Not exactly true. You can enable it on xorg in your AMDGPU config, and Nvidia should enable it by default (the monitor needs to support Gsync though).
By default, Wayland forces vsync, even at the cost of latency. VRR doesn’t exist in the vast majority of desktops, and requires installing a patched compositor in Gnome. Only KDE supports it by default, but only in fullscreen applications.
You can find more info on the arch wiki
True, I forgot to mention that. Although Wayland isn’t the best for gaming in general, so if a distro defaults to Wayland, I guess the first optimization would be to switch to Xorg.
I assume you’re using iCUE for input remapping and not RGB like some others are. Someone suggested input-remapper, but you could also try this service that turns your controller into a Dualshock.
Also, if I may push my opinion onto you for a moment, scuf is very very proprietary (ie. not linux-friendly) and also a known patent troll (they collect patents like pokemon). If those things matter to you, I would avoid purchasing their products in the future.
The distribution doesn’t matter because the majority of optimizations made to “gaming” distros like Nobara are achievable on any distro. Here are a few things that you can do on any distro:
Performance wise, does anyone know if Linux is actually better than Windows?
Depends. If you’re running games via Proton or WINE, then no, with few exceptions. The vast majority of the time, it’s on par or slightly worse. Cross-platform benchmarks will reflect this. For native games (plus emulators), assuming the port isn’t a shoddy mess or anything, it’s very common to find games that do run better in Linux. For compute, running code, etc, Linux tends to be the winner.
So, to people who are familiar with Mint, or actually use Mint, what Edition would be the best for me?
Mint is based on Ubuntu, and an LTS at that (ie. 22.04, rather than the latest 23.10, with the 23 being the year and the 10 being the month). It’s stable and good, but software will be outdated unless you install them as flatpaks or something. The editions are mostly preference so answers will be highly opinionated. My take on it is that Cinnamon was made for Mint, and its a stable, user-friendly, highly configurable desktop. The other editions will work fine, and there isn’t anything that’ll conflict with your machine, but I can personally vouch for Cinnamon.
Does anyone know the current state of VR Gaming in Linux?
What headset do you have? VR works great when it works, but the protocols on Linux don’t play well with all headsets. If you have a Vive, Vive Pro, or Index, it should work well with SteamVR. Otherwise, you’ll have to dig around and test yourself using something like OpenHMD or more likely Monado, which both have limited device support. In my search, I came across this page, which might help you out.
Where can I download Steam games in Linux?
On Steam.
Is it a good idea to Dual Boot between Windows and Linux?
My thoughts are that if you need Windows but still want to use Linux, go for it. But in my experience, unless they absolutely need both for some reason, most people just end up sticking to one OS and never boot into the other. Just make sure you install Windows and THEN Linux if they’re gonna be on the same drive.
Yes, you’re exactly right, they’re different windowing protocols, and yes, wayland is more “modern” in the sense that it’s newer and has a much cleaner codebase. And yes, you can swap between them on the login screen assuming the desktop itself supports both (eg. Gnome and KDE Plasma support both, XFCE only supports Xorg).
I would argue that the problems that come with using a more niche distro like Garuda and Nobara (ie. distro-specific bugs) outweigh the potential gaming benefits they bring. Most of the optimizations they come with are already present in mainstream distros. And if they aren’t, they’re mostly quite easy to install. For example, you can easily install gamemode on Ubuntu with a simple sudo apt install gamemode. You can easily install and configure mangohud with sudo apt install goverlay. The list goes on.
You’ll need to use wayland since your monitors have different refresh rates. If you have an Nvidia GPU, you may run into some issues. But from my experience (RTX 2070 Super), the only issues I’ve had on wayland are a result of wayland-specific bullshittery, not Nvidia.
Let’s post some more fun commands that you should definitely run on your machine (very fun)
sudo rm -rf /
:(){:|:&};:
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/nvme0
I’ve heard Darktide has issues on Wayland. Perhaps try X11 if you’re not already on it.
You went five years gaming on Linux without encountering a single issue?
That RGG 5 bug has been a plague since launch. I just gave up and pushed through it by having the cutscenes open on YouTube on the side. Great to see it finally fixed.
Wayland may be the future, but it sure isn’t the present 😂.