this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2026
67 points (94.7% liked)

Linux Gaming

28371 readers
72 users here now

Discussions and news about gaming on the GNU/Linux family of operating systems (including the Steam Deck). Potentially a $HOME away from home for disgruntled /r/linux_gaming denizens of the redditarian demesne.

This page can be subscribed to via RSS.

Original /r/linux_gaming pengwing by uoou.

No memes/shitposts/low-effort posts, please.

That includes posts generated by LLMs. It doesn’t matter if you “don’t have the time” or “would’ve written the same anyway”, or if “everyone’s doing it geez get with the times”.

For now it’ll also include “AI”-assisted projects that haven't had at least two months of (public, verifiable) dev time behind them.

Resources

Help:

Launchers/Game Library Managers:

General:

Discord:

IRC:

Matrix:

Telegram:

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
monolalia@lemmy.world
67
Distro Recommendations (kbin.earth)
submitted 4 months ago by HarkMahlberg@kbin.earth to c/linux_gaming@lemmy.world
115 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I have a home built PC that I want to get off Windows 11.

Specs:

  • Ryzen 3700X, upgrading to a 5800X3D soon
  • RTX 2080 Super
  • 500GB NVME for OS, 2TB SATA SSD for files, programs, etc.
  • 1440p Ultrawide monitor
  • an 8bitdo Ultimate controller

Usage:

  • I usually play indie games, emulators, and occasional AAA games. Most of my library is on Steam, with some games on GOG, e.g. Cyberpunk.
  • I have an original Steam Link in my living room, and I use it to play games from my PC on the couch. Does Steam on Linux even support this?
  • I also write game mods, so I need a distro that is a good fit for software development (C++, Python, and Lisp).
  • Random miscellany: I use mullvad VPN, stream movies from a friend's plex server, and use an SFTP client to back up photos and videos from my phone.

I've been an on/off Linux user in the past, so I know my way around basic/intermediate terminal usage and configuration. Buuuut every previous attempt to move to Linux ended in disaster, so I have little patience for asterisks, strings attached, etc. If you're offering a distro I've never heard of before, you're probably gonna be hard pressed to convince me.

Thanks for the help!

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] stuner@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I think most distros would work for that usecase. I would recommend Linux Mint, Fedora (although Nvidia drivers are more annoying there), or (K)Ubuntu. Have a look at desktop environments too, as they are very important for your experience. Some of the major ones are Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, and Gnome. Mint works best with Cinnamon, Fedora and Ubuntu let you choose which ISO you want to download.

[–] HarkMahlberg@kbin.earth 2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Mint seems like the most user-friendly, but I really wish it came with KDE. Looks the most familiar to me.

[–] stuner@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Interesting. To me, they both offer a desktop experience (panel, start menu, tray icons, windows, tiling, virtual desktops, ...) that captures all the things I liked about the windows interface. What sets them apart for you? I get the wish for Mint KDE though, would be nice :)

If you're looking for Mint with KDE Plasma, Kubuntu should be a fine choice. I would also not overthink it too much, it's quite easy to tune things (e.g. remove snaps on Ubuntu) or switch distro afterwards. Mint, Kubuntu, and Fedora all allow you to play around and find out what you like (and dislike).

[–] ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Mint's interface is very close to Windows 7, it's the most user-friendly of all the Linux desktop environments, IMHO. It does not handle fractional scaling as well as KDE though, if you use a 4K monitor.

KDE is also quite good, it offers a lot more features and customization, though it can be a bit more buggy than Mint's Cinnamon.