1 yr. ago • 88%

Linux distro for gaming

I know this has probably been asked before but I am currently using Arch and wondering if my choice is the best for gaming. What are the thoughts from the community? I have an AMD Ryzen 7 processor with 64 gigs of RAM and a decent AMD GPU. Gaming seems to be okay on Arch but I am wondering if I've overlooked something better. Thank you in advance.

40 comments

I'm in the "if it ain't broke" camp.

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- That much said. Would performance improve if I switched to KDE Plasma and Wayland?
  
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  That I can't help with. I've used Plasma since i started with Arch, and I haven't made the jump to Wayland yet.
  
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There is a certain group of people who insist that only the distros with the latest packages are good for gaming. In most cases, they're wrong.

Unless you have a very new GPU (released less than a year ago), your games are not likely to get any benefit from the latest kernel.

Unless your games require the very latest Vulkan features and you run them without Steam, Flatpak, or any other platform that provides its own Mesa, you're not likely to get any benefit from a distro providing the latest version of it.

Practically everything else that games need is comparable across all the major distros, so choose one that makes you happy, not one that some shill claims is best for gaming. Even Debian Stable, contrary to the undeserved bashing it often gets by a certain kind of gamer, is generally excellent for gaming.

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Nobara. It's Fedora modified and tweaked for gaming.

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- Hopped around when starting out, and finally landed on Nobara about a year ago.
  
  I use the KDE version, and I love it. Ticks all my personal boxes.
  
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It's been a while since I used Arch, but it was smooth sailing while I did. In general, gaming means Steam, and Steam ships with its own runtime so it is not really impacted by whatever library versions are packaged by the distro. Gaming is a very common use case. You'd have to pick a pretty obscure one to find something where it isn't tested and somewhat streamlined.

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- Thank you your answer. I mean there is something to be said for, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." My setup is not broken. I can play my favorite Steam/Proton games without issue. So maybe I am just over-thinking it.
  
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  If you're bored, then check out some custom kernels, like Xanmod or Liquorix.
  
  There's also this Linux gaming guide which has some good hints and tweaks you might've missed - do be warned though that it is a rabbit hole - and always verify whether the tweak you're applying is relevant to you and still current/needed!
  
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- Yeah, Steam is pretty much the reason why Linux is more viable for gaming now.
  
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All distros are capable of providing a decent gaming experience -- no distro has a feature that makes it "stand out" compared to other distros. But if all you want is to "boot and game", then Nobara, Garuda, ZorinOS or Linux Mint are your best bet.

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If you can live with the debian side of things - pop_os is simple, clean, and works out of the box for gaming. If not, I had a good time on Nobara. I've never journeyed further into Arch than Manjaro which I didn't like much - so I can't make direct comparisons for you

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- I could live with the Debian side of things but I would probably prefer Linux Mint Debian Edition to pop_is. Would this be okay?
  
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  Not for gaming. The problem with Mint, and most Ubuntu/Debian based distros, is they run ancient packages - especially the kernel, the graphics stack (mesa) etc. Sure, you could install a custom kernel, sure you could install a PPA with updated drivers etc, but then you'd make a mess out of your system, which will cause your updates and upgrades to break.
  
  For gaming, you always want to be on the latest stack (there are exceptions ofc in case of regressions), since the Linux world is pretty fast moving, and especially these days, lots of fixes have been coming in fast for Wine/Proton/AMD, thanks to Valve and the Steam Deck, and all the users and devs invested in it who now see Linux as a viable platform for gaming. Never before in the Linux world have we seen so much development and advancements, and it's all fueled by the Steam Deck (and AMD's opensource efforts).
  
  Pop, is also based on Ubuntu, so it suffers from much of the same issues that other Ubuntu based distros face, so it's not the best choice for gaming.
  
  So you'd be better off sticking with Arch (if you like to DIY and optimize stuff on your own), but Nobara is a pretty solid choice when it comes to gaming, because it's optimized for gaming out of the box - has a custom kernel with patches gamers would appreciate, patched Discord for stuff like screensharing, has Proton-GE, Steam, drivers, codecs etc all ready to go. In fact, Nobara is made by the same person who makes Proton-GE (ie GloriousEggroll), so you know that this is a legit distro for gaming that's actually made by someone who knows their stuff, and is a gamer themselves.
  
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  LMDE5 is pretty old at this point. LMDE6 is planned fairly soon though and that would be much better given easier access to drivers.
  
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Does it run the games you want to play? Don't fix what isn't broken.

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Your setup sounds exactly like mine and I couldn't be happier with AMD and Endeavor.

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I use Mint, but basically all Debian and Ubuntu Distro should do the trick.

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Pop os if you want stability, due to its ubuntu base.

For Arch based ones, common examples would be ChimeraOS (full console like experience), or Garuda OS (arch with a skin and preinstalled apps that function like GFE/AMD Software have, like instant replay and such)

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- I enjoy garuda. It’s absolutely better than ubuntu 6 years ago (my previous linux experience)
  
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I’ve heard Nobara is pretty good, it’s basically fedora but with a bunch of gaming centered tweaks put in it. also to add some credibility to it, its made by the guy behind Proton and Wine GE.

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- I'm actually going to try Nobara one day when I'm bored and don't have any place to be. This is mainly because it seems to promise that Xbox One wireless controllers work with it out of the box. On Fedora 38 I'm having a hard time and I actually prefer this controller. I have had to use a different one because I still haven't figured out what I'm missing. *edit: just read the web site for Nobara and saw it includes driver support for Lenovo Legion computers! I'm totally doing this tomorrow on a lazy Sunday!
  
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  i’d like to know how it goes! i’ve never used it personally, but i’ve heard good things. best of luck!
  
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From what I’ve read choice of distro doesn’t make a huge difference, particularly on AMD. If you’re happy with Arch why not stay there?

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- You're right. I am staying put. Thanks for your input. 😀
  
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Grab Pop_OS!

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- Pop!_OS
  
  FTFY
  
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  Ty!
  
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I am currently using Arch

Stick to it.

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I've learned to stay away from Debian distros. For me, the best for gaming is Fedora. It does not come with everything pre-installed (Steam, Lutris, etc.) so you have to install those things yourself. However, what it has is stability and ease of use. They distribute their own media writer to easily and reliably create installation media. I have had zero problems with Wayland, which made me skeptical about using Fedora. I've been eyeing Garuda, which I've heard positive things about, but haven't bothered trying it yet. If you like xfce as I do, Fedora works great with it, and you can even install it with xfce as your preferred desktop.

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Bro.

Steam OS.

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- Isn't it outdated as hell?
  
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  I mean I was kinda trolling with the suggestion, but then, I low key fucking love my steam deck, and have just rolled it as a daily drive when was between computers.
  
  If you are actually interested in a distro that is exclusively gaming focused, well supported, most likely to 'just work' for gaming...
  
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- Literally the worst possible suggestion. Good job.
  
  SteamOS is basically abandonware and should never be suggestion to a Linux noob trying to learn.
  
  My dude, try Linux mint. Try Pop!_OS. after you learn a bit and want to branch out, I use EndeavourOS for gaming, but it’s a tad higher maintenance and less inherently stable because of constant bleeding edge updates.
  
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- Permanently Deleted
  
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  Users should not consider SteamOS as a replacement for their desktop operating system.
  
  Can you show me where in the requirements the OP said anything other than "choice is the best for gaming". I think SteamOS falls firmly into that category.
  
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- Via HoloISO
  
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  ChimeraOS is a better option IMO, if you're looking for better hardware compatibility and faster updates, and not just a SteamOS clone.
  
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I think the desktop is the question more so than the distro.

I like GNOME desktop for gaming so I would use Ubuntu or Manjaro for distros for example

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