Hello everybody! I want to escape Microsoft and windows, and I am looking for a Linux distro. I have some experience with Unix and a very old Ubuntu distro. But that's quite some years ago. I am looking for a Linux distribution where i can play World of Warcraft on. I mainly use Nvidia graphics (RTX 3070).
I have found some distributions that are supposed to be good for gaming. I suppose, as i am still a Linux Noob, I am also looking for a distribution which is easy to get into. Especially for an older gamer ;)
I came with these distro's myself. What does the Linux community say?
Bazzite
- Based on Fedora Atomic
- Pre Installed Steam
- Nvidia drivers and support https://bazzite.gg/ https://docs.bazzite.gg/Gaming/index.html
Developer: Universal Blue (US?)
Drauger OS
- Based on Ubuntu LTS using KDE Plasma
- Pre for AMD https://draugeros.org/
Pop!_OS
- based on Ubuntu
- Optimized for gaming on Nvidia GPU's https://system76.com/pop/
Developer: system76 (Denver, US)
SteamOS -based on Debian 8 (Jessie) -designed to run steam and steam games -set to auto update their OS from Valve repo's https://store.steampowered.com/steamos
Developer: Valve (US)
Manjaro -based on Arch (rolling release model for latest software/drivers) -KDE plasma desktop (Pro-tip: enable flatpak and install ProtonUp-QT) https://manjaro.org/products
Developer: Majaro (EU - Austria, France, Germany)
Ubuntu: -the go-to linux distro for millions of users, incl gamers -best for beginners and gamers who want stable well supported distro -works seamlesssly with steam, lutris, wine (pro-tip: install the gamemode package (sudo apt install gamemode)) https://ubuntu.com/download
Developer: Canonical ltd. (UK)
Nobara -based on Fedora -optimized for gaming on newer Nvidia graphics (drivers come installed) https://nobaraproject.org/download-nobara/
Developer: Thomas Crider (Denver, US)
Mint -based on debian and Ubuntu -friendly OS, works out of the box, extremely easy to use https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php
Developer : Linuxmint (French, Dutch, UK)
First, gaming distros are vanilla distros with opinionated tweaks and additions to support the hobby of gaming. It might be as simple as having Steam pre-installed to as complex as having unique kernels or custom package repos maintained by the distro maintainers.
But that doesn't mean vanilla is always the best choice, because not everybody wants to spend time optimizing everything. Some distros even have easy setup scripts for otherwise complex installations (like for Davinci Resolve). Don't feel like you need to pick vanilla to be a "true user."
Some easy to set up Distros for gaming that are ready ootb:
Bazzite: Fedora Atomic, practically bulletproof, just works. Downsides are that adding new packages is not the same as other distros, and there's a learning curve to it beyond flatpaks. Some software can't be installed at all if it doesn't come as an RPM or AppImage (Private Internet Access's VPN client, for example).
CachyOS: Arch with an optimized kernel and optimized packages. Comes with some easy-install scripts. Tool to easily select different kernels and schedulers. Currently another very popular choice. Like the above, this just works. There's some debate about how significant the optimizations really are, but they're there nonetheless.
Nobara: Traditional Fedora. Like Bazzite, just works. Has a custom update manager that acts as a GUI wrapper for your usual cli tools. Maintained by GloriousEggroll, a widely respected user that maintains the GE versions of Proton.
PikaOS: Debian (not Ubuntu). Combines the philosophies of Nobara and CachyOS and puts them atop Debian. Better setup scripts than even CachyOS, a more user friendly update tool than Nobara's, and has the same kernel selection and scheduler tools as CachyOS, plus the same package optimizations. Don't let the fact that it's Debian underneath fool you. This has the latest kernel and drivers.
I would try all of those in a VM and see what you like about them. They're all unique and worth a look.
ETA: all of these have Nvidia versions, so all of them should work with your card.
Thanks a lot for your time to explain this to me. Its very appreciated. Running them in a VM sounds like a good thing to do!
It's what I have done. They'll work slower, but you'll get a sense of what they can do, how hard it is to do things, etc.
When you're ready, I think all but Bazzite have Live ISO options, so you can see what it's like on bare metal. When you're satisfied, install your favorite!