circuitfarmer

This is generally true, but I’d also caution that the B580 is a brand new card with (somewhat lacking) Linux support.

In general, if you aren’t using bleeding edge hardware, you won’t have such issues. This is especially true of AMD hardware, which tends to be extremely Linux friendly.

Exactly this. Many people have a lot of apprehension until they actually try it.

Fair enough. I tend to agree, but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, because, you know, FOSS and freedom.

Yes, anti-cheat specifically is a problem. That’s you fighting against the corpos, to be clear. Not really an issue with gaming on Linux itself.

Edit: not only against the corpos, but more generally against the idea of “kernel-level anti-cheat”. If you’re giving any corporation kernel-level access to your machine, you basically no longer control your machine. That’s true of Windows too.

It’s a big issue and the lack of support on Linux is a bit of a feature, not really a bug.

But… Why not now? I can’t think of a single reason.

I wouldn’t say SteamOS for new folks, tbh. Flatpaks are very different from the typical Linux flow.

This is fair. I should have given my own suggestions.

Mint is probably the choice at the moment for new folks. Also, this will be controversial, but feel free with Ubuntu. It will get you started, and that’s great.

Edit: I added some (open-ended) suggestions to my original comment.

To anyone reading this thinking “once SteamOS comes out, I’ll switch”, you should know:

Gaming on Linux is already here. Pick a distro and game. You can take advantage of Proton right now. You don’t need to wait for one specific distro.

I’ve personally been gaming on Linux exclusively for about 3 years. Windows games, not Linux games.

Edit: based on other commenters’ suggestions, I’ll give you some.

I have gamed for those three years on PopOS. It is a distro based on Debian, ultimately, which means it’s also related to Ubuntu and Mint. Realistically, you can pick any of those 4 and you should have a nice experience.

Arch is popular with the übergeeks, and I do use it on my laptop, BTW, but you shouldn’t use it as a first distro.

The concept of “distro” doesn’t really exist for Windows, because you pretty much get one monolithic product. But basically, it is a specific mix of software that works together and relies on the Linux kernel. Imagine it as a “version” of Windows with specific goals, some of which are overlapping (e.g. Mint and Ubuntu tend to cater to the same audience).

If you get far enough into it, the freedom that Linux allows means that you can turn any distro into any other distro.

Same. Never looked back.

Damn I’m happy I went AMD.

My Linux experience has been command line training. Now I avoid GUI stuff like the plague if I can help it.

I’m on Pop simply for Pop Shell at this point. Really looking forward to Cosmic getting (more) done.

*with PSN requirements. Don’t confuse money grabs with altruism.

Also Silicon Power is practically a name brand at this point. I’ve had many and never an issue.

This is a “masturbating is cheating” person, yeah?

100% agree. Leave the people who would work the best at home at home. You want to play the corporate game? Come to the office.

You will arguably get better results in terms of your product.

I had a 14.4 modem. I remember wanting a 33.6. Those were the days though. Simpler times.

Yes. One more reason why they are against a major benefit of Linux.

I’ve never understood why it isn’t the other way around.

All the higher up corpos can be together in the office. After all, they seem to enjoy playing around in suits.

For me, Snaps are the thing. Ubuntu has chosen to use Snaps even for things readily available on other distros / in many repos without the need for Snap.

Linux is about choice, and making that kind of decision eliminates some choice. And given that Ubuntu is commonly recommended for new users – partly because it is often one of the few distros with official support for stuff – it’s extra annoying.

Edit: in practice, there are many Ubuntu-like distros that are probably just as good for new users and don’t need the Snaps (e.g. Mint). But new users won’t know this. If Ubuntu were not the behemoth it is in terms of name recognition, many people would care less.