9 ms·

If you want to do any sort of pc gaming, then you don't really have a choice unfortunately.

bduerst 5y ago
If you can get video drivers to work, Linux has been "good enough" for a while now. SteamOS will further push the ecosystem into it (hopefully).
- dmix 5y ago
  Just use mainstream hardware and not low budget laptops and this is pretty easy these days.
- account42 5y ago
  Thankfully for all but one desktop GPU vendor the drivers are built right into the kernel and come out of the box with any distribution.
II2II 5y ago
I'll grant you that most people will likely prefer PC gaming on Wimdows, but the claim of any sort of gaming is excessive. There is a large selection of native games from many publishers and in many genres for Linux. You won't have to go without if you're simply looking for a good time. That's before considering emulation, Proton, and the likes. Of course, a desire to play particular titles is going to be hit-or-miss.
dj_mc_merlin 5y ago
I do all of my gaming on a Linux laptop via Proton. Even got it to switch between my iGPU and dGPU. We're _lightyears_ ahead of where we used to be.
bee_rider 5y ago
Not really, nowadays. Windows has better GPU drivers, and it allows for more intrusive DRM/anticheat. So, if you are playing brand new AAA games with really fancy graphics, Windows might be helpful. Or if you are really into competitive online gaming. Those are niches, though, not "any sort of pc gaming."
- contravariant 5y ago
  To go completely off topic, whatever happened to free online games? It almost looks like one generation just stopped playing them and the other somehow decided to go with expensive / adware smartphone games. Surely there must have been some people in between who wondered what the fuck was happening? Is this a flash generation gap?
  - bee_rider 5y ago
    What kind? I remember free flash games. I wonder if flash dying, and then nothing quite replaced it, in terms of being 1) easy for the user to 'install' and 2) easy for the creator to make something. There was also stuff like Urban Dead and Nexus War, almost like MUDs for 2007 or so. Urban Dead is shambling along appropriately enough...
    - dannyw 5y ago
      I miss games like Tribal War, that ancient Greece themed game, eRepublik, and of course Urban Dead. From what I gather all the growth, audience, and money moved into "social gaming" (fb farmville / Mafia wars) and mobile.
      - bee_rider 5y ago
        There was also a game -- "Battlemaster," essentially you played some noble lord in a low-ish-fantasy universe. Vaguely game-of-thronesy feeling (before the show, though). I didn't get very far (although someone was nice enough to give me a province, and I dutifully... paid taxes and tried to avoid screwing up whatever plans I thought they had going). Some players from Urban Dead (the spark more or less came from the ridleyband resistance front, I think) eventually made Nexus War, which had a similar feel to it, but better design (skill trees, etc) and a more interesting theme (angels vs humans vs demons). Eventually that shut down, and somebody from the community made a similar game called Nexus Clash. That's still running, although I guess the population is probably ever-dwindling. This sort of asynchronous mostly HTML based game seemed to be really good at fostering a community. Play the game a bit, find a faction of some sort, and then join their phpbb forum...
2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago
Yes you do. Use a minimal separate Windows install only for gaming when necessary. That's what I do. I also got single GPU kvm passthrough working the other day so I don't even need to dual boot. You could even take a principled stand and just not play those games.
- dannyw 5y ago
  Same. I have a gaming windows machine. I have a kvm switch that switches to my main Ubuntu OS. Yes, this requires having two PCs, but I don't need a GPU for Ubuntu anyway (the integrated one suffices). I also like my hardware isolation between Microsoft/NSA spyware/adware my actual computer.
- GekkePrutser 5y ago
  Same here. I have a separate PC for gaming. What makes a good PC for daily work is also very different from what makes a good having PC. My daily driver is a quiet and energy efficient NUC. My gaming PC is quite noisy with its 3080Ti.. I'm sure I can bring noise levels down with expensive fans but consumption will remain higher. This way I don't have to as I always game with a headset on anyway.
- mecha_ghidorah 5y ago
  I mean in that case you're still paying Microsoft for a Windows install. I'm not sure that is really "choosing a different OS" in a way that matters much. You chose Windows and a different OS, from Microsoft's point of view they still got theirs
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
account42 5y ago
Linux gaming works very well. Perfect without any issues ever? Probably not but neither is Windows. The main remaining difference seems to be due to anti-cheat, but that's only mainstream multiplayer gaming, not "any sort of pc gamings".

If you can get video drivers to work, Linux has been "good enough" for a while now. SteamOS will further push the ecosystem into it (hopefully).

dmix 5y ago
Just use mainstream hardware and not low budget laptops and this is pretty easy these days.
account42 5y ago
Thankfully for all but one desktop GPU vendor the drivers are built right into the kernel and come out of the box with any distribution.

II2II 5y ago

I'll grant you that most people will likely prefer PC gaming on Wimdows, but the claim of any sort of gaming is excessive. There is a large selection of native games from many publishers and in many genres for Linux. You won't have to go without if you're simply looking for a good time. That's before considering emulation, Proton, and the likes. Of course, a desire to play particular titles is going to be hit-or-miss.

dj_mc_merlin 5y ago

I do all of my gaming on a Linux laptop via Proton. Even got it to switch between my iGPU and dGPU. We're _lightyears_ ahead of where we used to be.

bee_rider 5y ago

Not really, nowadays. Windows has better GPU drivers, and it allows for more intrusive DRM/anticheat. So, if you are playing brand new AAA games with really fancy graphics, Windows might be helpful. Or if you are really into competitive online gaming. Those are niches, though, not "any sort of pc gaming."

contravariant 5y ago
To go completely off topic, whatever happened to free online games? It almost looks like one generation just stopped playing them and the other somehow decided to go with expensive / adware smartphone games. Surely there must have been some people in between who wondered what the fuck was happening? Is this a flash generation gap?
- bee_rider 5y ago
  What kind? I remember free flash games. I wonder if flash dying, and then nothing quite replaced it, in terms of being 1) easy for the user to 'install' and 2) easy for the creator to make something. There was also stuff like Urban Dead and Nexus War, almost like MUDs for 2007 or so. Urban Dead is shambling along appropriately enough...
  - dannyw 5y ago
    I miss games like Tribal War, that ancient Greece themed game, eRepublik, and of course Urban Dead. From what I gather all the growth, audience, and money moved into "social gaming" (fb farmville / Mafia wars) and mobile.
    - bee_rider 5y ago
      There was also a game -- "Battlemaster," essentially you played some noble lord in a low-ish-fantasy universe. Vaguely game-of-thronesy feeling (before the show, though). I didn't get very far (although someone was nice enough to give me a province, and I dutifully... paid taxes and tried to avoid screwing up whatever plans I thought they had going). Some players from Urban Dead (the spark more or less came from the ridleyband resistance front, I think) eventually made Nexus War, which had a similar feel to it, but better design (skill trees, etc) and a more interesting theme (angels vs humans vs demons). Eventually that shut down, and somebody from the community made a similar game called Nexus Clash. That's still running, although I guess the population is probably ever-dwindling. This sort of asynchronous mostly HTML based game seemed to be really good at fostering a community. Play the game a bit, find a faction of some sort, and then join their phpbb forum...

2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago

Yes you do. Use a minimal separate Windows install only for gaming when necessary. That's what I do. I also got single GPU kvm passthrough working the other day so I don't even need to dual boot. You could even take a principled stand and just not play those games.

dannyw 5y ago
Same. I have a gaming windows machine. I have a kvm switch that switches to my main Ubuntu OS. Yes, this requires having two PCs, but I don't need a GPU for Ubuntu anyway (the integrated one suffices). I also like my hardware isolation between Microsoft/NSA spyware/adware my actual computer.
GekkePrutser 5y ago
Same here. I have a separate PC for gaming. What makes a good PC for daily work is also very different from what makes a good having PC. My daily driver is a quiet and energy efficient NUC. My gaming PC is quite noisy with its 3080Ti.. I'm sure I can bring noise levels down with expensive fans but consumption will remain higher. This way I don't have to as I always game with a headset on anyway.
mecha_ghidorah 5y ago
I mean in that case you're still paying Microsoft for a Windows install. I'm not sure that is really "choosing a different OS" in a way that matters much. You chose Windows and a different OS, from Microsoft's point of view they still got theirs

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

account42 5y ago

Linux gaming works very well. Perfect without any issues ever? Probably not but neither is Windows. The main remaining difference seems to be due to anti-cheat, but that's only mainstream multiplayer gaming, not "any sort of pc gamings".