I used linux in the past, both privately and work-related, but the last time was over 10 years ago, so I’m a bit out of touch. I am in need of a new PC, but it’ll be a good year before I have the funds, so for now I am making due with an i5 7500 and a gtx 1660. I do have 32 GB so there’s that. I finally feel confident enough to make the permanent switch to linux from windows as all of the programs I use are either available on linux or have a good/better equivalent. The only thing I fear will hold me back is games. I know Steam has Proton now which will run most games, but how does it compare? The games I play most are Skyrim (heavily modded) , RDR2, Witcher 3, Transport fever, Civilization, Crusader kings 3 and Cities Skylines (uninstalled atm waiting for 2). I’m on the fence to either wait until I can afford a new PC and dual boot or make the switch now and deal with a few gaming problems. Thing is, what kind of problems may I expect? Anyone able and knowledgeable to give me some advice?
EDIT: Wow, those are a lot of replies; thank you everyone! You really helped me. I will make the switch sooner rather than later.
Check out https://www.protondb.com, to see which games work well on Linux. Games that are platinum should work out of the box, ones that are Gold might need some tinkering. Most games work great, but a lot of multiplayer games aren’t supported.
In general gaming on Linux has been a pretty smooth experience lately. Games on Steam usually just work, but IMO running games outside of Steam is pretty hit or miss. They sometimes need following a guide or trying to fix an obscure issue that only like 2 other people have.
The thing about Linux is that you might have some issues outside of gaming. Things you might not expect like Discord not being able to screenshare audio or that one program you need not working on your distro properly. Also you should know games on an NTFS drive don’t work well on Linux, so you can’t expect your drive full of Windows games to just work if you have them on a 2nd drive. In general I still think you need some patience if you’re going to settle on a Linux desktop, it’s not entirely a bug free experience yet.
It depends. Do you play stuff with kernel level anticheat? If no, then the current state of Linux gaming is, by and large as good as, and occasionally better than, Windows - even on games that don’t run natively.
Proton is astounding, and the state of Wine is amazing compared to 10 years ago (and it wasn’t bad then). Get Bottles or Play on Linux going, plus Steam, and there’s very little you can’t do…
Except kernel level anticheat.
(To be 100% transparent, there are other issues. I have a couple games I can’t get to run reliability, but they’re all obscure edge cases. But like 90% of stuff without anticheat just works at this point.)
Edit: proofreading
The only experience I have is with Steam Deck and it’s fantastic! I love it so much that I’ve decided to build my next PC as a Linux only box. I am a refugee from /r/patientgamers though. I don’t play the new hotness unless it’s first party Nintendo stuff.
I’m also so fed up with Microsoft’s anti-consumer practices and disastrous updates, so it makes it an easier decision.
If a game doesn’t work on linux, I don’t buy/play it until it does. End of story. There is plenty of choice and time is limited, so having an extra filter is just helpful.
protondb.com will tell you how well each game works. There’s also an icon on Steam, if it says it’s certified for the Steam Deck that’s also good.
I’ve installed Manjaro in 2020 during covid specifically for gaming and never looked back since.
We’re living in the golden age of Linux gaming right now, get yourself a piece of it.
