Post Windows 10, Linux gaming options?

Kosmik

Kosmik

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Looked for a dedicated thread but didn't find anything. I have a couple old machines all running windows 10 that are below the spec for 11. Its not worth the effort of upgrading those machines and they are primarily used by my kids for gaming: Roblox and Steam. I have a few software items on there but most have got Linux versions and I would rather take my existing windows, shove it into a virtual machine snapshot and spin it up separately if needed.

Can anyone suggest or point to a guide for a decent Linux flavour/config that is pretty basic UI wise to get the kids to migrate to? I'm pretty certain there isn't anything specific that they need to actually run on windows. I have some Linux based server/IOT devices running but those are all cli and server interface, this would need to be particularly GUI driven.
 
DarkStarMonday said:
bazzite.gg

Bazzite - The operating system for the next generation of gamers

Bazzite makes gaming and everyday use smoother and simpler across desktop PCs, handhelds, tablets, and home theater PCs.
bazzite.gg bazzite.gg


Bazzite is very good, has windows mode and access to many 3rd party apps and gaming apps.
Click to expand...
I see that is popping up quite a bit:

1759735686910.png

@Kosmik Maybe try @DarkStarMonday one first.

 
Bazzite is a Linux Distro which is a flavour of Linux so its a full OS installation. There a TON of different distros out there to do different things. I use Fedora KDE which i am very happy with at the moment.

Bazzite is what immutable which means you cant mess with any of the system files, which kinda protects you from accidentally breaking you OS.

things to keep in mind with Linux gaming is anti cheats dont play well with Linux so alot of your competitive games wont work on Linux. you can check ProtonDB if you would like to see if your games are compatible with Linux before you decide
 
Kosmik said:
So this is an app on top of a linux installtion? Or a full OS installation?
Click to expand...
Full installation or dual boot if you want.

Flash the OS and the install on your device, works well with AMD hardware and work perfectly fine with Nvidia.

Check proton for compatibility for certain games.


I know some games aren’t not supported, fortnight is one of them.
 
DarkStarMonday said:
Full installation or dual boot if you want.

Flash the OS and the install on your device, works well with AMD hardware and work perfectly fine with Nvidia.

Check proton for compatibility for certain games.


I know some games aren’t not supported, fortnight is one of them.
Click to expand...
I'm thinking of purchasing an additional SSD actually for this, so will leave the old in the machine an make the new a primary boot which could dual.

FYI, the hardware is a old AMD FX-8250, 24Gb ram and running a old R7 360x, plenty for the kids and steam games, they not interested in the more heavier modern ones.
 
For kids' one, would definitely go with Bazzite as it's designed that the OS is immutable, better term would be image based though. Basically most directories are read only, only directories like /var are write. You install most stuff via flatpacks, so should be easy to reinstall everything in case something goes wrong.

Steam games should generally be fine / it handles the proton layer for you, just enable it. You can do it via app specific, but generally better to do account wide -> Steam settings > steam play > Enable steam play for all other titles.


Note though that Roblox is not supported due to anti cheat.

Are We Anti-Cheat Yet?

areweanticheatyet.com areweanticheatyet.com

You'd have to do a specific workaround for it;
sober.vinegarhq.org

Sober

We ported Roblox to Linux because they wouldn't
sober.vinegarhq.org
In summary, it runs Android Roblox on desktop.
 
They can still use W10 after it goes EoL, it's not like its going to get hacked on the 26th of this month. Apps will function as normal.
 
Kosmik said:
Looked for a dedicated thread but didn't find anything. I have a couple old machines all running windows 10 that are below the spec for 11. Its not worth the effort of upgrading those machines and they are primarily used by my kids for gaming: Roblox and Steam. I have a few software items on there but most have got Linux versions and I would rather take my existing windows, shove it into a virtual machine snapshot and spin it up separately if needed.

Can anyone suggest or point to a guide for a decent Linux flavour/config that is pretty basic UI wise to get the kids to migrate to? I'm pretty certain there isn't anything specific that they need to actually run on windows. I have some Linux based server/IOT devices running but those are all cli and server interface, this would need to be particularly GUI driven.
Click to expand...

I went from Windows 10 to Linux Mint Cinnamon.

Really enjoying it. Easy switch.

Software Manager makes life super easy.
 
Kosmik said:
FYI, the hardware is a old AMD FX-8250, 24Gb ram and running a old R7 360x, plenty for the kids and steam games, they not interested in the more heavier modern ones.
Click to expand...

Plenty for bazzite to operate optimally.

I use bazzite on my ASUs ROG ally X and runs smooth as butter.

Some of my friends have it boot off an external as well and works perfectly.
 
Rickster said:
They can still use W10 after it goes EoL, it's not like its going to get hacked on the 26th of this month. Apps will function as normal.
Click to expand...
Yeah I know but I do have some semi-sensitive stuff on there that I might move off. TBH since I got GNow, I'm literally leaving that poor machine to just die one day and I'll get a new upgrade kit then but as long as it does its job and the kids game, but just looking at options.
 
For ordinary users going down the Linux gaming route, I would recommend Bazzite. I know that there are people who also like Nobara, but eh.

The only two distros I am running now, except those that are specialized solutions, are CachyOS and Ubuntu.

Those who like Arch and do not want to go with CachyOS can also go with EndeavourOS (which is accessible). The old community favorite, Manjaro, is still an option.

Either way, all these distros have good documentation.

For an out-of-the-box experience, just go with Bazzite. If you want to play with anything cutting-edge or experimental, just go with any of the named Arch distros, or just simply Arch. CachyOS is really fast and is great for older hardware.

I have no idea when SteamOS will be more mature.
 
Fulcrum29 said:
For ordinary users going down the Linux gaming route, I would recommend Bazzite. I know that there are people who also like Nobara, but eh.

The only two distros I am running now, except those that are specialized solutions, are CachyOS and Ubuntu.

Those who like Arch and do not want to go with CachyOS can also go with EndeavourOS (which is accessible). The old community favorite, Manjaro, is still an option.

Either way, all these distros have good documentation.

For an out-of-the-box experience, just go with Bazzite. If you want to play with anything cutting-edge or experimental, just go with any of the named Arch distros, or just simply Arch. CachyOS is really fast and is great for older hardware.

I have no idea when SteamOS will be more mature.
Click to expand...
I went with Omarchy for my gaming PC.

Really has an absolutely stupidly simple install experience.
 
konfab said:
I went with Omarchy for my gaming PC.

Really has an absolutely stupidly simple install experience.
Click to expand...

It looks great.


But Omarchy is also likely to fold the mind of anyone coming from macOS or Windows :ROFL:

Hmmm, I need to try it out. For a while I tried out Nix, but didn't like it at all, and will prefer Arch over it every day.
 
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