Linux distribution for gaming and media centre.
Linux distribution for gaming and media centre.
Heya! I’m looking to install Linux for the first time on parts from my old pc builds to use as a media centre and multiplayer gaming system in my living room. Something with as clean as possible interface with room for customization would be cool. Oh and support for my old nvidia gpu.
I’m also looking for general tips and advice for beginners if anyone has some to share.
I switched to Linux and have no issues with gaming. There are a couple of settings that need tweaked in steam, but it doesn't take a computer genius to figure it out, just follow a guide or video.
For a beginner something like Mint might be the easiest transition. I went with Garuda myself, and it's worked well, but I feel it's probably a little less intuitive that something like Mint.
For gaming, look into proton, and how to have your games run with it and you'll probably be fine. Keep your windows key on hand in case you decide to revert.
to use as a media centre and multiplayer gaming system in my living room
Based on this, you're basically looking for the 'game console experience on your couch'. If that's the case, honestly you shouldn't look beyond[1] Bazzite.
If, instead, you actually wanted to play retro games primarily, then please let us know.
- While ChimeraOS and HoloISO also offer the 'game console experience', they don't support Nvidia GPUs. So you would be on your own at best; which would be a horrible experience for a new user. If you feel particularly adventurous, then Jovian-NixOS is actually another option. But arguably less newbie-friendly compared to Bazzite.
Thanks so much for the tips!
I’d definitely like to get some of the classic multiplayer games running on emulators as well.
I’d definitely like to get some of the classic multiplayer games running on emulators as well.
Bazzite does allow easy install of EmuDeck and RetroDECK during first installation, which should cover most of your emulation needs. For completeness' sake; Batocera does exist. However, I'm not sure if it runs e.g. Steam games as good as Bazzite runs retro games.
Came to say this.
I'd say Pop_OS! which has a spin (version) with Nvidia drivers already installed. Below is a direct link. It's based on Debian, so it enjoys excellent app support. Linux Mint is also a good choice.
https://iso.pop-os.org/22.04/amd64/nvidia/35/pop-os_22.04_amd64_nvidia_35.iso
have not yet tried pop os, but +1 for mint!
I have installed PopOS and so far it’s been very stable. Most of the games I play are on Steam and support has been pretty awesome (BG3, CP2077, Valheim, Warhammer 40k: Inquisitor). For non-Steam games, WINE with the Wine Glass GUI has been great, allowing me to run older windows games without a problem.
EDIT: Forgot to add I’m running an Ryzen 7 3700X, 16GB ram, RX 5700XT
EDIT EDIT: +1 for Mint as well. Outside of my gaming PC, it’s my daily driver on my laptop.
To add some clarity, Pop uses GNOME and is working on their own desktop based on Rust and Mint uses Cinnamon, a fork of old GNOME that they've significantly upgraded. I've used both and like both a lot, but have come to prefer GNOME.
There's no that much difference between distros except for the package manager. Choose whichever one is best for you.
Nobara! For gaming it is just incredible. But if you have an old GPU any distro is ok I suppose, maybe Mint?
Nobara could be a great choice for your setup. It's a version of Fedora, made by a very well respected Fedora team member, setup with gaming in mind. It comes with many of the drivers you'd have to download using most other distros. Being Fedora based means you can tinker with anything you wanted to change. I recommend the KDE spin, KDE is known as the swiss army knife of environments. It's super intuitive too. I'm actually in a bit of an emulator phase right now, I have had zero issues using KDE Fedora while figuring it all out!
Easy mode: LMDE/Mint. They are all geared towards a good user experience and trying to keep you out of the terminal. I would recommend them to any new Linux user.
For a slightly more advanced experience, Debian with XFCE as the desktop. The installation is slightly less friendly and they expect you to be familiar with using the terminal and tinkering with the guts of your OS from time to time but you can have a 'lighter' installation with less background services. (I run Debian on all my machines so I have a bias towards Debian and LMDE).
If your main concern is UI distro doesn't really matter, the thing you need to think about is desktop environment, most big distros let you choose from a few
TL;Dr I would suggest looking for a distro with kde plasma as it's quite customisable and looks quite clean out of the box. Personally I prefer gnome out of the two but you definitely hit a wall eventually customising it
Gnome is what Ubuntu and fedora use by default I believe and looks somewhat like Mac (but is fairly distinct from everything else, you kinda have to see for yourself)
KDE Plasma is what the steam deck uses in desktop mode and looks kinda like modern windows.
Cinnamon is what Linux mint uses which also looks like windows 10 and is designed to appeal to windows users
Pop!os recently released their own DE called cosmic, but they were originally using their own customised version of gnome
@BroBot9000 cool. Thanks @alt for the link to Jovian, this might an opportunity to tinker with NixOS... Do you know how nvidia cards is supported ? (nouveau driver is ok for my kind of use).
@flashgnash thanks for reminding me the Pop_OS option... do you know if you can configure Steam to start on big picture mode to start on boot ?
I’m on NixOS using the beta drivers and it does everything as far as I can tell. DLSS, ray tracing all work and performance is the same as windows with the same settings. I don’t think I ever need to go back to windows.
I don't own any devices with an Nvidia GPU. Therefore, I can't share my own experiences but only the ones from the community. If my memory serves me right, it should work. However, as usual, expect some strange behavior at times. Thankfully, getting back to a working system shouldn't cause you any troubles on Jovian-NixOS. Nonetheless, it's something to keep in mind.
@alt thanks for the reply. I might try this at some point. https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Nvidia seems to indicate some support.
HoloISO is SteamOS for non Steam Decks. That would be great option for something that "just works" and is designed for use from the couch with a controller. I haven't tried this but I'm sure there's a way to install Kodi for media too.
I’m also looking for general tips and advice for beginners if anyone has some to share.
The only thing that is stopping a Windows user from becoming a Linux user is the package manager -- learn how to use it in the cli. Then the "rest' should be an obvious, flat curve (which "package" goes for video card, audio, etcetc).
Windows's package managers are MS only (ish). msiexec is a bit of a convoluted pain compared to apt, yum, pacman or even portage.
When you update a Linux box, everything is updated not just the OS. That is not the case on Windows where each browser, pdf viewer etc has its own updater service or not.
I've been doing IT software monkeying for several decades for many companies, some of which you will have heard of. Trust me: the Windows model is not the best. It certainly should not be a reason to fear Linux.
Most distros have a "Politely notify that some updates are available, would you mind awfully if I install them?" ... cracks on in the background and then suggests a reboot only if the kernel was updated.
That is not a Windows experience.
Just install your fav distro and install whatever you need
Never installed Linux before, don’t have a fav. That’s why I’m asking.
They are mostl all about the same (the major ones).... Different package managers and other differences but basically the same
How is this helpful?
I used more than 10 distros and don't really notice that much difference is my point
Windows
If I wanted windows I wouldn’t have asked the Linux community, genius. 🤦♂️
I'm guessing that was meant to be a joke.
Linux is probably not the wisest choice for gaming - that would still be Windows. Anyway, the distribution does not matter that much. You can install most Linux and cross-platform software on most distributions. Do not choose your system because of what comes as the default desktop, default package set et cetera. Try a few ones. Read some reviews.
Go and tell your exciting information to Valve. They'll certainly appreciate your input how Steam Deck with SteamOS is dead in the water.
it is strange you got downvoted because certain important games and tools does not work on Linux such as game pass or Destiny 2
I buy and play games, I don’t pay for a subscription where a massive corporation gets the bulk of the money while the developers get squat.
Destiny is not an important game. It’s one game as a service designed to be as grindy as possible.
I’ll be fine with Linux.
GamePass is a service for mildly entertaining games (around 7/10 score). The better ones leave the service Netflix style all the time and for the games I've checked DLC was not included, so purchasing needed.
Destiny 2 fell down to mixed reception in recent months according to Steam. Most Sony PC games launch Steam Deck verified these days. Same for many other games. Since SteamOS is a Linux distribution, compatibility extends to other mainstream distributions.
Gamepass Cloud works. What won't work is Gamepass PC, because Microsoft doesn't care, and wraps it up in an unmodifiable container.