorly supported is content creation: especially Video Editing can be a pain. But I'm not a content creator by any means. I've used GIMP, Scribus, some vector editing etc. and recorded some audio, but that's about it. There is Blender for those who do 3D stuff.

Photoshop cs6 runs flawlessly in wine.