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A Windows user's experiences with Linux (should you switch?)

nowhat

Gold Member
Fat32 has limitations on how big a drive can be, and how big a file can be in size.
Yes, I'm aware. But just saying you shouldn't be using either (V)FAT or NTFS as a main or gaming volume under Linux, only for removable media (or for dual-boot file transfer between Windows and Linux) if even that.
 
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Guilty_AI

Gold Member
I have an old laptop which i use to mess around with linux. I often install VNs or other lightweight games on it and they work very well, with the only exception being indeed some more obscure stuff as you said. I would have problems running RPG maker games for example.
Shouldn't really be green as NTFS is superior to fat32.
Linux uses XFS or ext4
 
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64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
i didnt think this thread would stay alive, this kind of post from me i expected to sink like a rock due to how long it was
This is not true. Linux can both read and write to NTFS volumes just fine. https://github.com/tuxera/ntfs-3g

But the performance isn't the greatest, so you're better off using a native filesystem.
Linux can read NTFS you are right. However when it comes to running Steam games via proton they never work. for a while i was considering giving up on Linux since nothing worked, and then i put the game on my SSD.... shit ran
However for stuff like music and images it works perfectly
Hanging pc gamers in bad stereotyping.

Bad OP.
i had to stick out for my pirate/non steam bros out there. I buy games when offered the chance like a good boy in almost all other instances though
You're lucky you didn't post this on an actual Linux forum, OP. Nerds would be coming for you it's not even funny. You can't write anything on there without being torn apart by an angry mob of "enthusiasts".
im gonna be joining one soon to get some more experience with teh OS and potentially start ricing my build.

Have you seen r/unixporn? (no it's not penguin smut) So many people there submit images of their tricked out OSes and some of the images are downright otherworldly

cco3ms9v43la1.png

3ptyrfosmwka1.png



Unless Linux has some stupendously awesome features Apple and MS OS cant do
there aren't any stupendously awesome features on Apple that you can't get on Windows.
An OS doesn't really need that, it just needs to be fast, customizable, and reliable. Linux is all 3
 
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nightmare-slain

Gold Member
Sorry bro but I ain't reading all that.

I had been trying to move to Linux for years and only recently did it work out for me.... for a while. Downloaded the latest ubuntu LTS and for the first time nothing went wrong. Well, something did but nothing major at least at first.

For about 2 months I was using Ubuntu as my main OS. The 1 issue I had with it was that the sound equalizer was bugging out. I won't get into it because it wasn't a big problem.

What caused me to ditch Ubuntu was upgrading to my RTX 4080. After installing it Ubuntu stopped working. That's a lie actually because it was working BUT I wasn't getting any display output. I updated the firmware on my card (NOT drivers. firmware) which was meant to fix something similiar to my issue but I couldn't be bothered going back and installing Ubuntu all over again.

I might give it another shot soon to see if I can get it working because I do miss Ubuntu.
 

Griffon

Member
With proton being so fucking good, I now know my next main PC config is gonna be Linux based (I already have an old netbook that I installed linux on, the transition was pretty easy and performances are much better).
 
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Digfox

Member
Interesting reading this thread as last year I did an evaluation of Linux by wiping my older NVMe drive and installing Fedora 36 alongside Windows. I would love to switch to Linux full-time on my main PC but unfortunately after a week or so had to switch back to Windows 11. I think some of my experience is the same as the OPs but I did have other annoyances. I also have used Linux on and off for over a decade so different DEs, package managers and terminal aren't new to me. I've recently built an Ubuntu 22.04 server and use Fedora 37 on a very cheap Lenovo PC/tablet (n4010/4GB RAM so Windows 10/11 ran badly).

If I only used my PC for Steam, browsing and light use I think I could switch to Linux in a heartbeat. Although I tried only a few Steam games, but Golf it! didn't run nearly as well as Windows even though it has a Platinum rating on ProtonDB. For me the issues are on Linux gaming are more pronounced away from Steam. My two daughters play Roblox and this is a pain getting to work with Linux.

Other than gaming we have a family licence for Microsoft 365 and therefore using this when not on Windows or Mac OS is a pain too. I also have a few devices with no Linux Driver or software support (Creative SoundblasterX G6) which will work with Linux but you miss out on being able to adjust settings. Also the lack of DRM support for Disney+ is annoying I sometimes use my PC for streaming and Windows is much better for this. There were a few other minor annoyances but I do think I could work through those.

But my recent experience of Linux (I've also tested Ubuntu since it switched to Gnome desktop) has been fun and it's definitely better than my last experience with Linux desktop (a long time ago). The improvements are clear. I want to keep an eye on it and hope that one day I can switch over. But even so it has come at a time I'm trying to 'de-google' and move away from proprietary software and I have found some great free (sometimes open-source) software; OpenRGB; confusing but means not having to run iCue!, BCUnistaller - feels like a near essential program for Windows, Obsidian, Hugo, Visual Studio Code, KeePassXC, Bitwarden amongst others. So its been a valuable experience. The beauty of these programs is that they are all cross-platform.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
To save everyone's time.

No, you should not switch to Linux. Linux has been irrelevant for years and it's support is abysmal.

You're welcome.
Tom Hardy Bait GIF


My two daughters play Roblox and this is a pain getting to work with Linux.
Actually didn't know this, Roblox is one of the games I played every now & then on Windows. I never tested it out on Linux though because it never really crossed my mind. That being said, I'll start doing an analysis of if it works and add it to the main post. There seems to be plenty of tutorials on getting it to work.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
I would have problems running RPG maker games for example.
first of all, if it's that weird japanese type shit like Yume NIkki, .flow, 2kki, OFF, Omori, Oneshot, etc you have good taste
second of all what are the issues you're having with RPGmaker? i might consider testing those as well for compatibility & to add to the thread, as i really like those games
 
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Digfox

Member
Actually didn't know this, Roblox is one of the games I played every now & then on Windows. I never tested it out on Linux though because it never really crossed my mind. That being said, I'll start doing an analysis of if it works and add it to the main post. There seems to be plenty of tutorials on getting it to work.

According to my notes (I followed a guide somewhere, but not sure where) I installed WineHQ Devel via dnf, then installed Grapejuice - which has improvements rather than running straight through Wine. Although I could not get the Roblox launcher to work and had to select/run games via the website. But it is possible this is something I did wrong or didn't spend enough time trying to get it to work. Obviously it is not as simple as clicking the Roblox icon on Windows and everything working straight off the bat, which is the level my daughters need atm. From what I remember performance was solid but perhaps not as good as Windows.

Good luck and would be interesting to see if you have better results than I did at the time.
 
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64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Obviously it is not as simple as clicking the Roblox icon on Windows and everything working straight off the bat, which is the level my daughters need atm.
why not consider adding the roblox website as an icon/bookmark when you launch Firefox? I'm pretty sure the app uses some windows store dependencies to make it work. it's not AS simple as just having an icon on the taskbar, but it's about as simple as you can get
 

Digfox

Member
why not consider adding the roblox website as an icon/bookmark when you launch Firefox? I'm pretty sure the app uses some windows store dependencies to make it work. it's not AS simple as just having an icon on the taskbar, but it's about as simple as you can get
Yea, there are workarounds. But I am definitely more likely to get called in for tech support when they can't find the link or a game doesn't load. With too young daughters it really does have to be simple. It was a 'hacky' solution from what I remember.
 

Guilty_AI

Gold Member
first of all, if it's that weird japanese type shit like Yume NIkki, .flow, 2kki, OFF, Omori, Oneshot, etc you have good taste
second of all what are the issues you're having with RPGmaker? i might consider testing those as well for compatibility & to add to the thread, as i really like those games
They just wouldn't run, might be different for you since you're using a different distribution.
 

Drew1440

Member
I've had a good experiance with Linux Mint, and Kubuntu.
Also if Linux breaks its very difficult to fix with it being easier to reinstall the OS from scratch. Terminal commands just arn't very ittuitive and most people don't have time to invest in learning which puts me off switching altogether.
It's sort of why Linux took off in embedded services like smartphones and set top boxes where the hardware configuration stays static but on PC its a different experiance.
 

raduque

Member
I run Mint on a spare machine to play around with. I would never use Linux as a serious gaming machine though. I might use it for daily usage, but I'm too entrenched in Windows right now to switch, plus I actually LIKE Windows.


I did use it for Chia a while back and make a couple grand with it.

Xn1oxbs.png

Old screenshot, it's since been updated to Linux Mint 21.
 
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Wildebeest

Member
I think if anyone should take anything away from this, it is not to default to using Ubuntu for gaming. When I used Ubuntu, it particularly used to freak out a lot whenever nvidia drivers updated. Linux vets say to always buy AMD for better Linux drivers, but it shouldn't have been that bad. Don't listen to Ubuntu apologists. It is not really the totally easy, user-friendly face of Linux desktop. I'd recommend Manjaro instead, I'm not an expert, but the Ubuntu environment made me dislike the apt software package manager, so I prefer the pacman system.
 
Linux Distro UI still feels outdated. The advantages of using Linux 10 years ago was their lightweight Linux Distro's, this has faded away since you can now use Speedier SSDs.

Another issue is the compatibility, not all hardware supports Linux, you have to manual update every components.

Multiplayer conflicting with Anti Cheat in Linux.

I had issues with Lack in software, Linux is still 20 years behind Windows.

If you have any issues, you end up typing random crap in the terminal, hoping for it to work.
 

Crayon

Member
By the way I've been using that nobara on my gaming machine for a while now. Can't remember. Maybe 6 months? Maybe more I put it on I don't think very long after he started. It's been great except for a minute there where he tried to put in some sort of yum extender gui which never worked quite right. I think he got rid of that after a few weeks.
 
I swear, for the last 20 years my friends (and sometimes myself) have installed different kinds of Linux distributions. It's like groundhog day.

"Hmm maybe Linux can replace Windows for me this time! Ooh it's actually quite user friendly! Hmm OK so this thing doesn't really work but it's almost there. I can probably get used to it. Ahhh shit, THIS thing doesn't work.."
...

"OK, but I only need to Google for a couple of hours, write a few forum posts and learn how to use the terminal and edit a couple of lines in some random file.. "
...
...
"Why is there no GUI for this thing?"
...
"Hmm it's just not quite worth it.. Yet. But soon! It's almost there"
 

KungFucius

King Snowflake
All OSes that aren't windows suck in some way due to not being compatible with all the stuff made for windows over the last 3 decades. Linux is only useful if you run a lot of code and simulations. Its a fun exercise to figure out how to use it and to get shit to work, but after that, you are still stuck with a cobbled together mix of free shit that lacks the type of polish you are used to.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
That’s the beauty of it.

Believe it or not SoloKingRobert SoloKingRobert quite a lot of people are partial to old school looking desktops… they’re easier to read and save resources.

That was the aspect of Linux I actually liked when I was using it. That and the fact that if I didn't like the UI then I could try a different one. Linux is kind of like the Android of desktop OSs in some ways.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
actually yes you can get cheaper than that, you can get the os for free and also dont give I/O time and bandwidth sending telemetry and personal data to "improve the system"
I value my time more than a few kilobytes a year.

Also I am pretty sure you can disable that shit today?
 

Unknown?

Member
I've often wondered whether laptops made for Linux provided any actual benefit over installing Linux on an identically specced laptop that shipped with Windows. Aside from shipping with bespoke drivers that guarantee the hardware will work with the pre-installed Linux distro are there other advantages?
Nah just that it works out of the box. You do get to choose your firmware though so you can run coreboot if you want but I'm guessing someone experienced can change that themselves.
 

Unknown?

Member
glad i managed to convert at least one person 👍 Welcome to Antartica, enjoy the penguins
Never Ending Penguin GIF

Nobara and Mint are the best for gaming and casual use.
If you just want one for working that's going to be easy for a Windows casual, Zorin OS offers the easiest distro for Windows users to get used to. Not sure how it works for gaming but I'd imagine it's as good as Mint.
 

Mithos

Member
If you just want one for working that's going to be easy for a Windows casual, Zorin OS offers the easiest distro for Windows users to get used to. Not sure how it works for gaming but I'd imagine it's as good as Mint.
I agree, Zorin OS is a great and easy way to get started with from someone coming from Windows.
 
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ReBurn

Gold Member
Nah just that it works out of the box. You do get to choose your firmware though so you can run coreboot if you want but I'm guessing someone experienced can change that themselves.
Thanks for the info. It's tough to find that insight on the hardware sites because they're so focused on specs and overall performance. I assumed that since the hardware is typically the same as other laptops the actual performance would be the same. There's a lot to be said for not having the driver headaches right out of the box, so I could see going with a laptop that already ships with a Linux distro.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Digfox Digfox i tried getting it to work on my install but some errors kept popping up whnever i tried to launch the app. tried launching a game from browser and it also just drops an error

there's this new app for Roblox on Linux called grapefruit that makes installing and updating the game easier, but even that didnt help
 
I value my time more than a few kilobytes a year.

I use linux because I value my time, versatility, my freedom and the privacy of my data


Also I am pretty sure you can disable that shit today?
there are things you can disable(apparently) but others you cant and can't know for sure due to the nature of the closed source but more importantly there are also things that maybe you already exposed before you realized the option was enabled or re enabled with an update like sensible passwords or important info captured by the keyloggers in the system to collect data for the improvement of the smart assistant or other excuses like that and once outside is too late and have no way to know who have it, and you don't even have to do something or move a switch for example a modern windows OS makes many connections with many sites before you can even interact with the system in a fresh install and there is also the thing about the kill switches to remove apps from your system

in the modern world we live today using linux is an act of self defense a way to keep the control over our computers we used to have
 
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Digfox

Member
Digfox Digfox i tried getting it to work on my install but some errors kept popping up whnever i tried to launch the app. tried launching a game from browser and it also just drops an error

there's this new app for Roblox on Linux called grapefruit that makes installing and updating the game easier, but even that didnt help

It's definitely not as easy as some of the guides suggest. As mentioned, I had to use the Development version of WineHQ and Grapejuice otherwise I couldn't get Roblox to work.
 
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64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
EDIT: I got the cracked version of KH Final Mix working on Linux, not only that but an enhanced version called "Re:fined" working.
4j81pkF.png


All thanks to this wonderful guy's tutorials





updating my post to reflect this
 
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64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
It's definitely not as easy as some of the guides suggest. As mentioned, I had to use the Development version of WineHQ and Grapejuice otherwise I couldn't get Roblox to work.
image.png

I got it working.... all you have to do is load a game from the website, then press the leave button. you're thrown into Roblox like that
a bit weird, but it works
 
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64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Me uninstalling Windows from my drives though is extremely unlikely, as I went in knowing that Linux would not be 100% compatible
this aged poorly as i'd end up dumping windows 11 off my ssd for space reasons.... linux ended up working with a lot of stuff i didnt expect it to
 
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