this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2025
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[–] untakenusername@sh.itjust.works 162 points 2 days ago (9 children)

get linux if you haven't already

if you don't know how, ask, Lemmy is covered in Linux users

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 5 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I ran linux mint for a couple months. It was nice. Very few problems.

Unfortunately, when I tried to install it on this newer desktop it was a shit-show. No wifi or ethernet, no hdmi, it crashed when I tried to play elden ring. I should try another distribution, but I was so distressed after two days I just rolled back. The people in the mint discord were helpful, though, and got some of the problems fixed.

Windows sucks though.

[–] yessikg@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 17 hours ago

With newer hardware you need to run a bleeding edge distro, at least until Debian 13 releases (a lot of distros use Debian as a base)

[–] orange@communick.news 6 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

Since Mint is based on a stable distro, it'll be running older software that won't support your newer hardware well, and you're experiencing that firsthand.

Try Fedora, Bazzite, OpenSUSE Tumbleweed, or anything else that's more bleeding edge – they're still very usable and reliable, it's just that stable distros like Mint and Debian are "stable and reliable" overkill.

Edit: and if you're wondering why this wasn't mentioned to you from the start, the answer is likely that these distros tend to be:

  1. Less popular and get fewer mentions and votes, and
  2. Are considered riskier in an enterprise context, so stable distros are deemed a safe recommendation since the odds of things going wrong on supported hardware is extremely low.
[–] HexesofVexes@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago

I've got this move coming up - my plan is to dual boot and slowly wean over.

Game crashes in Linux, try for a fix and if I get frustrated, boot into windows and enjoy the game.

Might be a rocky year, but the dual boot will likely take the stress off!

I've seen a lot of fedora-based distros pushed for gaming (mint is Debian based), apparently these can work better. Still looking into it, but no definitive answers there yet!

[–] pineapplepizza@lemm.ee 21 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] j4yt33@feddit.org 4 points 1 day ago

And my axe!

Sorry

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[–] echodot@feddit.uk 42 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (15 children)

I'm building a new gaming PC and it's going to be a Linux build and if it doesn't work the way you guys keep insisting it will, I swear to God.

My last experience with Linux was with Ubuntu about 10 years ago and I can't say it was a particularly great experience I'm hoping that in the last decade it's improved its user experience.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 points 14 hours ago

For gaming, I recommend Garuda. It has a preset for gaming in particular with a lot of packages you'll need to install, and a tool to install extra things you may want, like software for controllers and things like that. I think it also has the Nvidia drivers built in (I'm AMD though, so I'm not sure) which isn't always the case. It's also Arch based, so the Arch wiki, which is one of the best Linux information sources, will all work, and it can access the Arch User Repository (AUR) where users upload packages, which may be important. For example, Runescape doesn't work on Linux as is, but there is a package on the AUR for a launcher that works.

[–] elatedCatfish@lemm.ee 1 points 16 hours ago

Use Bazzite! Works great now even with Nvidia cards. Been able to run anything the same as I did on windows before. Was able to get VR working too pretty quickly by using ALVR

[–] OrderedChaos@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Unfortunately brand new hardware has issues more often than not. I had to get a beta build just to get wifi to work on one system I built.

[–] sixty@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I'm not a Linux hater (believe it or not), but I'm definitely not an evangelist either, and I think this eternal praise for Linux is just not warranted.

If you want things to "just work" in any capacity, then you're in for a bad time.

Personally, I don't want Windows 11 on my next PC, but I don't have the time or the desire to get into the troubleshooting hell that unfortunately is Linux either.

People say that anything is possible on Linux, but at the same time roast you for even thinking that it's not gonna take enormous amounts of un-learning and self education when coming from Windows.

Linux fanboys who don't see it's faults can be sort of toxic.

I don't doubt that I'll get downvoted for this, but I think there need so be more differing opinions on Linux on here.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 points 14 hours ago

If you want things to "just work" in any capacity, then you're in for a bad time.

Most things do. Not everything obviously, but that's true for Windows and everything else too. Technology is complex.

People say that anything is possible on Linux, but at the same time roast you for even thinking that it's not gonna take enormous amounts of un-learning and self education when coming from Windows.

You see, this is the issue. Of course it's going to behave differently. It's an entirely different system. The issues come when people switch to Linux and expect Windows still. It isn't Windows. You have to be ready and willing to learn how Linux works, and willing to adapt to what it does differently. For example, on Windows most applications check for updates when they launch and you have to go to a website to get them. On Linux, once a package is installed, your package manager handles all updates for you and you never have to worry about it again, besides just telling the package manager to update occasionally.

Linux fanboys who don't see it's faults can be sort of toxic.

Obviously it has faults. I don't know anyone who says otherwise. Windows users who ignore that they've just gotten used to all of Window's faults are horrible though. I spent a long time learning to avoid or fix the faults of Windows, and I stopped seeing them because that's just the way things were. Once I switched to Linux and don't have to deal with them anymore, they become clear. It's not a user friendly OS. Users just got used to it because they had to. They can also get used to Linux of they want too, for free and without a company harvesting their data or trying to push stuff on them.

[–] Hudell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Linux users to Windows users with a question: "you can solve that by switching to Linux"

Linux users to that same user when they switch to Linux and have a question: "why the fuck do you wanna do that? Go back to Windows."

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 2 points 14 hours ago

Almost always, Linux users try to help. However if someone comes over and wants to do things like Windows instead of learning how the new system works, they probably won't help them with that.

It's a new system. It's going to work differently. You have to be willing to learn and adapt to it, just as you had to do when learning Windows. No one is going to spend time helping you contort Linux to work like Windows when the solution is simple but you just have to be willing to learn it.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

why the fuck do you wanna do that? Go back to Windows.

Yeah that is basically my concern. However I figure I can always just buy a Windows licence if it doesn't work out.

[–] SeekPie@lemm.ee 4 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

I can always just buy a Windows licence

Or use massgrave.dev and get it for free.

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

This is one of the major bugbears - linux for a long time had a lot of fucking about required under the hood.

This has not been the case for a while now, straight outta the box it works as painlessly as windows

(Edit for full disclosure: non partisan here, I actually run mint, 10, 7, slack, ubuntu and 11 professionally and personally)

[–] 0xSim@lemdro.id 30 points 2 days ago (10 children)

I'm migrating to Linux Mint, 99% of steam games work as well as on windows. Those who don't are mostly multiplayer games that insist to have some shitty kernel anticheat.

I'll still keep windows on dual boot when I need it, though.

[–] dtrain@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago (7 children)

Shit , I just installed oblivion reboot and worked on day 1 without issues in popOS.

Gaming is such a nonissue on Linux now

[–] tulwinn@feddit.uk 12 points 2 days ago

I’d have to disagree that it’s a non issue it’s definitely improved, but I still come across little irritations that pop up on Linux but not Windows games.

[–] MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's a non issue for most games, which is great but every now and then there's a game that's too tightly integrated into windows (like phasmophobia and it using the cortan API of all things for voice chat) or one that relies on an incompatible anti cheat system.

The Linux community need to figure out a new friendly standard to ensure anti cheat without out needing to act like a backdoor to the root kernel. I wish I was smart enough to help with that sort of stuff.

[–] dubyakay@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The Linux community need to figure out a new friendly standard to ensure anti cheat without out needing to act like a backdoor to the root kernel.

I think Valve and Arch are working on that with their collab on the secure signing enclave.

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I was in a similar boat and have found modern Linux to be somewhere between Windows XP and Windows 10 in terms of convenience and having it "just work". However, I reckon I've spent less time troubleshooting than I would spend raging at the bullshit Microsoft keeps trying to shove down your throat in Windows. On balance I'm counting it as a win, and I suspect you will too.

[–] plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

I also tried Ubuntu 10 years ago and threw it away in anger. Have been using mint for over a year now and game on it regularly. All I really needed to know was: use proton and add 'gamemoderun %command%' into the launch option of the game.

Except for mods on Nier. That was a hassle.

Its actually more annoying on the work computer. Ms office windows apps are kind of great compared to libreoffice, especially with the collaboration options. But Linux is nicer to do dev work on so ¯\(ツ)

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[–] Coldcell@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago (7 children)

Please update this if you fun into the usual brick wall of hand modifying config files or self-compiling some obscure git pull just to make basic things like audio and network work.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you're going that far, you've taken a wrong turn somewhere. Please ask for help before digging into compiling stuff, unless that's what you're into, there's probably a simpler solution.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It sounds like the version they were using didn't have the right drivers in the build. Seems a lot of work to go to just to get new drivers.

If the source is available somewhere, but it's not in your distro's repos, there's probably a good reason for that. Ideally just get better hardware. A WiFi chip is usually something like $20-30 and is replaceable on most laptops and desktops. An audio card can be bypassed with USB or a PCIe add-in card. That's pretty much everything this might apply to.

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[–] Hudell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago

Just keep in mind that there are some very different options within the Linux world and different people here will push you towards different options. The two most common and most different options are Bazzite and Mint.

While both of them can definitely work well, in my experience Mint still leaves a lot of new users unsatisfied with it. I'm yet to see any windows user complain about Bazzite, so that's my recommendation.

Either way if you try one and it doesn't live up to your expectations, there's still a chance the other might.

[–] IcyToes@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

AMD or NVidia?

Most games that I play work well on Linux with AMD. Most who have problems seem to have Nvidia. Anti-cheat stuff can be an exception though so best to ensure what you enjoy works.

If you can check hardware compatibility before hand, it helps. An up to date kernel like Fedora, OpenSuse TW or Arch can help. Wine recommends up to date kernel.

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[–] MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

All of my devices except my work one are now Linux.

I have an old surface go 2 that good a massive new lease on life from using arch plasma. Double the battery life and everything. It could no longer get updates from MS because there was no longer enough space on the main drive to download and install the next update.

Then I have an old retro gaming pc that used to be for XP gaming but I ended up sticking bazzite on it for a test and it's stayed that way and because of that when I built my girlfriend's latest PC we decided to go bazzite desktop for her. And after getting past a few growing pains at the beginning that made it look like we made the wrong decision (due to an old 10xx gtx gpu - now on 3050) she's been enjoying it and now it's just standard.

Then I have my proper gaming PC that I use like a console so I put bazzite-deck on it as soon as I got an AMD card. And I've never felt better. HTPC console like gaming on windows was a fucking arse-on, even with steam big picture mode, because it doesn't get all of the cool bells and whistles that let you control basic system settings right from steam like you can on steam os and bazzite deck.

For work I've started moving away from visual studio to VS Code (i know it's still MS but I do C# .NET work and rider is too expensive, I don't want a subscription for an IDE) to allow me to easily transition to fully working on Linux if the opportunity ever arises. Whether it be with my current employer and me convincing them to let me to install Linux on my laptop or with a future company. We'll see which comes first ;)

Now it's time to get and decouple from Google. Currently figuring out with android auto maps app I want (waze won't run for some reason, my current winner at the moment is tom tom amigo). Then it's on to getting a password manager, then a new browser (preferably way more lightweight than chrome) and potentially a Google pay replacement(?).

Any suggestions and opinions from anyone here - even though this is tangentially off topic - would be greatly appreciated.

[–] domi@lemmy.secnd.me 6 points 1 day ago (5 children)

VS Code (i know it's still MS but I do C# .NET work and rider is too expensive, I don't want a subscription for an IDE)

VSCodium is a thing too if you want to un-Microsoft even further.

https://vscodium.com/

I use it for C# development on Linux and it works well.

getting a password manager

Bitwarden and Keepass are usually the go tos, depending on your use case.

then a new browser

Firefox or if you want to decouple from Mozilla as well, Librewolf works pretty well.

potentially a Google pay replacement

I'm not aware of any open Google Pay replacements other than taking a card with you.

As soon as you get rid of Google on your phone, you get rid of Google Pay.

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[–] lonesomeCat@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 day ago (5 children)

Btw Rider is now free for non commercial use

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