Linux Bros, what's the best Linux OS for gaming (GOG and Steam)?

DryvBy

DryvBy

Member
I've been using Windows 11 on my work computer and this is one of their worst OS I've used. It's buggy beyond belief. Today I couldn't move a window around and found out they apparently removed the cascade window which would have fixed it. I am not switching to this for my gaming PC so what's the best? ChatGPT recommended Nobara and Pop! but I wanted to get some real data here. What's the best of the best?
 
I always hear "Bazzite". Thats what I wanted to try this summer....unless Gabe comes out with a proper desktop SteamOS (and HalfLife3 included for free ;)).
 
CachyOS is pretty fast and comes with everything you need for your Epic and GOG libraries. You'll see an improvement in game performance compared to windows. But if you can't handle the quirks in Windows, then you are not going to like Linux, especially Arch. Stick with Windows, maybe setup a dual boot so you can try out different distros. I can guarantee that you wont switch to linux full time.
 
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Bazzite is the best and most user-friendly option right now.

But according to rumors Steam OS is very very close to a general release. What hardware do you have on your gaming rig? If you have an nvidia card things are a little more complex and a little less capable (stuff like Gamescope doesn't work perfectly with team green hardware) but if you have an AMD GPU its pretty much the same excellent experience you'd get on a steamdeck. And in the inverse, 4K VRR over HDMI doesn't work properly with AMD but is fine on Nvidia, if using display port its perfect with all hardware.
 
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Definitely Bazzite for ease of use. Xbox wireless adapter and controllers working right out of the box is a huge bonus... No messing around in command-line and trying to figure out driver/kernel stuff.
 
nobara is pretty easy to use. just use proton ge 27 on steam compatability.
the only game that froze during gameplay so far was nba 2k25 lol but everything else has ran fine. you lose out on games that use kernal level anti cheat like valorant and league tho.
 
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DryvBy DryvBy

Two important questions:

1. What is your previous experience with linux. When and why and for how long.

2. Besides steam and web browser, what applications are you going to use on this machine? Try to list everything you can think of including stuff for tweaking, mod management, all that.
 
G-DannY said:
The best Linux OS for gaming is Linux
Click to expand...
Nah, it's GNU ;)

BTW, I got fooled by stupid the old version of SteamOS page and was happy because I'd finally get it for PC... thank god Copilot on Edge saved me from even more delusion...

I have my Windows gaming PC and I would like to try Linux, maybe today, idk... so I have some questions:

1. How are Switch Pro Controller and Xbox Series controller working on it wirelessly? I have a Xbox Series official dongle and I would like it to work on Linux because the latency is inexistent

2. How about Discord on Linux? I like playing while streaming to a voice channel so my friends can join and see me playing

3. I have a NTFS partition I'm using to install all my games in Windows, can I use the same partition for Linux with no difference to whatever new flavor there's now? I would like to just make a folder and install my stuff there
 
I will say this about nobara it does update like every 2 days tho. if u dont like frequent updates.
steam wouldnt launch my games from ntfs I had to move them over and make it a btrfs for them to launch not sure why.
 
I have my pc dual booting into Ubuntu and had my steam library running from there, but there isn't a huge amount of games natively working from Linux. I found the OS to be buggy as well. Switched back to windows. Linux is far from ideal for a PC gaming rig.
 
MrSmooth said:
I have my pc dual booting into Ubuntu and had my steam library running from there, but there isn't a huge amount of games natively working from Linux. I found the OS to be buggy as well. Switched back to windows. Linux is far from ideal for a PC gaming rig.
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you dont need to run them natively you can use the proton compatibility layer in steam.
 
Kataploom said:
Nah, it's GNU ;)

BTW, I got fooled by stupid the old version of SteamOS page and was happy because I'd finally get it for PC... thank god Copilot on Edge saved me from even more delusion...

I have my Windows gaming PC and I would like to try Linux, maybe today, idk... so I have some questions:

1. How are Switch Pro Controller and Xbox Series controller working on it wirelessly? I have a Xbox Series official dongle and I would like it to work on Linux because the latency is inexistent

2. How about Discord on Linux? I like playing while streaming to a voice channel so my friends can join and see me playing

3. I have a NTFS partition I'm using to install all my games in Windows, can I use the same partition for Linux with no difference to whatever new flavor there's now? I would like to just make a folder and install my stuff there
Click to expand...
1. someone mentioned above that this covered out of the box by Bazzite at least.
2. Discord is no problem. Its all there on any LinuxOS.
3. I would go full Linux with Steam and Proton and installing everything via Linux and Linux does use his own filesystem (ext4). However when dual booting ino Linux for example....you basically can access Linux AND Windows (for example copying files between both OS). The other way around doesnt work. Windows doesnt even see that there is another Linux system.
 
I'm currently trying Garuda Linux (arch based) and it's fine. I needed some time to make it look not ridiculous (it comes with some neon crap theme, wiggling windows and other annoying nonsense) but it's pre-loaded with everything gaming related and you can add stuff when installing. I'm dual booting with windows 11 and I often try games on both to see how they perform. Unfortunately I have rtx 2080 super and games aren't running as great under linux but they're close.
I've tried TLOU 2 remake and it's 20fps lower in linux (proton) but if you have an AMD card things should run much smoother, even achieve higher fps on linux, apparently.
 
Caffeine said:
I will say this about nobara it does update like every 2 days tho. if u dont like frequent updates.
steam wouldnt launch my games from ntfs I had to move them over and make it a btrfs for them to launch not sure why.
Click to expand...

Lots of updates and I've seen a few funky ones. I ran the same nobara install for years, so it was good enough for me. Recently switched to bazzite on two computers and I find it's been very tight. Less rough around the edges than nobara. Bazzite is really trying to encourage various containers to install stuff though and it's kinda new to me. Guess I should get with the times because it's clearly better. Flatpak in particular couldn't be easier. Distrobox I've been lagging on trying out because I don't want to learn anything lol. Seriously though, haven't needed it for anything so no motivation.
 
DryvBy said:
I've been using Windows 11 on my work computer and this is one of their worst OS I've used. It's buggy beyond belief. Today I couldn't move a window around and found out they apparently removed the cascade window which would have fixed it. I am not switching to this for my gaming PC so what's the best? ChatGPT recommended Nobara and Pop! but I wanted to get some real data here. What's the best of the best?
Click to expand...
Not the question you asked, but do you use the keyboard shortcuts for moving windows around? Win + arrow keys snaps a window to a screen edge, which should give you the handle you need to do whatever it is you need. If you're using multiple monitors Win + Shift + arrows to jump windows between displays.

To actually answer the question, I'm waiting for a good sale but when I get a second NVME drive to use as a dedicated Linux drive my plan is to choose between either Bazzite or CachyOS. They're the two names I see most frequently when it comes to Linux gaming. I tried Mint and it was user friendly, but I wasn't in a position to dive head first into it. I hear that because of its less than cutting edge release cycle newer hardware isn't always supported immediately, for whatever that's worth.
 
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My best friend and I have been in game dev for decades, and we both switched to Linux a few months ago (he wants to switch careers to military tech), and we first got our feet wet with the usual Ubuntu and Pop (same as OP, we consulted GPT that recommended it).

Because we've been in tech for so long, we quickly made some realizations.

All distros use the Linux Kernel, so whoever commits most changes to the kernel has effectively the most power to shape the future of Linux. We checked the git contributions on the Kernel and found that most are from hardware manufacturers like Intel, Google and AMD, which makes total sense as they support a plethora of hardware products (ARM processors, Android phones etc).

In terms of Kernel commits made in the interest of Linux as a desktop operating system, there are two relevant contributors - Debian and Red Hat.
Ubuntu and SUSE used to contribute significantly, but number of commits has waned over the years as their support shifted to cloud and hardware.

Debian has no money behind it. Not true, I lied. Yes they have sponsors and donations, but it's a volunteer effort (a huge effort though, massive really).

Red Hat on the other hand is a billion dollar business. Nobody puts more money into Linux as a desktop OS than Red Hat does. None of us here on GAF are going to install Red Hat though, because it costs hundred of dollars.

Red Hat pays for the development of Fedora, which they use to develop the newest tech and prove its reliability to the average user (you and me) so that it eventually trickles down to Red Hat for the business consumers (IBM, military etc). So you got full-time engineers working on Fedora, making commits to the Linux Kernel and building the most polished, newest Linux OS. My friend and I understand why Linus Torvalds uses Fedora (or used to before Linus switched to Mac lol)

Money pays for smooth polish and bug fixes. A team of full-time Red Hat engineers with 200K salaries simply out-compete the hobby distros (Nobara, Bazzite etc) maintained on GitHub as a side project for programmers.

That's why I recommend Fedora, as an avid gamer and dev.
 
pudel said:
1. someone mentioned above that this covered out of the box by Bazzite at least.
2. Discord is no problem. Its all there on any LinuxOS.
3. I would go full Linux with Steam and Proton and installing everything via Linux and Linux does use his own filesystem (ext4). However when dual booting ino Linux for example....you basically can access Linux AND Windows (for example copying files between both OS). The other way around doesnt work. Windows doesnt even see that there is another Linux system.
Click to expand...
Is there any advantage of using ext4 over NTFS in Linux? I mean, I'm installing in an ext4 partition, I just meant to leave the free spacing for installing the games in an NTFS partition so I can use it for both SO
 
Kataploom said:
Is there any advantage of using ext4 over NTFS in Linux? I mean, I'm installing in an ext4 partition, I just meant to leave the free spacing for installing the games in an NTFS partition so I can use it for both SO
Click to expand...

ext4 is supposedly better performance but idk by how much or even if that's true. Just sort of "common knowledge".

I format my boot drive and game installs to ext4 and any additional drives (especially external, portable ones) to ntfs in case I ever want to plug them into a windows machine.
 
Crayon said:
DryvBy DryvBy

Two important questions:

1. What is your previous experience with linux. When and why and for how long.

2. Besides steam and web browser, what applications are you going to use on this machine? Try to list everything you can think of including stuff for tweaking, mod management, all that.
Click to expand...
1. Red Hat way, way back in the 90s and I was a kid so I went back to buggy Windows 98 quickly lol. I've sampled some Windows (ZorinOS for example), but I'm ok with learning a new OS too.

2. My system uses Steam, GOG, Epic, music players, Vegas Pro/Audioforge, a few random smaller apps.
 
@dry
DryvBy said:
1. Red Hat way, way back in the 90s and I was a kid so I went back to buggy Windows 98 quickly lol. I've sampled some Windows (ZorinOS for example), but I'm ok with learning a new OS too.

2. My system uses Steam, GOG, Epic, music players, Vegas Pro/Audioforge, a few random smaller apps.
Click to expand...

Okay okay.

Horse before cart: Take a look at that Vegas Pro and Audioforge to see if they are available on linux. Spoiler: no.
Now, before you switch to linux, go see if you can find alternatives that are available on linux. If you find them, they are probably available on windows, too. Try the alternatives out on windows and see if you like them.
 
Crayon said:
@dry


Okay okay.

Horse before cart: Take a look at that Vegas Pro and Audioforge to see if they are available on linux. Spoiler: no.
Now, before you switch to linux, go see if you can find alternatives that are available on linux. If you find them, they are probably available on windows, too. Try the alternatives out on windows and see if you like them.
Click to expand...
What would prevent them from working on Linux through wine?
 
Unknown? said:
What would prevent them from working on Linux through wine?
Click to expand...

idk. That would be the next step: if you don't like the alternatives, check out to see if they can run through wine. That's not my go-to because even if some people get it to run (even with "no problem") it can be hard to judge how straightforward that's going to be. SOMEONE out there can always make anything run but I found that doesn't mean I can lol. Plus, you already have to have linux installed to try.

Checking out alternatives while you're still on windows is a straightforward way to prepare for a potential switch. One of the things you can learn about before you are ass deep in a bunch of new stuff.
 
Well based on my experiences trying out a number of them, I would say:

  • If you want a Linux gaming experience that's automated, easy to use, can do other general computer stuff, and work on handhelds: Bazzite
  • If you want a good gaming experience that's stable, but you have more control to customize your computer: PikaOS
  • If you want the latest and greatest for games, but run into some jank: Nobara
  • If you just want a console-like experience on the TV or handheld: ChimeraOS
I've seen a few people mention Linux Mint, which I'd caution against. It's probably the easiest Linux distro to get into for general computing, but because it's based on Ubuntu you'll have things like drivers and the like out of date that you'll have to do extra work to get setup yourself. The gaming distros at least give you most of the things you need out of the box, come bundled with many useful apps that make gaming better, and automate updates for various things.
 
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Kataploom said:
Is there any advantage of using ext4 over NTFS in Linux? I mean, I'm installing in an ext4 partition, I just meant to leave the free spacing for installing the games in an NTFS partition so I can use it for both SO
Click to expand...
Windows not being able to see ext4 gives it an advantage over NTFS in that you don't have to worry about it getting modified or changed by Windows in a dual-boot configuration.
 
it's always so funny when people think Windows has issues and then want to switch to Linux, as if you won't have multiple times as many issues on there as on Windows.

good luck... you'll need it lol
 
kevboard said:
it's always so funny when people think Windows has issues and then want to switch to Linux, as if you won't have multiple times as many issues on there as on Windows.

good luck... you'll need it lol
Click to expand...

After using it for a number of months, I really didn't run into many issues. It was mostly not having access to certain software, a few games with Proton that had issues, or different ways to do the same things in Linux vs Windows, which is the same thing I ran into using MacOS or Android for the first time.

Actual bugs that I ran into with Bazzite were pretty on par vs Windows 11, and when I could do flatpaks the process was easier than going to separate websites to download exe files for plenty of Windows apps (Windows Store still sucks ass).
 
So I'm about to pull the trigger fellas...
oiFP57R.png


Now I'm thinking on using the remaining C partition space (around 70GB) for installing the OS as it suggests to use 64GB in minimum requirements, and the remaining D partition space (around 300 GB) to install games, so two partitions just to test for some days... IIRC, if I regret I can just get back the space to Windows, right? I have so much time that I don't play with partitions that I completely forgot about it.

Is that a good idea or do you prefer that I do a single partition using both remaining spaces? I read somewhere that the OS is immutable and that everything gets deleted after rebooting so not sure how that affect my normal partitions setup.
 
Durin said:
Well based on my experiences trying out a number of them, I would say:

  • If you want a Linux gaming experience that's automated, easy to use, can do other general computer stuff, and work on handhelds: Bazzite
  • If you want a good gaming experience that's stable, but you have more control to customize your computer: PikaOS
  • If you want the latest and greatest for games, but run into some jank: Nobara
  • If you just want a console-like experience on the TV or handheld: ChimeraOS
I've seen a few people mention Linux Mint, which I'd caution against. It's probably the easiest Linux distro to get into for general computing, but because it's based on Ubuntu you'll have things like drivers and the like out of date that you'll have to do extra work to get setup yourself. The gaming distros at least give you most of the things you need out of the box, come bundled with many useful apps that make gaming better, and automate updates for various things.
Click to expand...
mint has a debian based version as well.
 
I use Kubuntu 24.04. Got an Nvidia GPU. I'm only a mere 1080/60 gamer though and Steam + proton is more than good enough for the games I play. For example I'm good with 1080/60 on high settings in MHWilds.

Setting up Kubuntu was pretty easy. Minimal tweaking on my end. Only manual thing I did was install Nvidia drivers which wasn't even that bad.
 
kevboard said:
it's always so funny when people think Windows has issues and then want to switch to Linux, as if you won't have multiple times as many issues on there as on Windows.

good luck... you'll need it lol
Click to expand...
I'm not a lInux bro at all but I am actually dreading Windows 11. I use it for work and it's a broken POS that is more of a MacOS than a good Windows OS. The taskbar alone is a major blow to me.
 
DryvBy said:
I'm not a lInux bro at all but I am actually dreading Windows 11. I use it for work and it's a broken POS that is more of a MacOS than a good Windows OS. The taskbar alone is a major blow to me.
Click to expand...

all of the issues (the non bug ones) can be fixed in 5min. I have my task bar on the top, the start button is on the left, my search is set to only look for local files, my right click opens the old context menu... if it wasn't for the new start menu (which I barely even use) I wouldn't even notice the difference to Windows 10.

I also don't really notice any bugs that aren't just typical windows stuff, at least not any more compared to Windows 10.
 
Kataploom said:
So I'm about to pull the trigger fellas...
oiFP57R.png


Now I'm thinking on using the remaining C partition space (around 70GB) for installing the OS as it suggests to use 64GB in minimum requirements, and the remaining D partition space (around 300 GB) to install games, so two partitions just to test for some days... IIRC, if I regret I can just get back the space to Windows, right? I have so much time that I don't play with partitions that I completely forgot about it.

Is that a good idea or do you prefer that I do a single partition using both remaining spaces? I read somewhere that the OS is immutable and that everything gets deleted after rebooting so not sure how that affect my normal partitions setup.
Click to expand...
You can always in Windows disk management shrink your current drive volume to make however much unallocated space, and then going on to Bazzite allocate that space for whatever else you want to do.

If you're going to Dual-boot with Windows though, definitely put the core Bazzite OS installation on a separate drive from your Windows install, not your Windows main drive. Sometimes Windows updates can break the boot partition for Linux OSs if they're partitioned on the same physical drive. For any other Linux apps or games, you can parition space on whatever drives you want. Once you install Bazzite, you'll see the Grub bootloader that lets you pick what OS you want to start into.

Syphon Filter said:
mint has a debian based version as well.
Click to expand...
I've seen that, but Debian kinda has the same problems with being behind in updates. One of the few Debian-based distros I've seen pull newer drivers and such automatically for gaming has been PikaOS though.
 
Durin said:
You can always in Windows disk management shrink your current drive volume to make however much unallocated space, and then going on to Bazzite allocate that space for whatever else you want to do.

If you're going to Dual-boot with Windows though, definitely put the core Bazzite OS installation on a separate drive from your Windows install, not your Windows main drive. Sometimes Windows updates can break the boot partition for Linux OSs if they're partitioned on the same physical drive. For any other Linux apps or games, you can parition space on whatever drives you want. Once you install Bazzite, you'll see the Grub bootloader that lets you pick what OS you want to start into.


I've seen that, but Debian kinda has the same problems with being behind in updates. One of the few Debian-based distros I've seen pull newer drivers and such automatically for gaming has been PikaOS though.
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Finally installed and tried it... It required some getting used to it because even if I use Big Picture mode on Windows, the SteamOS version has many new stuff like Decky, Right menu, HDR, etc. Here are my conclusions so far: I still don't know how MS have nuked DirectX 12 and made it from the ground up again.

The frame pacing is soooooo much better in Linux it's not even funny anymore, the performance improvements are sometimes way noticeable, I remember playing Final Fantasy 7 Remake in 1700p on Windows with many stutters, but I just don't care too much about them, yet in Linux same performance, zero stutters, 4K buttery smooth frame pacing, etc.

How the hell had Microsoft gone so far with DX12? It's beyond embarrassing. The smoothness of the games is in their own league, it's not even comparable at all, literally at all. It felt like having CPU bottleneck and upgrading it, alongside half a range the GPU, the frame pacing smoothness is literally like that in consoles but on PC.

The most stupid thing of it all? It's way faster to install bazzite and sit to play something than installing Windows, then drivers, then Steam to start downloading the game lol.

I'm already moving to there as my gaming OS, I'll wipe windows but because I'm gonna reinstall it new in a smaller partition. Just for some Game Pass stuff.
 
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