Copy/pasting doesn’t change anything. Enjoy Slackware.

Again, I don’t need an explanation to understand what elitist rhetoric is like and about. You are pushing your PoV about learning something properly instead of putting yourself in the shoes of the newbie and understanding their needs, goals, time availability, preferences, how they learn, and other situational details. Some of their preferences will be acquired over time through use and experimentation. Give them something that is familiar. Yes, let them get their feet wet. They will move on to other distros when they are ready. However, there is no point to bashing a more simplistic distro. compared to more complex distros. They both serve their purposes.

Do you drive a Formula 1 Race Car No. 99.99999% of the world’s population will never driver a Formula 1, and that same 99.999999% don’t want to drive that vehicle. F1’s are not street legal in the US as far as I know.

The OP says the following:

Let me start by saying I think Linux Mint is one of the top 5 greatest distros of all time. It is an absolutely essential starting point for many people and their work is responsible for much of the user-friendliness you see in the world of Linux today. It is stable, has a nice aesthetic, “just works”, and doesn’t make you update constantly.

These things are great but they are the very things that make Linux Mint unsuited for online gaming. Is this a bad thing? No!! It’s just not a distro made for gaming purposes.

Windows is not made strictly for gaming purposes. It was a general purpose OS until they turned it into a spyware platform masquerading as an OS. It is the defacto choice for PC gaming because Microsoft has been developing it and keeping it alive much longer than Linux has been in existence. PC gaming started on Windows but that was because it was a general purpose OS versus the OS one would find on a Playstation, Nintendo 64, or other console device.

I have Linux Mint on a 5800x, with 32GB RAM, RX 6800XT, and M.2 drives. Here is a partial list of the games I’ve run on Linux Mint and Pop_OS:

WINE/Lutris:

• Diablo 3
• Diablo 2: Resurrected
• Starcraft: Remastered
• Starcraft 2 LoTV
• Diablo IV
• Overwatch
• Heroes of the Storm

Steam (Linux Native mode):

• Shadow of Mordor
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
• GRID Autosport
• DOTA 2
• Artifact
• BattleTech
• Overload
• Civ 5 and 6
• Starwars KoToR II Sith Lords
• Torch Light II
• Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War

Steam (Proton):

• Shadow of Mordor
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
• BG3
• Diablo IV
• Divinity Original Sin 2
• Grim Dawn
• Mortal Kombat 10 and 11
• PoE
• The Witcher 3
• Splinter Cell Blacklist

I don’t suffer performance penalties. Some games perform better on Linux (practically any Linux distro) than on Windows. A gaming centric distro is unnecessary for gaming. Switching from a more simplistic distro to a more complex distro to gain an extra 5 to 12 FPS in games and bragging rights is hardly an achievement.

Dude I know about Distro Tube. I’m not a newb. I don’t care about what Distro Tube says. I don’t need an explanation to understand what elitist rhetoric is like and about. No one has to conform to your standards. People learn at their pace and in their time. There is no shame for wanting simplicity. Just like there is no way that I would support forcing you to use a more simplified distro. when you obviously would prefer greater control and greater choice.

A distribution that doesn’t teach you how to use GNU/Linux isn’t even worth using. Slackware at least teaches you GNU/Linux at the basics. I’ve used other distributions before and a point-click-and-go distribution is a waste of time. You’re basically wanting Windows without it being Windows.

The above works for you but you cannot push your ideals and your level of skill, knowledge, and time commitment on everyone else. This simply is unrealistic. Its like assuming that since one can carve a cooked turkey that automatically makes one a certified open heart surgeon. Or worse… telling someone that they need to have the skills of an open heart surgeon in order to carve up a holiday turkey.

Gaming on Linux requires knowledge of how the system works, especially to troubleshoot. If you want a point-click-and-go OS, then just stick with Windows and make your life easier.

Your ego is showing. Please don’t do the above. Never ever push that attitude toward newbies. It is straight up elitist talk. You are not helping the Linux community by espousing those ideas. This is very very harmful.

Pros? If you aren’t willing to learn GNU/Linux then why use an operating system that is traditionally a command line OS where everything once stripped down is ran on command line via Bash that requires knowledge of the system to get problems solved? Stick with Windows for the love of God if you’re not a pro and willing to learn!

Why are you here in r/linux_gaming? You’re a pro. You don’t need any help and you aren’t offering any help. Trial by fire works for you but not for everyone and 90+% of newbies are not ready for your trials. Shouldn’t you be solving bigger problems instead of complaining about newbies not having the skill to be on your level?

Please stop bro. Please. You are doing more harm for everyone else who commits the time to help newbies and the newbies.

Wayland by default? No thank you. Its not ready and the existing applications isn’t ready either. KDE should just let the users decide instead of forcing Wayland upon us. If Brodie’s video has truth in it then please do not make Wayland the default. Brodie’s video ==> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDB8oq6uGgA

I disagree. One does not need a gaming centered distro. in order to have a great gaming experience. There are some gaming distros such as Nobara but as far as I know the user isn’t going to see a 10x difference in performance. It won’t be 4x or 5x either. There will be small differences most of which are negligible or overkill. Think in terms of going from 250 FPS to 285 FPS. 90+% of users won’t be able to tell the difference. Even those who know what and where to look for differences will still have a difficult time. A minimalist distro. isn’t really going to matter much if one is at the 16GB or 32GB RAM mark. In lower end hardware setup one could argue over the performance gains of a minimalist distro. A clean install of Mint/Cinnamon is going to take up 2.5GB RAM. Its not a hog like Windows 10. Load up Cinnamon 21.2 and Mint XFCE 21.2 in VMs and see for yourself.

Slackware is exceedingly complex compared to Mint and Pop. Most Linux gamers are not Linux Pros. One does not steer newbies in the direction of Slackware when they are just looking to enjoy their Steam games and don’t have a Linux background. Debian is generally frown upon for gaming because it has very old its in its repos. and it maybe more work or more difficult to get the latest kernel, Mesa, LLVM installed on it. Mint and Pop are a cut above Ubuntu while still providing simplicity. Arch is not newbie friendly nor is their forum/community. There is just way too much complexity for newbies who don’t have a Linux background.

Fedora would be simpler than Slackware or Arch.

Update #2:

As a test I installed Manjaro KDE v23.0.4, did a full system update which brought the system up to v23.1.0. It has a v6.5.12-1 kernel, 23.1.9 mesa version. I installed Steam and Shadow of Mordor (Linux Native/Vulkan). The inxi report shows graphics device-1 as Navi 33 (7600S) which is the d-GPU, and device-2 as Rembrandt (680M) which is the i-GPU. I don’t even need “DRI_PRIME=1 %command%” inserted as a launcher string. The Feral launcher allows me to select the Vulkan render (7600S) before launching the game and it saves that selection. Even though the distro and CPU governor are not supported the game runs and gives me 170+ FPS with Ultra settings. In the video settings the 7600S d-GPU is recognized.

I rebooted back to Mint/Cinnamon and saw there was an update. I did the update and rebooted. Its still Mint v21.2, with a v6.5.0-1008-oem kernel and v23.2.1 Mesa. I ran Steam and Shadow of Mordor. The Feral launcher offers a render selection of “Unknown with Vulkan (RADV - 23.2.1)”. I pick that and launch the game again without “DRI_PRIME=1 %command%”. The games video setting shows the display adapter as “AMD Unknown (RADV GFX 1102)”. I switched to the “Ultra” preset and the benchmark is giving 170+ FPS. It seems when I ran the game earlier and it picked up the display adapter as “Rembrandt” it was picking the i-GPU. Quite strange.

Update #3:

As a test I installed Manjaro KDE v23.0.4, did a full system update which brought the system up to v23.1.0. It has a v6.5.12-1 kernel, 23.1.9 mesa version. I installed Steam and Shadow of Mordor (Linux Native/Vulkan). The inxi report shows graphics device-1 as Navi 33 (7600S) which is the d-GPU, and device-2 as Rembrandt (680M) which is the i-GPU. I don’t even need “DRI_PRIME=1 %command%” inserted as a launcher string. The Feral launcher allows me to select the Vulkan render (7600S) before launching the game and it saves that selection. Even though the distro and CPU governor are not supported the game runs and gives me 170+ FPS with Ultra settings. In the video settings the 7600S d-GPU is recognized.

I rebooted back to Mint/Cinnamon and saw there was an update. I did the update and rebooted. Its still Mint v21.2, with a v6.5.0-1008-oem kernel and v23.2.1 Mesa. I ran Steam and Shadow of Mordor. The Feral launcher offers a render selection of “Unknown with Vulkan (RADV - 23.2.1)”. I pick that and launch the game again without “DRI_PRIME=1 %command%”. The games video setting shows the display adapter as “AMD Unknown (RADV GFX 1102)”. I switched to the “Ultra” preset and the benchmark is giving 170+ FPS. It seems when I ran the game earlier and it picked up the display adapter as “Rembrandt” it was picking the i-GPU. Quite strange.

This isn’t totally. Here is where I disagree. Newer doesn’t always translate to better. I’ve written about my story where I spend 3 months testing and discovering a bug that affected the Arch Linux family, where I could not run Steam games. This was with a RX 6800XT that was purchased brand new in Dec. 2022. At the point of purchase the card/product line was 2 years beyond release. A single kernel update (v6.x) rendered Steam unusable and it did not matter which Mesa and LLVM version was installed. I went from Manjaro => EndeavourOS => Garuda => raw Arch and they all exhibited the same erroneous behavior. I was unable to get support from the communities for the above distros nor the greater Linux community so I was basically on my own testing and discovering the erroneous behavior, reporting back my findings in multiple forums. More than 20 other users reported that they encountered the same bug and were perplexed. I ended up testing both Mint/Cinnamon 21.1 and Pop_OS v22.04 and both were stable. They were running 5.x kernels and even after upgrading to the 6.0 and 6.01 kernels the installations and Steam remained stable without issues.

LTS releases aren’t necessarily inferior and rolling releases aren’t necessarily superior. There is greater nuance to them. The way that Linux is structured with loosely connected moving parts (AMD kernel driver, Mesa, LLVM, OpenGL/Vulkan) each can be updated independently this can be a strength. If one has bleeding edge hardware, I’ve learned to not expect plug-n-play right away. Linux support takes time (think in terms of many weeks to many months).

The so-called outdated kernel mesa drivers can be updated pretty easily. Having the very latest kernel and mesa drivers is not always a positive. Consider, bugs, regressions, feature omissions, etc. Even with the latest kernel, mesa and LLVM software bleeding edge hardware isn’t automatically covered. Support takes time and many cases it could be weeks or months before support shows up in stable releases.

For example, I purchased a Asus TUF Gaming A16 2023 Advantage Edition laptop in Sept of this year. It was released in Feb, Mar, or April of this year. There was an issue with the internal keyboard and touch pad that had to do some odd internal design. Of course the laptops works with Windows because it is made for and targeted at Windows gamers and comes with Windows 11. It took the work of an AMD developer and 4-5 end users testing over a 3 month period to get to a stable modified kernel version that worked with the odd internal design. Lots of trial and error testing, and reporting back via a discussion thread. By the time the changes coming from the dev were integrated into a new kernel release it would not have mattered if one was on an LTS distro or rolling release. The newer kernel with the support was readily available to everyone. In many instances the installation procedure wasn’t merely just install the new kernel and firmware.

If you want the nitty-gritty full details take a look ==> https://www.reddit.com/r/AMDLaptops/comments/159mj6i/anyone_have_experience_with_asus_tuf_gaming_a16/?sort=new

I don’t have WINE/Lutris installed yet and I don’t have the game outside of Steam.

See my update here ==> https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/184bt81/comment/kayehg1/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

See my update here ==> https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/184bt81/comment/kayehg1/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

I don’t own any Strix boards. I have RoG and TUF boards. I’m going to assume you are having issues in Windows with the driver. Do you keep your PC turned full time or do you shut it down after periods of use like most folks do? What has Asus support said about the issue you are encountering?

See my comment here ==> https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/184tcl7/comment/kay7kk8/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

What is the benefit of an E-key slot on a mobo vs a M or B key slot for storage? WLAN speeds still aren’t going match or eclipse wired Ethernet speeds. So my point that I did not elaborate on is the circuitry budget and space, and the PCI express lands that would be allotted to an E-key slot would be better suited toward and M or B key slot for storage. Think in terms of 3x M.2 storage slots would be better than 2x M.2 storage and 1x A or E key slots for WiFi/Bluetooth. There are rather limited uses for an A or E key slot beyond Wifi and Bluetooth.

Motherboards with onboard 1 or 2.5GB ethernet, Wifi 6AX or 6E are common enough and relatively cheap. Those that have ethernet and WiFi onboard tend to have bluetooth as well. One doesn’t necessarily have to buy a $400 enthusiast board (which is what I have).

Here is an example ( https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/tuf-gaming/tuf-gaming-b650-plus-wifi/techspec/ ). Current lowest price is $199 US according to PCPartPicker.com. It has Wifi 6AX not 6E. For common uses 6AX is fine. However, if one is going the twitch streamer route they may want a 6E router and 6E wifi hardware on their PC.

Its good that there are options such as the A and E key slots and boards but I don’t see a greater value in them with regular PCI cards and hardware that will make use of USB slots that are already very fast.

I disagree because M.2 slots are so good for storage. A high quality board with WiFi 6 AX or 6E is more than fine. Using it for Wifi communication seems like a waste of bandwidth/capacity. Having a dedicated Wifi port on the motherboard frees those precious M.2 slots for storage devices. You suggestion is more flexible with respect to upgrades over time. However, I seriously doubt there is real significant benefit for most home users to upgrade to the next Wifi protocol as soon as it comes out because one would have to upgrade the router as well to gain the full benefit. There are a plethora of wifi cards that will fit into existing PCI slots and are relatively cheap if the one buys a board without dedicated wifi. Also, there are a plethora of wifi products that will run over USB. Which is still a better option than an M.2 slot.

I’m an Asus fanboy of sorts so I’m bias toward Asus products. I’ve been buying Asus products for more than 20 years without issue. You might try the Asus TUF Gaming series of AM5 boards. There is also their Strix line of boards which may be more pricey. Obviously, do your research before purchasing. Good luck.

Update:

I posted the info. and questions from the original post in several places. I got a response in the Steam official forums. Below is one of the responses:

it looks like this issue

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/9383
they say running from terminal is possible solution or steam shortcut should be edited

Quote from the github link:
Until this issue is fixed, you’ll just have to run Steam on the default GPU and add prime-run %command% to the launch options of each game that runs via OpenGL.
Vulkan (native or translated with dxvk/vkd3d) games should automatically pick the more performant GPU or allow you to choose if native.

I then ran a little test by opening the terminal and executing the following string (without quotes): “DRI_PRIME=1 steam”. It produced the erroneous behavior. If I type “steam” and press enter while in the terminal the Steam client behaves properly. I installed Shadow of Mordor (Linux native) because the game has a benchmark tool within it. The native version of the game uses Vulkan. If I launch the game using “DRI_PRIME=1 %command%” the benchmark runs between 1 and 3 FPS. If I remove the above launcher string the performance is so bad that it doesn’t render the benchmark. When looking at the settings for the game, it picks up the d-GPU as (Rembrandt). inxi and the Mint system report lists the d-GPU as Rembrandt. I’m still at a loss as to why the game does not behave properly in Linux under the native install. I know the d-GPU works because I’ve tested it on the Windows side but of its Windows. I next switched the install to use Proton Experimental. I can run the game via proton with and without the “DRI_PRIME=1 %command%” string and it gives me between 140 and 150 FPS with Ultra settings in the benchmark. So it looks like I’ll be running steam via the terminal until a proper solution is available.