Tips on distro for gaming
Hi! I'm getting a new laptop any day now and I plan on going back to Linux after maybe a decade on Windows. What works best for gaming nowadays? Is manjaro good for that? I prefer a distro with a nice name but of course that's not the central thing. I'll also do some book keeping, writing et cetera but I don't think it's much to worry about. I also hope to use my Valve Index on it.
I think any distro will do really. I'd go for something that is friendly to new users, if you're not very familiar with Linux in general. For example: Linux Mint. Here is an example on how you can get your installation setup easily: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyT4wfz5ZMg
Regarding your Valve Index. It will likely work, but don't expect it to be very easy to get it running well. I'm currently on Arch Linux with red team hardware and a Valve Index. For example, you will need to ensure the udev rules are set properly: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-devices. New issues occasionally arise, see: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/SteamVR-for-Linux/issues. Currently, it's not switching audio devices automatically, so I use pavucontrol (with PipeWire) to switch that manually.
Doesn't Mint hold back kernel updates to major version upgrades like Ubuntu though? That could be problematic if they have newer hardware that's better supported (or only supported at all) in newer kernel releases.
@gh0stcassette you can install HWE kernels like in Ubuntu, from Update Manager
5.15. isn't that bad of a kernel version in my experience. Admittedly, I'm don't have any latest gen hardware at the moment, but using one generation back RX 6700XT without problems on it with Mint. Alternatively, one can install the newer 6.x kernels with a few clicks if needed, they are not actively blocked or unlisted.
They do. Linux mint is great for office work and opening firefox. If you want a gaming distro i'd use something closer to the edge like fedora / endeavour os.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=IyT4wfz5ZMg
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
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Ublue Bazzite.
Bazzite is fundamentally different as it is based on Fedora Atomic Desktops. This is huge.
The OS is worlds more stable and reliable.
They use Fedoras base and add all the gaming stuff to it, to work out of the box.
I use Aurora, coming from Fedora Kinoite (KDE Atomic) and then uBlue Kinoite.
Thank you!
Anything with a recent kernel is fine. If you're not very experienced, I'd recommend something like Fedora or OpenSUSE (both semi-rolling releases so you'll get new kernels, graphics drivers, etc. but less likely to break for no reason than arch/gentoo derivatives).
Manjaro is fine if you don't use the AUR, but arch/manjaro repositories on their own will be inadequate, and it will be so easy to get what's missing from the AUR, which will eventually break something. This is because Manjaro holds back arch Linux updates for a week or two for "testing" purposes, but the AUR expects precisely the latest arch packages. If you're thinking about Manjaro, do EndeavorOS instead. It's the same thing (arch Linux with a more user friendly installer and relatively sane default apps/configs) with infinitely less hassle. Plus there's really no point to using an arch-based distro without the AUR imo.
Garuda is also cool, I haven't used it myself, but it's supposed to be another preconfigured version of Arch more targeted towards gamers. YMMV, I'd probably just stick with EndeavorOS.
If you want an Ubuntu or Debian derivative, I'd go with Pop!OS. It's basically Ubuntu without all the Ubuntu bullshit (snaps ludicrously out of date packages, etc), and they keep the kernel and video drivers pretty recent, unlike stock Ubuntu. Plus they have a cool desktop environment. Currently it's a fork of GNOME, but they're working on rewriting it from scratch and are making great progress, which will be interesting once it's more developed.
Thank you!
I feel like I wrote this ( although while I did find Garuda “cool”, it was not really for me ). I agree with everything else.
Bazzite, it's an immutable Fedora-based distro, so in the unlikely event that it breaks, you can just revert back to whatever you had before.
Nobara is similar, Fedora-based but not immutable, which means you can tinker with it, but possibly also break it. Made by Glorious Eggroll, the guy behind the GE versions of proton and wine.
Mint is a more general-purpose distro, based on Ubuntu (which itself is based on Debian), but it's very user-friendly and does just fine with games.
Manjaro is fine, it's the one I put on my mom's computer because she needed a Windows program that I found in the AUR. It was pretty decent for the four games that she plays lol (The Sims 4, AoE2, Neverwinter Nights, and Prince of Qin). It's Arch-based, but not bleeding-edge like Arch, so it's ostensibly more stable.
As far as the Index goes, idk about that, as I don't own one. However, I just DDG'd "valve index on linux", and quite a few guides came up, so it shouldn't be too hard to get it going. Plus Valve is a pretty Linux-friendly company,
Thank you!
I prefer a distro with a nice name
That's honestly a really good distro picking strategy for someone just moving to Linux.
Unless you think "from scratch" sounds nice.
Credit where credit is due. I was taught the strategy by Amelia Andersdotter, back then running for the European Parliament (then member of parliament).
What works best for gaming nowadays?
Depends on your system/setup. Though, you should be able to get it to work on most distros (eventually). Consider checking out https://linux-hardware.org/ to see which distros are known to work for your new laptop. Personally, I'm inclined to believe that Bazzite is the most hands-free solution for most people. However, other good options include Linux Mint and Pop!_OS.
Is manjaro good for that?
I really wonder where newcomers get to know about Manjaro 😜. Manjaro does a bunch of good stuff and has in the past been great for providing a platform by which Arch Linux (Manjaro is based on Arch) could be (relatively) easily consumed. However, Manjaro has since tarnished its own branding (see Manjarno). Hence, I find it hard to recommend it ever since.
I’ll also do some book keeping, writing et cetera but I don’t think it’s much to worry about.
You should be fine unless you need specific software (that's not available on Linux) to do those things on. For most software there are decent alternatives; https://alternativeto.net/ might be a helpful resource in that regard.
I also hope to use my Valve Index on it.
Unfortunately, I don't have any experiences on that. Therefore I abstain from giving any further comments. Wish ya good luck with that though!
Honestly my main issue with Manjaro is still that they hold updates for a week or two for "testing" which tends to break certain AUR packages. I'd be less mad if the testing actually amounted to anything, but half the time they basically do nothing, and if there were any bugs Arch has released updates that resolve them already, which you won't get for another week because of their update schedule. Anytime anyone talks about being interested in Manjaro, I just recommend they get EndeavorOS instead, it's basically stock arch with a fancy installer and sane defaults which is great for anyone who mostly knows what they're doing with Linux (or is at least capable of opening a terminal window and pasting error messages into google or, failing that, ChatGPT and following basic instructions)
Thank you!
Ive used Nobara before and was pretty happy with that. Like bazzite it is made for gaming and mostly just works out of the box. I haven't used bazzite though, so I can't say which was better in my experience. But VR was still a hassle to set up for me
Thank you!
The usual suspects are Bazzite, Garuda, Nobara. But you can game on every distro. To give proper advice, some info on your hardware would be needed.
Thank you! It's this one, I have a good local sale on it https://www.acer.com/se-sv/predator/laptops/helios/helios-neo-16/pdp/NH.QLVED.009
One important part for gaming is the graphics card - I cannot comment on that particular one, but I would recommend searching it like "nvidia rtx 4070 + linux" so you can find advice and recommendations. You could also hop over to https://www.protondb.com/, select that card and see what most people are running. Or there is this https://linux-hardware.org/ page, where you find lots of info about whats being recommended.
Nvidia used to be problematic with Linux, but I also have an older Nvidia card and haven't run into any problems (yet). Also there's lots of new development in that area, I'm sure it's gonna be ok. Also some distros offer preinstalled Nvidia drivers that you simply select in a driver manager - that for example is the case for Linux Mint.
Keep at it, you got this and there's so many people and resources online to help. Best of luck!
I've used Manjaro for many years now, and it works very well for Steam IMO. When I chose Manjaro I checked ProtonDB to see if there was a trend where some distros had higher success rate for Proton games on Steam, and it seemed to me there was, and Manjaro was one of the best.
But maybe if I had checked other games I'd have other results IDK. But generally if a game has good score on ProtonDB it will work for me with my Radeon RX 6600 XT.
I would imagine most distros work well with Steam today, it is after all mostly similar libraries they all use.
Thank you!
Manjaro is basically just arch Linux on a 1-2 week update lag, so you'd have just as much if not more success with EndeavorOS or raw Arch.
Something with (close to) up-to-date kernels, like Fedora or openSUSE Tumbleweed.
Thank you!
Any distro will do honestly. If you are a beginner and just want the distro to work out of the box, something like Pop!_OS might be for you.
Ill put my vote in for Garuda Linux. If you're using Intel nvidia it is optimized out if the box. It is built on arch so youd manage it similar to Manjaro. kDE Plasma with Wayland is smooth. I cant get GNOME network displays to work to add my TV as a monitor but otherwise everything has been great.
Thank you!
