Any Linux gaming experts willing to answer a n00b question?

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wut_

n00b
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Mar 8, 2024
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For decades now I've been without a decently modern computer.
That's going to change this weekend and I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to play something newer than the early 2000's!

To the point: One of the first things I'd like to do is dual-boot Linux Mint on my new machine, a laptop.
Rough specs are i9-13900H, RTX 4050, 16GB RAM built in 2023.
This is my first time into Linux and most people suggest "Mint then", which I have no issues with based on what my research found.

From what I gather, Mint is the most user friendly and stable, but that also means it is not updated as often.
Apparently there is another variant called Mint Edge, which has a quicker refresh cycle.
Considering my hardware is hardly 12 months old and I would like to game & get the most out of it, that sounds like the route I should go.

That said, the games I'm interested in playing aren't that new. Pillars of Eternity is from 2015 for example.
If my hardware is new and I want to utilize it fully, is there any harm in the stability issues inherent in a more frequently updated version of Mint?
...or, is the year the game I am trying to play more relevant to any compatibility concerns?
I'm aware that either way, I'll want to stay on top of getting the latest driver for the 4050.

Anything else you would suggest to a newcomer into Linux gaming?
Should I prefer titles available on Steam because it plays well with Linux?

Thanks in advance!
 
I have an i7 13700, 4070 laptop and it ran Mint well. No issues with drivers or the games I tried.

Anecdotal, of course.

Enjoy!
 
Mint normal release will be plenty up to date for what you need. Most updates are not even related to gaming or vid drivers, but other packages. I run Mint Cinn. as my main OS and it gets updates often enough on my 5950x/RX6800
 
MrGuvernment said:
Mint normal release will be plenty up to date for what you need. Most updates are not even related to gaming or vid drivers, but other packages. I run Mint Cinn. as my main OS and it gets updates often enough on my 5950x/RX6800
Click to expand...

MrGuvernment said:
Also note, EA for example likes to randomly ban people using Proton via Steam, or randomly a game just stops working that worked fine (Latest Apex Legends update stopped it working on linux under Proton)
Click to expand...

Good to know - thank you!
 
MrGuvernment said:
Mint normal release will be plenty up to date for what you need. Most updates are not even related to gaming or vid drivers, but other packages. I run Mint Cinn. as my main OS and it gets updates often enough on my 5950x/RX6800
Click to expand...
I run Garuda which is an Arch-based distro and it gets DXVK, Mesa, kernel, etc. updates almost daily. I'm not saying that they're required for a good Linux gaming experience; just that bleeding edge distros will get gaming related updates fairly often.
 
Bankie said:
I run Garuda which is an Arch-based distro and it gets DXVK, Mesa, kernel, etc. updates almost daily. I'm not saying that they're required for a good Linux gaming experience; just that bleeding edge distros will get gaming related updates fairly often.
Click to expand...
Do those updates have any meaningful performance impact? Is it mostly stability and compatibility?
...or are FPS increases really only going to come from nVidia GPU driver updates and the like?
 
wut_ said:
Do those updates have any meaningful performance impact? Is it mostly stability and compatibility?
...or are FPS increases really only going to come from nVidia GPU driver updates and the like?
Click to expand...

99% of the time they're just bug fixes. Noticeable performance increases are more likely to come from Proton updates than anything else IMHO.
 
Bankie said:
99% of the time they're just bug fixes. Noticeable performance increases are more likely to come from Proton updates than anything else IMHO.
Click to expand...

...and Proton is the 'framework' which Valve uses to get some non-Linux games to run within it with minimal fuss?
I'm not sure how Proton works to be quite frank!
 
wut_ said:
...and Proton is the 'framework' which Valve uses to get some non-Linux games to run within it with minimal fuss?
I'm not sure how Proton works to be quite frank!
Click to expand...

That's pretty much it. Then there's ProtonGE, a Glorious Eggroll project, which expands on Proton.
 
Axman said:
That's pretty much it. Then there's ProtonGE, a Glorious Eggroll project, which expands on Proton.
Click to expand...

Glorious Egg roll?!
What on earth is it supposed to do?

Isn't proton quite highly regarded already for how accessible it made so many titles?
 
wut_ said:
...and Proton is the 'framework' which Valve uses to get some non-Linux games to run within it with minimal fuss?
I'm not sure how Proton works to be quite frank!
Click to expand...
Steam is in charge of updating Proton. If you use Proton-GE your Linux package manager will probably care of it but there's always the ProtonUp-QT utility if not. Most games run 100% fine on normal Proton but protondb will help you determine if a different version/fork is necessary.
 
Bankie said:
I run Garuda which is an Arch-based distro and it gets DXVK, Mesa, kernel, etc. updates almost daily. I'm not saying that they're required for a good Linux gaming experience; just that bleeding edge distros will get gaming related updates fairly often.
Click to expand...
But on the other side, Garuda has also released things that hose the entire OS or break several things because it is so cutting edge, one reason i stopped using it, something as simple as multiple displays and it not saving window position / wallpapers.
 
wut_ said:
For decades now I've been without a decently modern computer.
That's going to change this weekend and I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to play something newer than the early 2000's!

To the point: One of the first things I'd like to do is dual-boot Linux Mint on my new machine, a laptop.
Rough specs are i9-13900H, RTX 4050, 16GB RAM built in 2023.
This is my first time into Linux and most people suggest "Mint then", which I have no issues with based on what my research found.

From what I gather, Mint is the most user friendly and stable, but that also means it is not updated as often.
Apparently there is another variant called Mint Edge, which has a quicker refresh cycle.
Considering my hardware is hardly 12 months old and I would like to game & get the most out of it, that sounds like the route I should go.

That said, the games I'm interested in playing aren't that new. Pillars of Eternity is from 2015 for example.
If my hardware is new and I want to utilize it fully, is there any harm in the stability issues inherent in a more frequently updated version of Mint?
...or, is the year the game I am trying to play more relevant to any compatibility concerns?
I'm aware that either way, I'll want to stay on top of getting the latest driver for the 4050.

Anything else you would suggest to a newcomer into Linux gaming?
Should I prefer titles available on Steam because it plays well with Linux?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

The recommendation for edge is to only run it if the normal edition doesn't even boot from usb when trying to install it. If, after installing the normal version, you discover that you need a more recent kernel for hardware support, you can install it via mint's update manager and keep the option of selecting an older kernel at boot, just in case the newer kernel causes more problems than it solves.

Steam's linux support is best, but I've found the heroic games launcher to be great for installing gog games (currently also supports epic game store, and support for more is incoming). Heroic has its own proton/wine management, but can also use steam's when installed.

Lutris also gets recommended a lot for installing one's games but, unfortunately, I've never been able to get it up and running even on a clean install.
 
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