5 ms·

The only reason I continue to run Windows as my desktop is for gaming, but it is reaching the point where I'm considering making Linux my primary and using a VM

The only reason I continue to run Windows as my desktop is for gaming, but it is reaching the point where I'm considering making Linux my primary and using a VM with GPU passthrough for any gaming I might want to do (and maybe passing through a hardware TPM as well - I understand Win11 doesn't require it for VMs, but to prevent anti-cheat from kicking in I'd want to impersonate real hardware as closely as possible).

jay_kyburz 5y ago
Perhaps you haven't been following the Steam Deck, Proton and Linux Anticheat but there has been some progress. Somebody posted this to reddit the other day. https://areweanticheatyet.com/ https://areweanticheatyet.com/ Battle Eye and Easy Anti Cheat are both working, but the developers need to update.
- wildrhythms 5y ago
  There's also ProtonDB cataloguing the playability of games thru the Proton compatibility layer (built into Steam on Linux). https://www.protondb.com/ https://www.protondb.com/
- matheusmoreira 5y ago
  >Battle Eye and Easy Anti Cheat are both working Do they require kernel modules?
Sebb767 5y ago
I've been running GPU passthrough setups for years now. It's takes a bit longer when buying hardware and on first-time setup, but is working flawlessly since. I can't imagine going back to not having separate VMs for untrusted software (like mods) or snapshots. I'd highly recommend the switch.
- jle17 5y ago
  As someone considering this setup, does this have any performance cost at all, even small ? Or is it totally identical, framerate and otherwise, to native ?
  - resonious 5y ago
    I've also been doing this and in 99% of cases the performance appears identical to me. You just need to have an extra keyboard/mouse available so that you can reduce latency. There's one particular game lately, however, that I've been booting to Windows directly for. Assets seem to load extremely slowly even if I pass the entire hard drive directly to the VM. There might be a tweak for getting that to work but I don't really know what the source of the slowdown is.
  - Sebb767 5y ago
    It depends on how you set it up. If you don't isolate your CPU cores, you'll notice VM load on the host and the other way around. Other than that, the loss is negligible (unless you're going for benchmarks). I'd say in the sub-5% range, depending on the workload (GPU, for example, is usually not impacted at all). My old workstation with an i5-2500 could still play AAA games in good quality (with a somewhat modern GPU). Surprisingly, the disk performance of HDDs and SATA SSDs is actually better in VMs for me. It seems that the caching and/or access strategy used by the Linux kernel helps a lot. Of course there is always small cost; for one, you're running two OS at once, so not all resources are available. You'll also need to have a sound system (unless you have two sound cards or use scream, you might have latency) and if you pass-through USB via the VM subsystem instead of handing an USB controller to the VM, some high-speed devices might make problems (i.e. DJ controllers). But overall, I'd say the cost is negligible for nearly all use-cases.
RosanaAnaDana 5y ago
I switched to Pop as my daily driver and really, its fine. No issue.
neilv 5y ago
> The only reason I continue to run Windows as my desktop is for gaming, I decided to buy into the PlayStation ecosystem for gaming and I've been mostly happy with that. I understand it also gives me better anti-cheat than windows, until the PS4 is really cracked. (Rampant cheaters did eventually ruin my favorite PS3 game, but so far OK for PS4.) Fortunately, in my case, I wasn't already invested in Windows gaming that I couldn't recoup (e.g., game licenses, in-game leveling and stuff accumulation, player teams). I realize that could be an painful move for some people. I have ZERO regrets about making Linux my daily driver laptop, and keep all closed software off it (except for wifi firmware blobs). I'm also able to run the same Debian Stable for various home servers, etc.
- bouke 5y ago
  Ugh playing CoD MW online on the PS4 was a constant stream of mandatory updates which the PS4 needed to install when I had an hour to spare, even though background updates were enabled, leaving just 30 minutes of play time. Frustrating times.
sofixa 5y ago
If that or Proton and co fail, there's also cloud gaming options. Depending on your internet the experience is pretty good, and even multiple services cost less in monthly fees than a comparable GPU at today's prices over 4-5 years.

jay_kyburz 5y ago

Perhaps you haven't been following the Steam Deck, Proton and Linux Anticheat but there has been some progress. Somebody posted this to reddit the other day. https://areweanticheatyet.com/ https://areweanticheatyet.com/ Battle Eye and Easy Anti Cheat are both working, but the developers need to update.

wildrhythms 5y ago
There's also ProtonDB cataloguing the playability of games thru the Proton compatibility layer (built into Steam on Linux). https://www.protondb.com/ https://www.protondb.com/
matheusmoreira 5y ago
>Battle Eye and Easy Anti Cheat are both working Do they require kernel modules?

Sebb767 5y ago

I've been running GPU passthrough setups for years now. It's takes a bit longer when buying hardware and on first-time setup, but is working flawlessly since. I can't imagine going back to not having separate VMs for untrusted software (like mods) or snapshots. I'd highly recommend the switch.

jle17 5y ago
As someone considering this setup, does this have any performance cost at all, even small ? Or is it totally identical, framerate and otherwise, to native ?
- resonious 5y ago
  I've also been doing this and in 99% of cases the performance appears identical to me. You just need to have an extra keyboard/mouse available so that you can reduce latency. There's one particular game lately, however, that I've been booting to Windows directly for. Assets seem to load extremely slowly even if I pass the entire hard drive directly to the VM. There might be a tweak for getting that to work but I don't really know what the source of the slowdown is.
- Sebb767 5y ago
  It depends on how you set it up. If you don't isolate your CPU cores, you'll notice VM load on the host and the other way around. Other than that, the loss is negligible (unless you're going for benchmarks). I'd say in the sub-5% range, depending on the workload (GPU, for example, is usually not impacted at all). My old workstation with an i5-2500 could still play AAA games in good quality (with a somewhat modern GPU). Surprisingly, the disk performance of HDDs and SATA SSDs is actually better in VMs for me. It seems that the caching and/or access strategy used by the Linux kernel helps a lot. Of course there is always small cost; for one, you're running two OS at once, so not all resources are available. You'll also need to have a sound system (unless you have two sound cards or use scream, you might have latency) and if you pass-through USB via the VM subsystem instead of handing an USB controller to the VM, some high-speed devices might make problems (i.e. DJ controllers). But overall, I'd say the cost is negligible for nearly all use-cases.

RosanaAnaDana 5y ago

I switched to Pop as my daily driver and really, its fine. No issue.

neilv 5y ago

> The only reason I continue to run Windows as my desktop is for gaming, I decided to buy into the PlayStation ecosystem for gaming and I've been mostly happy with that. I understand it also gives me better anti-cheat than windows, until the PS4 is really cracked. (Rampant cheaters did eventually ruin my favorite PS3 game, but so far OK for PS4.) Fortunately, in my case, I wasn't already invested in Windows gaming that I couldn't recoup (e.g., game licenses, in-game leveling and stuff accumulation, player teams). I realize that could be an painful move for some people. I have ZERO regrets about making Linux my daily driver laptop, and keep all closed software off it (except for wifi firmware blobs). I'm also able to run the same Debian Stable for various home servers, etc.

bouke 5y ago
Ugh playing CoD MW online on the PS4 was a constant stream of mandatory updates which the PS4 needed to install when I had an hour to spare, even though background updates were enabled, leaving just 30 minutes of play time. Frustrating times.

sofixa 5y ago

If that or Proton and co fail, there's also cloud gaming options. Depending on your internet the experience is pretty good, and even multiple services cost less in monthly fees than a comparable GPU at today's prices over 4-5 years.