Source
r/linuxhardware•
TrooperTurtle

Moving to Linux for Gaming - A Few Questions

Question

I'm planning my second transition to Linux, but this time specifically for gaming. Previously I had been using Linux only for work purposes that involved documentation and such things, but now I want to try a new build and learn new things from scratch so that I can use Linux as my primary OS.

I got a new ASUS FX505 laptop before Christmas and have been using it since, haven't installed Linux on it yet but I will now. My hardware specs are:

CPU - AMD R5 3550H
RAM - 8GB 
GPU - Nvidia GTX 1650
SSD - 500GB

My main games are Brawlhalla, Stardew Valley, Jump King, some emulated games on Citra and MelonDS.

I also use Xbox One wired controller by PowerA.

I've read about Nvidia drivers being iffy sometimes, but also that it's not that frequent. Some questions that I have in my head:

  1. What things should I keep in mind when I'm planning a new installation for gaming?
  2. What kind of performance should I expect for above mentioned games/emulators?
  3. Is there any issue with using Xbox controllers on Linux?

Any suggestion is welcome, thank you in advance!

Posted Apr 6, 2020, 4:27 AM UTC

5425
jepsu-•

I did a brief compatibility check and it seems that only the Jump King is rated somewhat low on ProtonDB. Other games should works well native or with Proton. Emulators work very well in linux natively.

And what comes to the hardware, there shouldn't be any problems. That controller seems to have some problems few years back, but latest kernels have been updated the support. There might be slight tweaking, but not anything major.

Over alla your setup seems really nice! Performance should be totally fine and hit in same ballpark what you have used to see in Windows.

10
[deleted]•

I can do without Jump King, as long as rest of them are playable. I'll look more into the controller when needed.

Thank you very much for the answer!

4
glitchmaster64•

for Nvidia drivers I use Manjaro non free 440 with optimus manager, GTX 1660Ti. setting it up is kinda annoying but the forums are helpful. some games like csgo will perform better than windows ( I think Linux DEs use less CPU power than windows so for CPU dependant games it works out better).

stardew should work just fine, it has a native Linux port. brawlhalla is gold rated on protondb so that should run great too with minimal issues.

even doom 2016 running at Max inside a compatibility layer gets about 120fps

controllers work fine, I've tried my xbox360 controller and a Nintendo switch pro controller (which uses bluetooth like the Xbox one) so that really shouldn't be a problem. steam automatically recognises the controller and by leaving steam on in the background you can get your controller recognised by other programs like retroarch too. and I'm sure there are many other workarounds for controller support.

I'd recommend Manajro or PopOs or Ubuntu because there are plenty of guides on how to get Nvidia drivers running. one thing to know beforehand is that switching GPU modes (intel to Nvidia or vice versa) requires you to log out and log in again, but it's super fast so it's not that much of a problem (unless you use hybrid mode, but that wont give you max performance or battery life so it's best to use your integrated GPU when you're just browsing/coding/YouTube etc and switch to your dedicated GPU before firing up a game)

best of luck

6
[deleted]•

Previously I used Ubuntu which I don't want to stick with this time. I kind of want to do an Arch build from scratch, I'll see how that goes. Still learning, if nothing works out I'll go with Manjaro.

I'm not familiar with switching GPUs but I'll check it out once I'm in.

Thanks a lot for the giving such a lengthy answer, helps a lot!

4
glitchmaster64•

best of luck with arch, I got mine to succesfully boot and installed a desktop environment(plasma) but I realised it would take a lot of effort to get it to look/behave the way I want it to, so I went back to Manjaro. it was a good learning experience tho, next step is LFS 😇

3
[deleted]•

Sounds like you're going to go back to it even more prepared, good luck to you too and thanks:)

2
LeroyNoodles•

Just a little tip from someone else who took arch for a spin, try booting up a complete OS like Manjaro and take note of the packages that you use because when they say Arch has nothing, it really has nothing. Part of the install process is mirroring a kernel and a text editor like vim or nano, so knowing what you use will be helpful during install

2
Fearless_Werewolf•

Hola. Estoy experimentando con manjaro. Tengo la misma maquina que la publicación, pero tengo un problema. A veces al iniciar sesión, la pantalla aparece como pixelada y como si se hubiese roto. Alguna idea de lo que puede ser? Es mi primera vez con linux y desconozco muchas cosas

1
LeroyNoodles•

Just curious, what’s the name of the GPU switch package your using, is it NVIDIA Xserver?

1
glitchmaster64•

video-hybrid-intel-nvidia-440xx-prime is the driver, optimus-manager for switching graphics modes

2
LeroyNoodles•

Thanks

1
IronVeil•

I'm pretty sure Xbox wired controllers work perfectly, but wireless knew still need a driver or something to work.

5
[deleted]•

Don't own any wireless controller, should be good then, thanks!

2
rochenExklusive•

tl;dr works with minor tweaks here and there.

I'm gaming on Manjaro. Most of the games work, the Xbox controllers too. You will have to check and try it for every game you wanna play.

Still, some publishers/devs blocking connections from linux users, even if the game would work. Psyonix (or Epic Games) did that with Rocket League, for example.

After gaming on linux only for 1 year+ I decided to boot up windows exclusively for gaming, just for ease of use and I don't have to worry about compatibility. I love linux, but I also love gaming. And it would make me sad to not be able to play a new released game with my friends.

5
[deleted]•

I read about some devs doing that, it really sucks that they end up excluding a whole platform like that.

My plan is to try all the games that I play on regular basis and see how they perform, if they do well then great, or else I'll dual boot other games on Windows instead for the time being. Will see how that goes.

Thanks for the heads up!

3
Wild_Penguin82•

If I were buying a new computer and planning to install Linux on it and do any gaming, I would definitely go for AMD GPU these days. Wasn't like that a few years ago. However, NVidia is just fine for gaming, too (but things like DXVK work sometimes better on AMD).

I don't know about those specific games (never even heard about those, but I have limited time for gaming), but anything which doesn't have a native port can be a hit or a miss... luckily emulators usually fall into the first category (of having a native port).

Some games may have bad controller support, as in: assuming legacy interface or a certain kind of mapping. There are utilities to work around those, though, so some tweaking may be required. I believe it's similar for PC gaming on Windows, too (but it's been a decade or more since I did any gaming on Windows, and back then didn't use controllers, and even today, rarely do).

EDIT: Good places to check specific game status are the already mentioned ProtonDB (for Steam distributed games) and Wine appdb for all Windows games.

3
[deleted]•

I understand key mapping might take an effort but I've gotten used to it with my controller now. As long as there's a solution I'll try to find it so I can keep the system functional.

Thanks a lot for the heads up!

1
boomchakaboom•

Steam on Linux works well.

3
korelabs•

Regarding the nvidia drivers, I can only speak for PopOS having damn near flawless support out of the box.

I've not bothered trying other distros since installing this.

As for the xbox controller, go here.
This may help as well.

3
[deleted]•

Some very helpful links, and I've got PopOS on my "backup" list while I learn more about Arch setup. Thanks a lot!

1
gnomeza•

If I may offer what is, in Reddit at least, an unpopular opinion: Gaming is a terrible waste of computing power. Be a maker and get programming instead!

3
[deleted]•

For some it might be, but for me it's going to make me learn a whole new thing and is giving me greater motivation to use Linux as a primary OS. I'm not a programmer or developer, although I do want to dig deeper into that in the future.

But first, I'd like to build this house called Linux and some casual games on it will make me feel at home. Once I'm at home I'll spend more time to learn about other things.

Thanks for the suggestion, appreciate it!

3
Dandedoo•

I have not actually tested this set up yet (still on Windows for gaming - Fortnite) so bear that in mind. But I was researching a similar use case (gaming laptop, no Xbox controller), and Pop!_OS (based on Ubuntu) looks really good for gaming and Nvidia support out of the box.

They seem like a good and competent small team of devs, invested in their distro, compatibility with gaming and modern hardware, friendly UIs and better out-of-box gaming, GPU and power-management support than Ubuntu. They actually sell Linux laptops and desktops.

I have no connection to them at all, but it would be my go to if I set up a Linux gaming computer in the future, as supporting this use case is actually one of their goals.

Check it out: https://pop.system76.com/docs/difference-between-pop-ubuntu/

2
[deleted]•

I checked a bit about them while I was going through other distros and stuff. Will take a look at the documentations and other details to see what's up.

Thanks for the suggestion, will definitely check it!

1
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1