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Difference between revisions of "Linux"

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{{Infobox non-game
 
{{Infobox non-game
|cover         = Tux Linux Mascot.svg
+
|cover       = Tux Linux Mascot.svg
|developer     =  
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|developers  =
 +
{{Infobox game/row/developer|Linus Torvalds}}
 +
|release dates =
 +
{{Infobox game/row/date|Linux|September 17, 1991}}
 +
|winehq      =
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|wikipedia    = Linux
 
}}
 
}}
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{{Tocbox}}
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 +
'''''{{W|Linux}}''''' is the open-source Unix-like operating system based around the kernel of the same name created by Linus Torvalds and released on September 17, 1991. As the kernel itself lacks many user-level tools, it is often paired with {{W|Free and open-source software|free and open-source software}} (FOSS) provided by the ''{{W|GNU Project}}'' as well as other popular user-level applications, and packaged as a "distribution" ("distro" for short). As a result of its reliance on tools provided by the ''GNU Project'', the operating system consisting of the kernel and bundled user-level tools is sometimes {{W|GNU/Linux naming controversy|controversially}} referred to as '''GNU/Linux''' as well. The operating system sees ongoing development and due to its free and open-source nature is often used as the base on which other services or platforms are built on, such as [[Stadia]] and [[Steam Deck]].
 +
 +
Users wanting to find a distribution of Linux usually end up following a few general guidelines:
 +
* The strength and weakness of Linux is its freedom of user choice.
 +
* There are no best distros; it all depends on the user's need. Users commonly switch between distros ("distro hopping") until settling on one.
 +
* Always refer to the documentation of the chosen distro in case there is a problem. It's advisable to check the [https://wiki.archlinux.org/ ArchWiki] regardless of the distro as it is broadly and succinctly written. In addition, reaching out to the distro's community for support is always an option.
 +
* Use [[Virtualization#Hardware virtualization|virtual machines]] to test Linux distributions without replacing the existing operating system on the physical machine.
 +
** To test a distribution installed on a virtual machine on the physical machine itself without replacing the existing operating system or dual booting, a tool called [https://www.ventoy.net/ Ventoy] can be used to create a [https://www.ventoy.net/en/plugin_vtoyboot.html bootable vDisk] on a USB flash stick.
  
 
'''Key points'''
 
'''Key points'''
{{++}} Native Linux version of [[Steam]] has been released.
+
{{++}} Wide variety of distributions (distros) available, allowing unparalleled user choice and customizability.
{{++}} The number of natively supported Linux games has dramatically increased with the introduction of the [https://www.humblebundle.com Humble Bundle].
+
{{ii}} Some native Linux games may perform better or worse when compared to other operating systems.
{{ii}} Windows-only games can be run using [[#Wine|Wine]], but depending on the game it may be significantly more challenging than on [[Windows]].
+
{{ii}} Many [[:Category:Windows|Windows]] games can be played on Linux using [https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton Proton] or [[Wine]].
  
 
'''Resources'''
 
'''Resources'''
{{ii}} [https://www.phoronix.com/ Phoronix] - Website dedicated to hardware and benchmarking in Linux
+
{{ii}} [https://distrowatch.com/ DistroWatch] - a page dedicated to Linux distributions
{{ii}} [https://www.lgdb.org/ Linux game database] - resource of games and tools.
+
{{ii}} [https://linuxjourney.com/ Linux Journey] - a beginner-friendly page about learning Linux in general
{{ii}} [https://distrowatch.com/ DistroWatch] - page dedicated to Linux distros
+
{{ii}} [https://www.protondb.com/ ProtonDB] - a crowdsourced database of Proton games compatibility
{{ii}} [https://openbenchmarking.org/ OpenBenchmarking] - a list of user-made benchmarks in Linux
+
{{ii}} [https://www.phoronix.com/ Phoronix] - a website dedicated to hardware and benchmarking in Linux
{{ii}} [https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxhardware/ /r/linuxhardware] - Subreddit dedicated for Linux Hardware
+
{{ii}} [https://openbenchmarking.org/ OpenBenchmarking] and [https://flightlessmango.com/ FlightlessMango] - lists of user-made benchmarks in Linux
{{ii}} [https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/ /r/linuxquestions] - Subreddit dedicated for Linux-related questions
+
{{ii}} [https://wiki.archlinux.org/ ArchWiki] and [https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Main_Page Gentoo Wiki] - wikis intended for their respective distro but is useful for others as well
  
 
'''Communities'''
 
'''Communities'''
{{ii}} [http://gamingonlinux.com Gaming on Linux] - A large community dedicated for gaming on Linux.
+
{{ii}} [https://gamingonlinux.com Gaming On Linux] - a large community dedicated to gaming on Linux
{{ii}} [https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/ /r/linux_gaming] - Linux Gaming Subreddit
+
{{ii}} [https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/ /r/linux_gaming] - Linux gaming subreddit
{{ii}} [https://www.reddit.com/r/linux4noobs/ /r/linux4noobs] - Subreddit dedicated for Linux newbies
+
 
{{ii}} [http://linuxgamecast.com/ Linux Game Cast] - pod/videocast.
+
==Distributions==
 +
There are two types of release models for Linux distros.
 +
 
 +
===Fixed release===
 +
{{++}}Offers stable packages.
 +
{{++}}Most distros are beginner-friendly.
 +
{{++}}Very little maintenance.
 +
{{--}}Package versions are usually tied to the distro version, so the OS needs to be updated to get the latest packages.
 +
{{--}}Stable packages typically don't have the newest features. This is especially important in the case of [[Glossary:Graphics card|GPU]] drivers.<br> This issue is alleviated by the fact that the vast majority of user-facing applications are now available as a [[w:Flatpak|Flatpak]], [[w:Snap (software)|Snap]] or and [[w:AppImage|AppImage]] which allow you to run the latest version of the application regardless of what exact version of underlying OS you have.
 +
{{--}}Manual intervention is required to add user-made repositories in some distros.
 +
{{ii}} Updating a distro to the latest version doesn't normally require a fresh install, but can take up to several hours.
 +
{{ii}} Many Debian-based distros offer [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuBackports "backports"] and/or [https://wiki.debian.org/DebianTesting "testing"] modes that provide newer versions of some packages than what the stable version does.
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 +
|-
 +
! Distribution !! Based on !! Desktop(s) <ref group="fr note">Default options are marked in bold</ref> !! Release cycle !! Supported by<ref group="fr note">look at Official Support TODO: add it</ref> !! Description
 +
|-
 +
||'''[https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop Ubuntu] and [https://www.ubuntu.com/download/flavours Ubuntu flavours]''' || Debian || GNOME, KDE Plasma, LXQt, Budgie, MATE, Xfce, UKUI || 6 months, 2 years for LTS || Steam, GOG, many commercial developers ||style="text-align: left;"| The most popular distribution. Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) is officially supported by Steam. Ubuntu non-LTS is updated more often and contains newer packages and functionality. Ubuntu flavours offer different [[Linux#Desktop environments|desktop environments]] with the same compatibility as Ubuntu.
 +
|-
 +
|| '''[https://system76.com/pop Pop!_OS]''' || Ubuntu || '''GNOME''' || 6 months || same as Ubuntu<ref name=support group="fr note">Support is not official, but the distros are similar enough that everything which works for Ubuntu will work in Pop!_OS.</ref> || style="text-align: left;"| An Ubuntu-based distro created and maintained by System76 which utilizes its own repository. Unlike Ubuntu, it includes much more recent drivers for graphics cards, the installer ships with Nvidia support, and it's generally more recommended for beginners.
 +
|-
 +
||'''[https://linuxmint.com/ Linux Mint]''' || Ubuntu LTS || Cinnamon, MATE, XFCE || Up to 2 years || same as Ubuntu<ref name=support group="fr note" /> || style="text-align: left;"| The most popular beginner-friendly Linux distribution. LMDE 2 Edition is based on Debian. Packages may be much older compared to Ubuntu LTS releases. The main advantage of Linux Mint is the built-in kernel upgrader.
 +
|-
 +
||'''[https://neon.kde.org KDE Neon]''' || Ubuntu LTS || '''KDE Plasma''' || Up to a year || same as Ubuntu<ref name=support group="fr note" /> || style="text-align: left;"| A distro created by the KDE community. Compared to Kubuntu (A KDE Plasma-flavoured Ubuntu), it provides the latest version of the KDE Plasma desktop environment, while simultaneously being able to use packages from Ubuntu LTS.
 +
|-
 +
||'''[https://getfedora.org/ Fedora] and [https://spins.fedoraproject.org/ Fedora Spins]''' || Independent || GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE, MATE, Cinnamon, LXDE, LXQT, SUGAR ||6 months|||| style="text-align: left;"| Fedora is a very stable, independent distribution sponsored by Red Hat Enterprise. GNOME is its default desktop environment, but Fedora Spins offer many alternatives. It is as user-friendly as Ubuntu but tends to be more willing to move to new technologies. Spins offer different desktop environments, but when it comes to compatibility, they are the same as Fedora.
 +
|-
 +
|| '''[https://get.opensuse.org/leap/ openSUSE Leap]''' || Independent || GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE || 1 year for each new release ||  || style="text-align: left;"| Leap uses source from SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), which gives it a great level of stability. openSUSE has YaST, which is a user-friendly GUI to install packages, manage the system, and install [[Nvidia]] proprietary drivers in a simple way.
 +
|-
 +
||'''[https://store.steampowered.com/steamos/ SteamOS]''' || Arch Linux(starting with version 3.0) Debian(old versions)<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://www.debian.org/releases/|title=Debian releases|date=2021-06-26}}</ref> || '''KDE Plasma''' || Varies || Steam || style="text-align: left;"| Linux distribution made by [[Company:Valve Corporation|Valve Corporation]] specifically for the Steam Machine or couch gaming. It currently provides the latest stable Linux kernel along with newer GPU drivers and an option to act as a desktop system. It may be behind in terms of package updates.<br>{{--}} As of June 2021, SteamOS is based on Debian Jessie, meaning that non-Steam packages have not been updated since 2016.
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
<references group="fr note" />
 +
 
 +
===Rolling release===
 +
{{++}}Provides the latest version of packages as soon as they're released by the upstream developers.
 +
{{++}}No distro upgrade procedure is required, as most distros have only one version.
 +
{{--}}A package update may cause stability issues, as extensive testing is usually limited.
 +
{{--}}No currently-listed rolling release distribution has official support from any digital distribution store, due to the distros' reliance on <code>.rpm</code> binaries instead of <code>.deb</code>.
 +
{{ii}}Some distros offer a semi-rolling release, meaning that packages will be tested before releases.
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 +
|-
 +
! Distribution !! Based On !! Desktop(s)<ref group="rr note">Default options are marked in bold</ref> !! Description
 +
|-
 +
||'''[https://archlinux.org/ Arch Linux]''' || Independent || GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE, MATE, Cinnamon, LXDE, LXQT, SUGAR, Deepin, Budgie, UKUI || style="text-align: left;"| Arch Linux is a distribution designed for advanced users looking to customize every aspect of their system, building from the ground up rather than the top down. There is a huge number of packages available through the [[w:Arch_Linux#Arch_User_Repository_.28AUR.29|AUR (Arch User Repository)]]. Arch Linux does not have a graphical installer and requires research on the user's part to properly install.<br>{{ii}}If you're new to Linux, '''Arch most definitely should not be your first choice'''.
 +
|-
 +
||'''[https://manjaro.org/ Manjaro]''' || Arch Linux || GNOME, KDE Plasma, Xfce || style="text-align: left;"| Manjaro is based on Arch Linux and offers a user-friendly experience out of the box. By default, it comes with Nvidia's proprietary drivers, which makes it straightforward to install. It uses the Pamac app to install native, AUR, Flatpak, and Snap packages in a simple way.
 +
|-
 +
||'''[https://get.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/ openSUSE Tumbleweed]''' || Independent || GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE|| style="text-align: left;"| A rolling version of openSUSE which uses automated testing to provide more stability than many other rolling releases. When used with BTRFS on a root partition, snapshots are taken before and after updates, allowing easy restores if there is an update breakage.
 +
|-
 +
||'''[https://getsol.us/ Solus]''' || Independent || Budgie, GNOME, MATE, KDE Plasma || style="text-align: left;"| Despite following the rolling release model, it provides stable packages and features great hardware compatibility with any GPU. It includes a special tool called Linux Steam Integration (LSI) which allows users to easily customize Steam, ranging from using the libraries from the system (native mode) or a forced 32-bit mode. Only stable releases of library and software are added, with very few exceptions—such as Nvidia's Vulkan beta drivers.
 +
|}
 +
<references group="rr note" />
 +
 
 +
==Desktop environments==
 +
By default, Linux is a text/command-line-based operating system. However, the Linux community has created a variety of desktop environments to offer a user-friendly GUI experience. Most include their own basic software for common use cases, such as a file explorer or word processor.
 +
 
 +
As a rule of thumb, environments with heavy RAM use typically add another 500 MB to the operating system's RAM requirements (which usually range from 500 MB to 4 GB), compared to environments with light RAM use.
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="nowrap;"
 +
|-
 +
! Name !! RAM use !! Description
 +
|-
 +
| [https://www.gnome.org/ GNOME] || Heavy || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
One of the oldest desktop environments that is still continuously updated. Offers the most radical departure from the traditional Windows-style paradigm of start-menu-and-a-taskbar.<br> It has historically been considered slow but has made huge strides in improving the fluidity and responsiveness in the last few years, particularly on gaming-grade machines. Offers a variety of customizations via GTK3/4 themes and Gnome Extensions.
 +
|-
 +
| [https://www.kde.org/plasma-desktop KDE Plasma] || Heavy || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
The first major comprehensive desktop environment released for Linux, which sees regular maintenance and feature updates. Out of the box, it offers a familiar Windows-like experience but also allows nearly limitless ability to customize the functionality and look and feel of the desktop.
 +
|-
 +
| [https://getsol.us/home/ Budgie] || Heavy || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
Created by a Solus developer and currently maintained by Solus Team. It serves as an alternative to GNOME with a much more desktop-like interface, which bears similarities to modern Windows.
 +
|-
 +
| [http://developer.linuxmint.com/ Cinnamon] || Heavy || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
Created by the Linux Mint Team, Cinnamon offers an experience that is very similar to Windows 7.
 +
|-
 +
| [https://xfce.org/ XFCE] || Light || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
Starting off as a clone of a Unix-like desktop environment called CDE, it became its own with a Windows XP-like appearance and light memory usage. XFCE is well-suited for low-end hardware and people who like to settle on one user experience and never change it (while still getting the security and maintenance updates).
 +
|-
 +
| [https://mate-desktop.org MATE] || Light || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
MATE spawned as a spiritual successor to GNOME 2 after a controversial change in GNOME 3. It is recommended for Windows and Mac users while providing its own feature set such as mouse hover audio previewing.
 +
|-
 +
| [https://www.lxde.org/ LXDE] || Light || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) is a lightweight and fast, feature-rich desktop environment. It is designed to be user-friendly and slim while keeping resource usage low. LXDE strives to be modular, so each component can be used independently with few dependencies.
 +
{{ii}} The Original team that created LXDE has largely moved on to LXQT due to controversial changes in the GTK framework, however, a community of loyal users and developers continues to use and maintain it.
 +
|-
 +
| [https://lxqt-project.org/ LXQT] || Light || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
Despite its limited features (as it is essentially a rewrite of LXDE with a different UI framework) along with the lack of a compositor, it is perfectly suited for the lowest-end hardware.
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
==Kernel==
 +
{{mm}} [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel Wikipedia page]
 +
{{ii}} It is important to update the Linux kernel as new versions provide security updates, bug fixes, better performance, and support for hardware. A distro's repository contains all the supported versions for that distro.
 +
 
 +
There are two main releases of the official Linux kernel:
 +
* Long-Term Support (LTS) is slightly behind in terms of hardware support and features but offers better stability and longer support.
 +
* Stable release (sometimes called the current release) offers the best hardware support and the newest features. It should be the default choice for a gaming machine and be avoided only if it causes issues.
 +
 
 +
Despite these differences, both releases offer the same security updates.
 +
 
 +
===Kernel replacement===
 +
 
 +
{{ii}} '''This section is meant for advanced users, you can easily break your OS if you don't know what you are doing!'''
 +
 
 +
While both stable and LTS Linux kernel releases can be used for gaming, there are also community-made ones that add features and improvements. These kernels may or may not improve one's gaming experience, and may require DKMS (dynamic kernel module support) versions of drivers and headers to make hardware usable with multiple kernels.
 +
 
 +
The most notable releases:
 +
* [https://github.com/CK-LINUX/kernel Linux CK]
 +
* [https://github.com/zen-kernel/zen-kernel Linux Zen]
 +
* [https://liquorix.net/ Liquorix]
 +
 
 +
{{ii}} For help with installing different kernels on a distro, consult the kernel's official website or the distro's knowledge base.
 +
{{ii}} It is advised to keep the current official kernel in case of issues.
 +
{{ii}} [https://teejeetech.in/ukuu/ UKUU] is a useful utility for swapping kernels on Ubuntu (and Ubuntu derivatives).
 +
 
 +
===Microcode===
 +
{{mm}}[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Microcode ArchWiki article]
 +
It is vital to install the microcode for the CPU as the manufacturer provides security and stability updates, although most often your distribution will push those updates directly to you. Most distributions use either a package manager or some kind of firmware/drivers manager to update the microcode.
 +
 
 +
==Hardware==
 +
===Graphics===
 +
{{++}} Generally speaking, if you use AMD graphics, you're likely to have a flawless experience as AMD makes open-source drivers available and Linux developers integrate them directly into the kernel.
 +
{{--}} Generally speaking, if you use Nvidia graphics, you're likely to have to make some independent efforts to either install or enable Nvidia drivers, as Nvidia does not offer any open-source drivers which makes the distribution maintainers hesitant when it comes to packaging or enabling Nvidia drivers by default.<br> Nvidia's drivers are also of worse quality than either AMD's own Linux drivers or Nvidia's Windows driver, with features that exist in the Windows drivers missing in the same card's Linux driver. This is entirely Nvidia's choice, and Linux developers and maintainers can do almost nothing to rectify the consequences of Nvidia's behavior.
 +
 
 +
{{ii}} [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ATI ArchWiki's ATI] and [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/AMD_Catalyst Catalyst] Article
 +
{{ii}} [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/AMDGPU ArchWiki's AMDGPU/AMDGPU Pro Article]
 +
{{ii}} [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA ArchWiki's Nvidia] and [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Nouveau Nouveau] Article
 +
{{ii}} [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Intel_graphics ArchWiki's Intel Graphics Article]
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
! Brand !! Driver type !! Kernel driver !! Library !! Supported GPU !! Vulkan support
 +
|-
 +
| style="background: red; color: white;" rowspan="4" | '''AMD/ATI''' ||rowspan="2" | Open Source || Radeon || rowspan="2"| Mesa (GLX and DRI) || GCN 2 and older architecture || No
 +
|-
 +
|rowspan="2"| AMDGPU || GCN and newer architecture<sup>1</sup> || Yes (RadV, AMDVLK)
 +
|-
 +
|rowspan="2"| Proprietary || AMDGPU Pro || GCN and newer architecture || Yes
 +
|-
 +
| Fglrx || Catalyst GL Library || GCN 3 and older architecture || No
 +
|-
 +
| style="background: #84DE02;" rowspan="7"| '''Nvidia''' || Open Source || Nouveau || Mesa (GLX and DRI) || Any Nvidia GPU || Yes (NVK for Kepler and up)
 +
|-
 +
|rowspan="6"| Proprietary || Nvidia || Nvidia GLX || From Kepler based GPUs to recent || Yes
 +
|-
 +
| Nvidia 390 || Nvidia 390 GLX || From Fermi based GPUs to recent || rowspan="5"| No
 +
|-
 +
| Nvidia 340 || Nvidia 340 GLX || For Tesla based GPUs
 +
|-
 +
| Nvidia 304 || Nvidia 304 GLX || From GeForce 6 series to Tesla based GPUs
 +
|-
 +
| Nvidia 173 || Nvidia 173 GLX || GeForce 5 FX series (NV30 to NV36)
 +
|-
 +
| Nvidia 96 || Nvidia 96 GLX || From GeForce 2/3/4 MX/Ti
 +
|-
 +
| style="background: #21ABCD; color: white;" rowspan="2" | '''Intel''' ||rowspan="2" | Open Source || Xorg Intel<sup>2</sup> || rowspan="2"| Mesa (GLX and DRI) || rowspan="2" | Any Intel HD Graphics GPU || rowspan="2"| Yes (ANV for Gen9 and up, HASKV Gen7/Gen8)
 +
|-
 +
| Xorg modesetting
 +
|-
 +
| style="background: yellow;" rowspan="2" | '''VIA/S3''' || Open Source || OpenChrome || rowspan="2"| Mesa (GLX and DRI) || Unichrome series, Chrome9 2D only || No
 +
|-
 +
| Proprietary || VIA Unified GFX || Chrome9 || No
 +
|-
 +
| style="background: orange;" | '''3DFX''' || Open Source || tdfx || MesaGL || Voodoo3 and up, Voodoo 1 & 2 2D only || No
 +
|-
 +
| ARM || Open Source || Panfrost || Mesa (GLX and DRI) || Mali Midgard, Bifrost and Valhall || Yes (PanVK)
 +
|-
 +
| Qualcomm || Open Source || Freedreno || Mesa (GLX and DRI) || Adreno A2xx-A7xx || Yes (Turnip)
 +
|-
 +
| Broadcom || Open Source || V3D || Mesa (GLX and DRI) || VideoCore 5 on Raspberry Pi 4 || Yes
 +
|-
 +
| Imagination Technologies || Open Source || pvrsrvkm || Mesa (GLX and DRI) || PowerVR Rogue || Yes
 +
|}
 +
<sup>1</sup> <small>- GCN 1 and 2 architecture support in AMDGPU is experimental.</small><br />
 +
 
 +
<sup>2</sup> <small>- Do not use it on Intel HD 4000 series and newer GPU.</small><br />
 +
 
 +
Generally, AMD/ATI users should use [[Mesa|the open source driver]] as it provides the best performance and support compared to the proprietary ones, while Nvidia users should stick to the proprietary ones. There are some things to remember:
 +
* '''Try not to install drivers from the GPU manufacturer's website unless forced to''', as distro maintainers package the driver to be offered from the package manager.
 +
* If forced to use Catalyst, Nvidia 173, or Nvidia 96 drivers, one must downgrade Xorg to the last supported version.
 +
* Before using the open-source driver '''one must install LLVM and Linux Firmware packages'''.
 +
 
 +
====Installing drivers====
 +
'''Ubuntu (and Ubuntu-derived distros such as Mint, Pop!_OS, and Neon)'''
  
==Release Models and their distributions==
+
Use <code>sudo add-apt-repository <PPA repository></code> to add one. Make sure to run <code>sudo apt update</code> in order to update the repository list after adding one.
There are two types of release models which linux distros are using, each one of em have their advantages and disadvantages.
+
{{Standard table|Repository|Description|content=
 +
{{Standard table/row|ppa:paulo-miguel-dias/pkppa|[https://launchpad.net/~paulo-miguel-dias/+archive/ubuntu/pkppa/ Padoka Stable Mesa]. For AMD/Intel/Nouveau GPU drivers, also contains Wayland.}}
 +
{{Standard table/row|ppa:paulo-miguel-dias/mesa|[https://launchpad.net/~paulo-miguel-dias/+archive/ubuntu/mesa Padoka Unstable Mesa]. Same as the previous, however, it is the developer version. Mind the issues you may encounter. }}
 +
{{Standard table/row|ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa|[https://launchpad.net/~graphics-drivers/+archive/ubuntu/ppa "Graphics  Drivers" Teams' PPA]. Contains the recent proprietary Nvidia drivers and the Vulkan drivers for that GPU. }}
 +
{{Standard table/row|ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/updates|[https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-x-swat/+archive/ubuntu/updates Ubuntu X Team's Stable Mesa]. For AMD/Intel/Nouveau GPU drivers, also contains Wayland.}}
 +
}}
  
===Fixed Release===
+
'''Fedora'''
{{++}}Offers stable packages
 
{{++}}Most distros which use it are beginner friendly
 
{{--}}Package versions are usually tied to the distro version, meaning that upgrading your system is a must if you want to get the recent versions which are considered stable
 
{{--}}The release of new version of the distro, depending on the developer, may take from 6 months up to 2 or more years
 
{{--}}Manual intervention is required in order to add user-made repositories in some distros.
 
{{ii}} Updating the distro to the next version doesn't require a fresh install, often it all takes a simple command to perform it.
 
  
* '''[https://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu]''' and it’s [https://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu-flavours flavours] (Such as Xubuntu, Kubuntu etc.) - The popular and most recognized distro created by Cannonical. Based on the Debian (Testing) it uses apt for package management , Ubuntu follows a 6 month release starting from April. Since the 17 version, Ubuntu has abandoned their own desktop environment Unity in favour of GNOME, while flavours stick to the desktop environment they use, such as Xubuntu using XFCE or Lubuntu using LXDE.
+
To install Nvidia drivers on Fedora, it is usually sufficient to install the latest Nvidia drivers from the software center. Simply search for Nvidia and install the driver with the highest version number.
  
* '''[https://linuxmint.com/ Linux Mint]''' - The most popular and beginner friendly distro ever created. It includes multiple desktop environments to choose from such as KDE, MATE, Cinnamon and XFCE. The distro is based on Ubuntu, which means that all the packages that are present and supported in Ubuntu, are supported in this distro as well. It also has a Debian Edition, which is mainly based on the Debian. It’s release time for each version generally happens a few months after the release of the new version of Ubuntu. Due to it’s ties with Ubuntu, Steam or other digital stores with Linux support that system in case if there are issues.
+
If you have a more complex setup, such as an Optimus laptop, or the above instructions do not work for you, you can also use '[https://github.com/t0xic0der/nvidia-auto-installer-for-fedora-linux NVIDIA Auto Installer for Fedora Linux]'. It is a set of scripts that can handle both normal installs and more advanced configurations.  
  
* '''[https://getfedora.org/ Fedora]''' - Developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and owned by Red Hat. It is an independent distro using the RPM (dnf) package management which concentrates on innovations and integrating new technologies early on while working upstreams with Linux community. It’s release time for each version are mostly 6 months or more. By default it uses GNOME desktop, but in Fedora Spins section you have a choice of KDE, XFCE, LXDE, Cinnamon, Soas and MATE (With Compiz). Be aware that some third-party packages such as FFMPEG may not be included and require manual installation.
+
To use it, execute the following in the terminal:
  
* '''[https://www.debian.org/ Debian]''' - The most stable and organized distro created by Debian Project. It is mostly used as a base of other distros, as it provides 3 release models such as fixed (Stable), semi-rolling (Testing), rolling (Unstable). It’s stable version has a rather very long release, as it takes 2+ years for the new version to come out. All these versions use GNOME desktop by default.
+
<code>
 +
sudo dnf install dnf-plugins-core -y && sudo dnf copr enable t0xic0der/nvidia-auto-installer-for-fedora -y && sudo dnf install nvautoinstall -y
 +
</code>
  
* '''[https://www.opensuse.org/ openSUSE]''' - A Linux distro which is a part of the community program sponsored by SUSE Linux and other companies. It promotes the use of Linux everywhere with 3 goals in mind: making openSUSE the easiest Linux for anyone to obtain, being mostly widely used for new and experienced users in terms of Linux and it’s desktop environments and dramatically simplify and open development of packaging process to make it as a platform of choice for both developers and software vendors. It’s biggest strength is in it’s exclusive configuration program called YaSt which lets you configure and tweak most of the system settings along with the kernel while being simple to use, another one is the fact you can create packages for any distro you ever want. It uses KDE as a default desktop environment.
+
Once installed, type in <code>nvautoinstall</code> into your terminal. The program will show you the options you can use.  
  
* '''[http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/ SteamOS]''' - Created by Valve for their Steam Machine, it can be used on your PC as well. It is based on the Debian (Stable) , be aware that it doesn’t have enough basic programs pre-installed. It uses GNOME Desktop by default.
+
The most basic installation is performed by issuing the following command:
 
===Rolling Release===
 
{{++}}Provides the latest version of the package once it’s available
 
{{++}}No distro upgrade is required, as most distros have only one version.
 
{{++}}Distros following the fixed release have an option to enable this type of release. Mostly under the name of Testing or Unstable
 
{{--}}An update for the package may cause stability issues, so it is recommended organize an update by yourself in case a revision gets a release, which fixes stability issues.
 
{{--}}In some cases, manual intervention is required.
 
{{ii}}Some distros offer a semi-rolling release, meaning that the package will be tested before the release, it mostly takes less than a month, often a week depending on distro.
 
  
* '''[http://www.archlinux.org/ Arch]''' - An independent and most used distro which aims to be simple and lightweight. It provides a simple, but powerful package manager called pacman while it’s Arch Build System provides an easy way to create the package, or even modify the configuration of the package which can be shared. The biggest advantage is the Arch User Repository, which provides a library of packages created and managed by the community without requiring the manual add of package repository compared to Ubuntu or Debian, the package will be either compiled automatically or even extract the DEB/RPM file as an installation procedure, while automatically install required dependencies, if specified by the creator of the package. By default, the distro only has the terminal and some core files required to work, but with the help of it’s wiki page (While providing the tutorial for beginners) you can create your own system, it can be also used as a help file for other linux distributions due to it's simple explanation and troubleshooting, bear in mind that there may be some slight differences. By default it does not have any desktop environment, but text mode so manual intervention is required.
+
<code>sudo nvautoinstall rpmadd && sudo nvautoinstall drive</code>.
  
* '''[https://manjaro.org/ Manjaro]''' - Often called “An Ubuntu of Arch”. This distro provides a graphical interface and is already configured for the beginners. Manjaro provides their own repository while including a great hardware detection while including a program which helps with installing the required package for it and a stable rolling release model (Each new version of the package are tested for a week or sometimes less than a month before the release to the public). The community is also very supportive and provides a great help for beginners.
+
To install support for Vulkan API (will be functional only if you have a Vulkan-capable GPU and driver), execute the following command <code>sudo dnf install vulkan-loader vulkan-loader.i686</code>
  
* '''[https://www.antergos.com/ Antergos]''' - Based on Arch, it is aimed for those who wants to start with the Arch immediately with all required packages installed without using the text mode. It uses it’s own repo mixed with the official Arch ones but doesn’t have any special programs on it’s own. You can choose GNOME, Cinnamon, MATE, KDE, OpenBox, XFCE as your default desktop or choose the text mode to download and install your own chosen desktop.
+
{{Fixbox|fix=
 +
# Launch the terminal and update/reboot system: <code>sudo dnf update && reboot</code>
 +
# Launch the terminal and add the official repos: <code>sudo dnf install fedora-workstation-repositories</code>
 +
# Enable the Nvidia driver repo: <code>sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled rpmfusion-nonfree-nvidia-driver</code>
 +
# Reboot, then verify the addition of the repository using the following command: <code>sudo dnf repository-packages rpmfusion-nonfree-nvidia-driver info</code>
 +
# Open the software app, select Add-ons > Hardware Drivers > NVIDIA Linux Graphics Driver > Install
 +
}}
  
* '''[https://solus-project.com/ Solus]''' - A new, independent distro released in 2016 which despite it’s rolling release model, it is very stable and is the only one which supports NVIDIA Optimus out of the box. It uses it’s own package manager called EOPKG, which is a fork of PiSi. You can choose Budgie (Default desktop), GNOME or MATE.
+
If you used nvautoinstall above, you can also install Vulkan API via <code>sudo nvautoinstall vulkan</code>.
  
* '''[https://www.opensuse.org OpenSUSE Tumbleweed]''' - A rolling release version of openSUSE which is treated as it’s own system compared to other distros with fixed release, which are just additional packages. The packages are constantly being updated and tested in this version, sometimes even so far where Arch’s pacman won’t keep it up. Just like the fixed release version, it uses KDE as a default desktop.
+
'''openSUSE'''
  
* '''[https://www.gentoo.org/ Gentoo]''' - Distro aimed only for advanced users who wants to have a total control over the system. Unlike packages in other distros which have it pre-compiled, Gentoo’s Portage relies on downloading and compiling the source code as an installation form, it’s wiki can be easy to use while being useful for choosing an appropriate compiling option in other distros while explaining them in an understandable word. it does not have a desktop environment, so manual installation is required.
+
[https://opensuse.github.io/openSUSE-docs-revamped-temp/install_proprietary/ Please refer to the openSUSE User Documentation Project for instructions.]
  
==Desktop Environments==
+
====Optimus support====
+
{{ii}} [https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/6ftq10/the_ultimate_guide_to_setting_up_nvidia_optimus/ Nvidia Optimus Linux guide]
Each desktop environment you are using or installing have an impact on your user experience and the performance on games. It is often recommended to run the game in fullscreen so the desktop compositor won’t affect the game’s performance, some DE have an option which lets you disable it such as Cinnamon or KDE Plasma (Automatic)Otherwise, XFCE,LXQT/LXDE and OpenBox are recommended to gain as much performance as possible. Due to the low or even absence of desktop compositor use.
+
{{--}} Optimus support in Nvidia GPUs is still considered to be troublesome.
+
In the case of laptops that have Nvidia Optimus support, it is recommended to have PRIME enabled, which can be done by installing an additional package. Follow the distro’s documentation to set this up.
===[https://www.gnome.org/ GNOME]===
 
{{++}}Supports Wayland
 
{{++}}Provides innovative features and can be expanded
 
{{++}}Simple to use
 
{{--}}It’s less friendly in terms of customization
 
{{--}}It’s GUI may take time to get used to, unless you are using GNOME Classic
 
 
===[https://www.kde.org/plasma-desktop KDE Plasma]===
 
{{++}}Powerful in terms of customization
 
{{++}}Provides features nearly similar to Windows
 
{{++}}Supports Wayland (if Plasma Wayland Session is installed and selected)
 
{{--}}Uses a lot of resources
 
{{--}}May be buggy due to it’s huge reliance on it’s own dependencies made by the developers
 
 
===[https://xfce.org/ XFCE]===
 
{{++}}Uses less memory and resources
 
{{++}}Very customizeable
 
{{++}}More responsive
 
{{++}}Friendly for beginners
 
{{--}}No Wayland support
 
{{--}}It’s desktop compositor’s vsync does not work
 
{{ii}}XFCE will use GTK3 upon the release of version 4.14. The progress can be seen [https://wiki.xfce.org/releng/4.14/roadmap here].
 
 
===[http://developer.linuxmint.com/ Cinnamon]===
 
{{++}}Provides both hardware and software acceleration
 
{{++}}Desktop compositor is not required (Hardware only)
 
{{++}}Friendly for beginners
 
{{++}}Balanced use of resources
 
{{--}}No Wayland support (But it is planned)
 
 
===[https://mate-desktop.org MATE]===
 
{{++}}Uses less resources than Cinnamon
 
{{++}}Friendly for beginners
 
{{++}}Good customization
 
{{--}}No Wayland support
 
{{--}}MATE Tweak is required to change the desktop composition type.
 
 
===[http://lxqt.org/ LXQT]''' and '''[http://lxde.org/ LXDE]===
 
{{++}}Very low resource and memory usage
 
{{++}}Very simple to use
 
{{++}}Qt based instead of GTK
 
{{--}}Some elements are not customizeable
 
{{ii}}No desktop compositor is present
 
 
===[http://openbox.org/wiki/Main_Page OpenBox]===
 
{{++}}Very low resource and memory usage
 
{{++}}Extremely customizeable
 
{{--}}Not beginner friendly
 
{{--}}Requires you to set up a desktop on your own using parts of other desktop environments.
 
{{ii}}Can be used as an alternative window manager for other desktop environments such as KDE or XFCE
 
  
===[https://budgie-desktop.org/home/ Budgie]===
+
AMD users only require running the game with the <code>DRI_PRIME=1</code> command.
{{++}} More simple to use than GNOME
 
{{++}} Uses GNOME applications
 
{{--}} GNOME updates may cause issues with Budgie
 
{{ii}} Upon the 11 version, Budgie will use Qt as a default graphical interface instead of GTK.
 
  
==Graphics==
+
===Audio===
===AMD===
+
{{ii}}[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sound_system ArchWiki page]
{{ii}} [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ATI ArchLinux wiki article (ATI/Catalyst)]
 
{{ii}} [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/AMDGPU AMDGPU/AMDGPU ArchLinux wiki article (AMDGPU/AMDGPU Pro)]
 
It is generally recommended to install open source drivers as they provide the much larger performance and are better optimized to the kernel than the proprietary ones. Here is a list of drivers and required libraries:
 
 
* AMDGPU - Open source kernel driver for AMD, it is required for 2D support.
 
* MESA - Open source graphics library for 2D and 3D acceleration. Must be installed for 3D support.
 
* AMDGPU Pro - Closed source kernel driver for AMD.
 
* Catalyst - Closed source kernel driver for older AMD GPU
 
* ATI - Open source kernel driver for older AMD GPU.
 
 
It is recommended to install the open source version of drivers for a longer support and better performance than the proprietary/closed source ones. Due to the reliance on MESA for 3D acceleration, it’s best to keep it updated once a new version is released. Sometimes the AMDGPU Pro may have a better performance in some games or 3D model editors like Blender, as the driver contains special features which may not be present in the open source counterpart.
 
 
'''Be aware that the Catalyst is no longer supported and if you are forced to use it, you must downgrade your Xorg/X11 server where it was last supported!'''
 
 
===NVIDIA===
 
{{ii}} [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA ArchLinux wiki article (NVIDIA)]
 
{{ii}} [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Nouveau ArchLinux wiki article (Nouveau)]
 
Compared to AMD, NVIDIA offers only the proprietary drivers, however there are versions to choose from:
 
* nvidia - Supports from GT300 series and newer
 
* nvidia 340.xx - Supports up to GT200 series (Legacy)
 
* nvidia 304.xx - Supports up to GT200 series (Binary)
 
* nouveau - Unofficial NVIDIA driver by FreeDesktop.org
 
 
'''It is not recommended to download the drivers from NVIDIA’s website! Always install them from your repository!'''
 
 
Despite the fact that nouveau works with almost all of the NVIDIA GPUs, their performance is rather worse, but can be somewhat improved by tuning it while updating MESA, which relies on it. Compared to official ones which uses their own library, however MESA is still required to perform 2D acceleration.
 
 
===Intel===
 
{{ii}} [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Intel_graphics ArchLinux wiki article]
 
There’s only one driver that is available for all of the integrated GPU present in Intel’s Core series and it also relies on MESA for both 2D and 3D acceleration.
 
 
===Vulkan support===
 
If your graphics card supports Vulkan API, you need to install additional driver package in order to enable the support, with the exception of Nvidia ones as they are already included and then install the Vulkan ICD Loader to let your GPU to use it on an application which supports it.
 
 
===NVIDIA Optimus===
 
In case of laptops which contains NVIDIA Optimus support it is recommended to have PRIME enabled, which can be done by installing additional package, follow the distro’s documentation to learn which one. The alternative to it can be optirun/primusrun or even Bumblebee (Not recommended as it is no longer in development), but then the manual intervention is required.
 
  
===Xorg===
+
Linux has several sound systems available. The most common one is PulseAudio, but a new system called PipeWire is looking to supersede and consolidate all previous systems into one. For most games, PulseAudio will work.
{{ii}} [https://www.x.org/wiki/ Main Page]
 
Xorg/X11 is the 1st display server released in 1986 which became a standard of creating Graphical user interface (GUI) for Linux. It received a major change during the popularity of Linux in 2000s. Despite the long support and being commonly used it has major issues which are still present today such as focus stealing, client and server separation which may lead to delays depending on the application it was made, tearing issues or even security ones which other user may capture key inputs from the keyboard. Depending on the desktop environment it also has accessibility issue for disabled users. Despite the release of it's successor, Wayland, it is still maintained by Xorg Foundation and Free-Desktop.org.
 
  
===Wayland===
+
In the case of MIDI, installing the Timidity or Fluidsynth package is required along with either a SoundFont or the FreePats package. Depending on the distro, it will either be set up automatically or require manual intervention.
{{ii}} [https://wayland.freedesktop.org/ Main Page]
 
Wayland is a successor to the Xorg/X11 server which allows to simplify the whole graphics stack without creating a Client while using a 3rd party compositor. It is only available for GPUs which have a Kernel Mode Setting support. Intel, ATI, AMDGPU, Nouveau have KMS enabled automatically by default, however in case of NVIDIA drivers the support started since 364.12 version and a manual intervention is required to enable KMS and gain the advantage of using Wayland.
 
 
The main benefit of the Wayland is a much faster response to programs compared to Xorg/X11 due to the simple communication between APIs. Keep in mind that you may need to add a command to inform you are running in that session to avoid using XWayland, which may affect the performance even if it has a support implemented. Such as games based on SDL2 like Team Fortress 2.
 
 
Be aware that Wayland’s support with NVIDIA isn’t so good, due to the different API which their graphic cards use compared to competition.
 
  
==Microcode==
+
===Input devices===
{{ii}}[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Microcode ArchLinux Wiki Article]
+
{{ii}}[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Libinput Libinput ArchWiki article]
It is extremely important to install the microcode for your CPU! As the manufacturer provides security and stability updates for your processor which without it, you will expect a lot of issues using your system.
+
{{ii}}[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Touchpad_Synaptics Touchpad ArchWiki article]
 +
{{ii}}[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Keyboard_configuration_in_Xorg Keyboard Configuration in Xorg ArchWiki article]
 +
{{ii}}[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Touchscreen Touchscreen ArchWiki article]
  
AMD users only need to install the Linux Firmware package, however in case of Intel, you need the Intel Ucode package and then set up the bootloader to use it as a 1st thing to load. GRUB can automatically set it up if it’s used as your default bootloader by updating the configuration.
+
Linux supports a vast array of input devices, including legacy hardware. Many programs exist for gaming peripherals in case further customization is needed.
  
==Kernel==
+
'''General'''
[https://www.kernel.org/ Main Linux Kernel page]
+
* [https://github.com/libratbag/piper/ Piper] - Configure gaming mice
It is important to update your linux kernel if it’s available as they provide security updates, bugfixes, better support for the hardware, new modules and a better performance. There are two main versions of the official Linux kernel which they differ each other. The Long Term Support kernel are slightly behind in terms of hardware and features than it’s counterpart, but offers the same security updates while being more stable with a longer support for the distro compared to the normal one.
+
 
 +
There are some other ones made for products from specific companies:
 +
 
 +
'''Razer'''
 +
* [https://openrazer.github.io/ OpenRazer] - Open-source driver for Razer peripherals
 +
* [https://polychromatic.app/ Polychromatic] - Frontend for OpenRazer
 +
* [https://github.com/z3ntu/RazerGenie RazerGenie] - Configurator for Razer mice, keyboards, headsets, and more
 +
* [https://github.com/GabMus/razerCommander RazerCommander] - Razer device manager
 +
* [https://bues.ch/cms/hacking/razercfg RazerCFG] - A much more simplified configurator for Razer products
 +
 
 +
'''Roccat'''
 +
* [https://sourceforge.net/projects/roccat/ Roccat Configurator] - An official configurator for Roccat products
 +
 
 +
====Controller support====
 +
All DirectInput and XInput controllers are supported. In case of issues with XInput controllers, it is recommended to install [https://gitlab.com/xboxdrv/xboxdrv/ xboxdrv].
  
Other users can actually edit the main kernel’s source code to create it’s own for different purpose. While both normal and LTS can be used for gaming, there are also community-made ones which may even improve it even further.
+
If dealing with a game that has very limited or no controller support at all, the [https://github.com/AntiMicroX/antimicroX AntiMicroX] program offers a solution. It allows the user to bind keyboard and mouse inputs to the controller. However, it currently only works with Xorg.
  
The most notable ones are (Bold ones are kernels which have additional options to enhance the performance):
+
Additionally, a user can use Steam Input in the Steam app to configure their controller.
  
* '''[http://users.tpg.com.au/ckolivas/kernel/ Linux CK]'''
+
==Other==
* '''[https://github.com/zen-kernel/zen-kernel Linux Zen]'''
+
===Disk partitioning===
* [https://rt.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Main_Page Linux RT]
+
{{ii}} '''ext4''' is the default file system used by most Linux distributions.
* '''[https://liquorix.net/ Liquorix]'''
+
{{mm}} While the file system used on Windows, NTFS, is supported, it is generally not recommended to use as it may cause compatibility issues.
  
'''Notes'''
+
The most important aspect of disk partitioning is often the swap partition; it generally acts as RAM replacement. The absence of it will cause software to shut down due to low memory, and it is also used to offload memory from RAM when entering power-saving modes such as Hibernation or Sleep. The size of the swap disk depends on how much RAM is available in the computer; if less than 8 GB of RAM, increase the swap disk, or if more than 8 GB of RAM, decrease the swap disk.
* Some repos already provide a pre-compiled kernel
 
* Be sure to keep the current kernel you have in case if things go wrong.
 
  
==Benchmarking==
+
It is generally recommended to partition disks in this particular order:
{{ii}}[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Benchmarking ArchLinux Wiki Article]
 
It is entirely possible to benchmark native Linux games in this system by using the [http://www.phoronix-test-suite.com Phoronix Test Suite]. While it is not in GUI form, it's actually very easy to use. You will need to download any game you wish to benchmark through this program and later on run it. The biggest advantage is that once it's completed, it will save the information as a webpage which the program automatically generates, creating a separate result is not required, as the program can also include it to the existing ones, making a comparison between the hardware you have used or settings much easier.
 
  
==Audio==
+
# / (Root)
[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sound_system ArchLinux Wiki Page]
+
# Home
Audio is mostly handled by ALSA, with or without PulseAudio. You may set up to use ALSA only, however it is mostly recommended to use with the latter, as it acts as a main central configuration point for audio itself.
+
# Swap disk
  
In case of MIDI, installing Timidity is required along with either soundfonts or FreePats package. Depending on the distro, it will either set it up automatically or require manual intervention. Keep in mind that if you are using PulseAudio, all the sounds, beside the MIDI music, will be muted unless you include the -iA -Os argument for the timidity command as either an autostart or as a user-made service.
+
A user can create multiple partitions for each directory with a specific disk size to use or use the entire free space on Root and leave some for swap.
  
There are also other things to know, if your sound card has issues with playing the sound, make sure you have ALSA Firmware package installed, as for bluetooth headsets, check if PulseAudio Bluetooth package is installed and your output is set to A2D in the Sound settings.
+
===Display server===
 +
{{++}} Wayland is newer than Xorg and is considered to be technically superior.
 +
{{--}} Wayland is not supported by older proprietary games.
  
There is also the OSS (Open Sound System) as a third option for audio, however it's been succeeded by ALSA.
+
Linux utilizes a display server system in order to present a graphical environment with which the user can interface. The two prominent ones are [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Wayland Wayland] and [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xorg Xorg].
  
==Controller Support==
+
While Wayland offers more a modern and secure backend, Xorg has legacy support and will generally be more compatible than Wayland. In addition, Wayland is still in active development and is missing features that would provide a gaming experience in parity with Xorg.
All the controllers such as DualShock 4,DirectInput gamepads and XInput ones (Such as Xbox 360) are supported, however in case of issues regarding XInput ones, you may wish to install xboxdrv. For calibration purpose, you can install the graphical interface of JSTest package to do it.
 
  
The most interesting thing is the Steam Controller, as despite requiring Steam to make it work, it’s entirely possible to use it outside of it with the use of third-party scripts which lets you emulate it as an actual gamepad or a mouse. Even so far to use it on Wine, if it’s set properly.
+
===Benchmarking===
 +
{{ii}}[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Benchmarking ArchWiki article]
  
==Wine==
+
Benchmarking in Linux can be achieved with the [https://www.phoronix-test-suite.com Phoronix Test Suite]. It is easy to use despite not offering a user-friendly GUI. The biggest advantage is it saves the information as a webpage, making comparing tests much easier.
{{ii}}[https://www.winehq.org/ Main Page]
 
{{ii}} [https://www.reddit.com/r/wine_gaming/ /r/wine_gaming]
 
{{mm}}[https://appdb.winehq.org/ Application Database]
 
WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) is a compatibility layer which allows you to run Windows programs in Unix/Linux environment, it’s main advantage is a wide support of Windows versions ranging from 3.11 to Windows 7 and supports both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of their systems (32 bit only if you have a 32 bit version of Wine). Besides that some games may even work better than on native Windows such as games which use OpenGL or Vulkan rendering. However a manual intervention may be required if there are issues and checking the WineHQ’s App Database to see if it’s compatible and how to make it work. There are multiple versions of this program each with their own differences:
 
  
* Normal
+
Steam users can use Valve's [https://github.com/ValveSoftware/voglperf voglpref], which requires Steam.
* Staging - Provides additional features such as CSMT which may or may not improve the performance of the game and contains community-made patches which improves the compatibility.
 
* Gallium Nine - Uses Gallium3D State Tracker, which dramatically improves the performance for games using DirectX 9, as it won’t translate Direct3D calls into OpenGL.
 
  
AMD and Intel GPU benefits a lot from Gallium Nine version, due to the fact that Gallium3D is a part of MESA, which both of these cards rely on. NVIDIA is not affected by this, as it uses it’s own driver for performing 3D acceleration in it’s own utility package, unless you are on nouveau.
+
===PCI passthrough===
+
{{ii}}[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PCI_passthrough_via_OVMF ArchWiki page]
If WINE itself is hard to use there are also front-ends which may improve your experience with it:
+
{{ii}}[https://www.reddit.com/r/VFIO/ /r/VFIO Reddit page]
+
Since Linux 3.9 and recent QEmu versions, it is possible to passthrough a graphics card, motherboard, or even other hardware into a virtual machine. The main advantage of it is having a native GPU working on Windows in a virtual machine, which allows you to play Windows games on it while using Linux.
===[https://www.playonlinux.com PlayOnLinux]===
 
{{++}}Easy and free to use
 
{{++}}Beginner friendly
 
{{++}}Includes precompiled scripts for automatic installation
 
{{--}}Very slow development
 
{{--}}Additional libraries available to install may be outdated
 
 
===[https://www.codeweavers.com/products/crossover-linux Crossover]===
 
{{++}}Often superior in terms of compatibility than PlayOnLinux
 
{{++}}Contains patches which later on (mostly a few months) are added to Wine Staging
 
{{--}}Commercial product only, however buying the program will support the developers of WINE.
 
 
===[http://q4wine.brezblock.org.ua/ Q4Wine]===
 
{{++}}Free and moderately easy to use
 
{{++}}Additional libraries are up to date, thanks to the winetricks implementation (Manual update is required)
 
{{++}}Implemented AppDB for the compatibility check
 
{{--}}Manual compiling/installing other Wine version is required if you want to use other version besides the one used in the system by default.
 
  
==Stores and Clients==
+
There are some disadvantages:
 
===[https://store.steampowered.com Steam]===
 
{{ii}} [https://steamdb.info/linux/ List of Steam games with Linux native ports]
 
{{ii}} [http://steamcommunity.com/linux Steam Linux community]
 
{{ii}} [https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues GitHub bug reporting]
 
{{ii}} [http://meklu.org/?page=steamlug #steamlug] - IRC chat room.
 
Steam is currently the biggest store which offers games that are compatible with Linux however it’s client is 32-bit only and support ranges only from Ubuntu 12.04 and most likely distros based on it. Outside of it Steam can run on other distros as well as it uses it’s own library to work.
 
 
It’s even possible to force Steam to use the library used in your system which makes it more responsive and generally work better. Some distros such as the ones based on ArchLinux have a Steam Native package available in their repo which can be easily installed without manual intervention.
 
 
===[https://www.humblebundle.com/ Humble Bundle]===
 
Despite not having the client. Humble Bundle is the 1st store which has games supporting Linux and it is currently the 2nd biggest store for games with Linux compatibility.
 
 
===[https://www.gog.com GOG.com]===
 
{{ii}} [https://www.gog.com/forum/general/general_linux_faq_and_troubleshooting/page1 GOG FAQ and troubleshooting thread for Linux]
 
While the Galaxy for Linux is still development. GOG offers Linux games as a MojoSetup installer script. Keep in mind that after downloading the installer, you must label it as a executable file before running it. The store page of the game which supports Linux will display required packages in order to make it work properly in case if there are issues.
 
 
===[https://itch.io/ Itch.io]===
 
An open store which offers indie games whenether is it free or not. It’s client does support Linux and it is still in experimental phase.
 
 
===[https://lutris.net/ Lutris]===
 
While it doesn’t have a store, it is an open source client dedicated to installing and managing your games in Wine, native, Steam Wine or even available emulators in your system. The main page offers scripts which will automatically install the game you have for you, while giving an option to install it by yourself. Sometimes a script may even offer a different version of Wine made specifically for one game you wish to install. One prime example of it is Overwatch, as it uses a special Wine version dedicated only for this game.
 
  
==The Bash Shell and Terminal==
+
* A second GPU for PCI passthrough is required
The [[Wikipedia:Bash (Unix shell)|Unix Shell "bash"]] and Terminal are available on most Linux-distributions by default is a very useful tool for doing system tasks. If you use Linux as your main operating system, it may be unnecessary to use, but it is recommended to learn some of the important commands and terminal hotkeys to make your job easier such as creating a script binary to perform simple tasks or even create aliases to turn complicated commands into a much simple version. Each desktop environment includes their own terminal and can be changed anytime you want, especially the third-party ones such as Terminator,XTerm/UXTerm or Tilix (Recommended).
+
* GPU must support UEFI
 +
* CPU must support hardware virtualization and IOMMU
 +
* Motherboard must support IOMMU
 +
* It is not an easy process for beginners
  
All user-made settings are always saved in .bashrc file in your Home directory.
+
==Stores and clients==
  
It is recommended to learn commands related to file manipulation, text editing, finding specific words, hardware-related stuff and learn how it works.
+
{| class="wikitable"
==Other Informations to know==
+
|-
* There are no best distros, it all depends on your need. You may be switching between it until you find a perfect one, commonly called “distro hopping”.
+
! Name !! Client available !! Registers Linux sales? !! Notes
* Always ask the forum or refer to the documentation of the distro in case you have a problem
+
|-
* In some distros, such as ArchLinux, you may want to check the main page before updating, sometimes a manual intervention is required, but will always provide instructions what to do. Not required for fixed release type distros.
+
| [https://store.steampowered.com Steam] || Yes || Yes || style="text-align: left;"|
* You don’t have to keep making an update if a new version is released in a rolling release distro, you can always do it later. It’s actually recommended to do it after some time to avoid any stability issue.
+
* By default, the client includes libraries required for native games to run (Runtime mode), but it is possible to make the software use libraries from your system instead (Native mode)
* Always use virtual machines such as VirtualBox to learn about the distro you want to use. Some distros have a LiveCD or LiveUSB which allows you to check the distro out before installing or even use it for the maintenance.
+
* Includes Proton by default (may require manual installation from the Tools tab).
* Sometimes it’s best to divide partitions of your HDD/SDD for other main folders such as /boot, /var, /home etc. and giving them a limited storage.
+
|-
* There are loads of partition formats to choose from, but the most commonly used one is ext4.
+
| [https://www.humblebundle.com/ Humble Bundle] || No || Yes || style="text-align: left;"|
* Some keys on your keyboard are labeled differently in Linux world. Meta4/Super key are actually Windows key, while "^X" in text mode is actually Ctrl+X.
+
* The store does not provide information about required dependencies for games.
* Almost all of the desktop environments have their own Terminal, you can install a 3rd party ones which generally are more feature rich.
+
|-
* If you are confused with using the package manager in Terminal for each distro, [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pacman/Rosetta this] page will help you.
+
| [https://www.gog.com GOG.com] || No || Yes || style="text-align: left;"|
* Swap partitions are only required if you have less or equal to 4 GB of RAM. The less RAM you have, the bigger size of your swap is required.
+
* The game's store page shows the required dependencies for games.
* Having a second workstation is extremely useful in case if the game hangs out or freezes without any option to minimize it back to the desktop. Mostly happens to the Xorg/X11 server display.
+
* Uses MojoSetup as an installer.
* While /etc folder stores all the settings for the programs, it's recommended to save and hide them into your Home directory to make things much more simple. The program will look for the settings in your Home directory 1st, if not found, it will load the one from /etc.
+
* Running the <code>start.sh</code> script may cause issues. Run the binary executable directly to bypass issues.
*Files and folders can be hidden by adding "." at the beginning of the name.
+
|-
*If using a 64-bit version of the distro. Always make sure to install the 32-bit package counterpart for the compatibility!
+
| [https://itch.io/ Itch.io] || Yes (Optional) || Yes || None
* Most of the time you don't have to compile a program as they are mostly pre-compiled in distro's repo. If required, there are always instructions how to do it.
+
|-
 +
| [https://store.feralinteractive.com/ Feral Store] || No || Yes || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
* Sells only Mac and Linux ports they have made.
 +
|-
 +
| [https://gamejolt.com/ Game Jolt] || Yes (Optional) || Unknown || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
|-
 +
| [https://flathub.org/apps/category/Game Flathub] || No || No || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
* Offers open-source freeware games. Overlap with the distros' own package repositories is high.
 +
|-
 +
| [https://snapcraft.io/search?category=games Snap Store] || Yes (Optional) || No || style="text-align: left;"|
 +
* Offers a mix of open-source freeware games and preconfigured [[Wine]] games.
 +
* Offers some games for [[List of Linux ARM games|ARM]], [[List of Linux PowerPC games|PowerPC]] and ''System z'' distro installations.
 +
|-
 +
| [https://www.zoom-platform.com/search/any/any/any/any/any/linux/any/any ZOOM Platform] || No || Unknown ||
 +
* Very small game selection (50 Linux games total) as of November 2023.
 +
|}
  
 
==Improvements==
 
==Improvements==
 +
===Hardware===
 +
'''Disable mitigations for transient execution CPU vulnerabilities'''
 +
{{--}} Be aware that disabling these will cause your PC to be susceptible to multiple vulnerabilities such as Spectre, Meltdown, ZombieLoad, etc. Use it with discretion.
 +
{{ii}} Outside of specific microbenchmarks, disabling the default mitigations should result in an average performance increase of 5-10%. The following parameter used here is available only in 5.1.13 kernel or newer <small>(or backports to 3.16.68, 4.4.180, 4.9.176, 4.14.119, and 4.19.43)</small>, for others see [https://make-linux-fast-again.com/ this parameters string].
  
{{Fixbox|1=
+
{{Fixbox|description=Edit the GRUB settings|fix=
{{Fixbox/fix|Enabling threading optimizations for NVIDIA drivers}}
+
Open up the <code>grub</code> file found in <code>/etc/default/</code> with a text editor as root and in <code>GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=</code> add <code>mitigations=off</code> at the end.
# Add {{Code|1=__GL_THREADED_OPTIMIZATIONS=1}} before the command of the game. For example in [[Steam]], define the command launch paramteres as:
 
__GL_THREADED_OPTIMIZATIONS=1 %command%
 
  
'''Notes'''
+
Re-generate the grub.cfg using one of these commands as root:
{{ii}} For some games, threading optimizations cause a huge improvement to the frame rate of the game.
+
<pre>
*Not needed with nvidia driver 378 ¨Enabled OpenGL threaded optimizations by default in the driver. Refer to the "Threaded Optimizations" section in the "Specifying OpenGL Environment Variable Settings" chapter of the README for details. These optimizations will self-disable when they are degrading performance. As a result, performance should be unchanged for many applications, and increased for those that benefit from threaded optimizations and were not already forcing them enabled.¨
+
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
 +
 
 +
update-grub    # Used by Ubuntu-based distros, easy version of the 1st one.
 +
</pre>
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
'''Disable mouse acceleration in Xorg'''
 +
{{ii}} Some desktop environments offer an option to set up the mouse acceleration directly from the settings menu (Such as KDE Plasma, GNOME, and later on MATE)
 +
{{Fixbox|description=Create a new Xorg rule|fix=
 +
Create a config file in '''/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/''' as '''<code>any number</code>-<code>custom name</code>.conf''' (for example '''50-mouse-acceleration.conf''', keep in mind that it does not accept spaces in names) as superuser/root and add the following script:
 +
<pre>
 +
Section "InputClass"
 +
Identifier "My Mouse"
 +
Driver "libinput"
 +
MatchIsPointer "yes"
 +
Option "AccelProfile" "flat"
 +
EndSection
 +
</pre>
 +
Then restart the system or Xorg (In most distros it is {{key|Ctrl}}+{{key|Alt}}+{{key|Backspace ←}})
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{Fixbox|1=
+
'''Improve shutdown time in systemd'''
{{Fixbox/fix|Optimize the program to your CPU when compiling}}
+
{{Fixbox|description=Edit the system.conf|fix=
{{++}} Improves the performance of the program after it's compiled.
+
In some desktop environments such as LXQt, the system shutdown or restart process may take longer due to Systemd having the time to stop the session set to 1 minute 30 seconds by default.
{{--}} May not work on other system but yours.
+
# Edit as a root the system.conf file located in <code>/etc/systemd/</code>
In Makefile remove any -march and -mtune arguments from the <code>CFLAGS</code> and <code>CXXFLAGS</code> and add <code>-march=native</code> at the beginning.
+
# Find '''DefaultTimeoutStartSec''' and '''DefaultTimeoutStopSec''', uncomment them if necessary and set the time limit in seconds.
 +
# Type <code>sudo systemctl daemon-reload</code>
  
'''Notes'''
+
OR
* On ArchLinux-based distro you can edit the <code>makepkg.conf</code> to use it by default when using AUR.
+
 
* The default option for <code>-march</code> is <code>generic</code>, in case if there are issues.
+
Install the '''watchdog''' package and enable/run the watchdog service.
* Please refer to the [https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/GCC_optimization GCC Optimization Guide] and [https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Safe_CFLAGS Safe CFLAGS] from the Gentoo Wiki
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{Fixbox|1=
+
'''Resolution scaling with xrandr'''
{{Fixbox/fix|Use more cores to improve compilation time}}
+
 
Add <code>-j#+1</code> after the <code>make</code> command. Where # is number of cores. So if you want to use 2 cores of your CPU, use <code>make -j3</code>, in case of 4 cores use<code>make -j5</code> etc.
+
It is entirely possible to scale the resolution through multiplications (<code>--scale</code>) or by resolution (<code>--scale-from</code>) with <code>xrandr</code> command. Provided that you input the monitor name and your current resolution, which can be learned by using <code>xrandr -q</code> command (It will also list available resolutions).
 +
 
 +
Here are some examples:
 +
* <code>xrandr --output VGA1 --mode 1024x768 --scale 0.5x0.5</code> - this will downscale the resolution by 0.5 while using 1024x768 resolution in VGA1 monitor.
 +
* <code>xrandr --output VGA3 --mode 1920x1080 --scale-from 1440x900</code> - This command will imitate the 1440x900 resolution under 1080p in your VGA3 monitor.
 +
 
 +
===Software===
 +
'''Use Feral Game Mode to improve the performance'''
 +
{{ii}} Most distros include the software in their repository, it is recommended to install both 64 and 32-bit versions to apply in every game, if not, the source code can be found in the [https://github.com/FeralInteractive/gamemode GitHub page].
 +
{{++}} Supports custom scripts
 +
{{++}} Developers can use it to implement in their games.
 +
Feral Game Mode is used by Feral Interactive to provide optimization in their games (since Rise Of The Tomb Raider) when being run, it provides changes to the following aspects:
 +
* CPU governor
 +
* Input/Output priority
 +
* Process niceness
 +
* Kernel scheduler
 +
* Screensaver inhibiting
 +
* GPU performance mode (Nvidia and AMD), GPU overclocking (Nvidia)
 +
 
 +
Once the package is installed, you can activate it when running other games with <code>gamemoderun *game executable/launcher*</code>, on Steam add <code>gamemoderun %command%</code> into Launch Options.
 +
 
 +
'''Enable 32-bit support for your distro'''
 +
{{Fixbox|description=Enable 32-bit library support in Ubuntu/Debian based distros||fix=
 +
As Ubuntu/Debian 64-bit distros have 32-bit libraries disabled by default, this can cause compatibility issues with the software (Especially with upgrading [[Wine]]). To enable it you must use the following commands:
 +
<pre>
 +
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
 +
sudo apt update
 +
</pre>
 +
 
 +
{{ii}} In Debian unstable, one can optionally also add support for x32 with <code>sudo dpkg --add-architecture x32</code>, although [[List of Linux games for uncommon architectures|not all that many games support it]].
  
'''Notes'''
 
* On ArchLinux-based distro you can edit the <code>MAKEFLAGS</code> from <code>makepkg.conf</code>. To apply it as default when using AUR.
 
* Keep in mind that some programs requires using one core for the stability sake. So if you are on ArchLinux and using AUR, don't be surprised it uses only 1 core.
 
* By default it uses one core when compiling.
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
 +
'''List missing dependencies'''
 +
{{Fixbox|description=List the missing dependencies|fix=
 +
As GOG, Steam, and other stores mostly support Ubuntu due to its popularity in both making another distribution (Such as Linux Mint) or wide use, there can be limited support for the other distros such as Arch Linux, Fedora, etc. Mostly in terms of requiring dependencies to run the game or software.
 +
 +
The <code>ldd</code> command can be used to check which dependency it requires and if they are in your system.
 +
<pre>
 +
ldd <binary file>
 +
</pre>
 +
After running the command, it'll list all the *.so files the software uses, if there is a "Not found" somewhere, this is the moment to learn which package contains the file.
  
{{Fixbox|1=
+
The missing dependency checkup can be even easier with the inclusion of the <code>grep</code> command.
{{Fixbox/fix|Running Games on a Separate x Server}}
+
<pre>
Running games on a different X server from ones main desktop can dramatically improve performance and generally reduces the amount of problems within a game especially when using an advanced compositing window manager like Compiz. To launch a separate X server with a game create a new .sh file and paste in the following code:
+
ldd <binary_file> | grep "Not found"
<pre>#! /bin/bash
 
DISPLAY=:1.0
 
xinit $cd '/YOURGAMEPATH' $* -- :1
 
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
Save and allow the file to be executable. Running this script in the terminal will make it much easier end the server when you are finished with it.
+
 
Alternatively you can set the path to a terminal emulator like Xterm <code>/usr/bin/uxterm</code> and launch the game from a terminal in the new server. You could even launch a file browser like nautilus <code>/usr/bin/nautilus</code>
+
This will only look for the lines related to "Not found" - if nothing shows up then you have everything you need.
Press {{key|Ctrl|Alt|F7}} to return to the main desktop and {{key|Ctrl|Alt|F8}} to go back to the newly created one.
+
}}
 +
{{Fixbox|description=Improve compiling speed in AUR (Manjaro, EndeavourOS, Arch Linux)|fix=
 +
Open makepkg.conf as root and under '''MAKEFLAGS''' add <code>-j#</code>. Where <code>#</code> is the sum of (number of CPU cores you wish to use) + 1</code> (so if you wish to use 4 cores, you need to put -j5 for example)
 +
{{ii}}Keep in mind that some programs require using one core for stability's sake.
 
}}
 
}}
  
==Common Fixes==
+
'''Create a script making the game use libraries from your system instead'''
 +
{{Fixbox|description=Make a native executable for your game|fix=
 +
{{ii}} This method may improve the game's compatibility and sometimes even the performance on your Linux system. Can be useful in older Linux games that rely on older SDL interfaces such as [[Majesty]].
 +
# Create an empty text file and open it with any text editor.
 +
# Add the following script:
 +
<pre>
 +
#!/bin/sh
 +
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/path/to/library /path/to/executable
 +
</pre>
 +
3. Replace <code>/path/to/library</code> with one of these paths:
 +
* If the game is 64-bit <code>/usr/lib64</code>
 +
* If the game is 32-bit and you are using a 64-bit system <code>/usr/lib32</code>
 +
* If the game is 32-bit <code>/usr/lib</code>
 +
4. Once done, save it and make it executable using either <code>chmod</code> command or via Properties with your file manager.
  
===Mouse issues on multi-monitor systems===
+
'''Notes'''
{{ii}} Some games requires the primary monitor to be set to function correctly.
+
* You are required to learn which libraries the game uses and install them if needed. Each game has its own library folder which may help you learn this.
 +
}}
  
{{Fixbox|1=
+
==Common fixes==
{{Fixbox/fix|XRandr|ref={{cn|date=February 2017}}}}
+
===Hardware===
 +
{{Fixbox|description=The Nvidia DKMS driver won't install after updating it|fix=
 +
{{ii}} If none of them won't work, you may have to downgrade your kernel and wait for the update that fixes it. Provided that you or someone else reported this issue.
 +
'''Text Mode'''
 +
# Boot up to your kernel
 +
# Enter the text mode by pressing {{key|Ctrl}}+{{key|Alt}}+{{key|F2}}-{{key|F10}} and if necessary, stop the display manager.
 +
# Type in as root, <code>dkms install nvidia/<version> --all</code>. If everything is done successfully type <code>reboot</code>.
 +
 
 +
'''LiveCD/LiveUSB'''
 +
# Boot to the LiveCD/LiveUSB
 +
# Mount your partition(s) using <code>mount /dev/sd<disk and partition</code> and Chroot it with <code>chroot <root partition></code> (In Arch Linux system it's <code>arch-chroot</code> instead).
 +
# Type in <code>dkms install nvidia/<version> --all</code>. Once it's done without any errors, you can restart the system.
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
{{Fixbox|description=Set up a primary monitor in multi-monitor setup|ref={{cn|date=February 2017}}|fix=
 
# Install <code>xrandr</code> using your linux distribution's package manager.
 
# Install <code>xrandr</code> using your linux distribution's package manager.
 
# Run <code>xrandr</code> from a terminal emulator and find the name of the monitor you want to set as the primary (i.e. "HDMI-0").
 
# Run <code>xrandr</code> from a terminal emulator and find the name of the monitor you want to set as the primary (i.e. "HDMI-0").
Line 362: Line 530:
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
+
{{Fixbox|description=No sound|ref={{cn|date=February 2017}}|fix=
{{Fixbox|1=
+
Open the Terminal and type as root <code>gpasswd -a <username> audio</code>, if that did not work then:
{{Fixbox/fix|X server Permission error Debian/Ubuntu|ref={{cn|date=February 2017}}}}
+
# Open the <code>group</code> file as root in a text editor located in '''/etc''' folder.
# run <pre># dpkg-reconfigure x11-common</pre>
 
# Set: Move down and select "Anybody"
 
}}
 
{{Fixbox|1=
 
{{Fixbox/fix|X server Permission error Any|ref={{cn|date=February 2017}}}}
 
# open <pre>/etc/X11/Xwrapper.config</pre>
 
# Set <pre>allowed_users=root or console</pre> to  <pre>allowed_users=anybody</pre>
 
}}
 
{{Fixbox|1=
 
{{Fixbox/fix|No sound|ref={{cn|date=February 2017}}}}
 
# Open the following file as root in a text editor <pre>/etc/group</pre>
 
 
# Find the following line <pre>audio:x:29:pulse</pre>
 
# Find the following line <pre>audio:x:29:pulse</pre>
# Add a comma and your username ex: <pre>audio:x:29:pulse,linus</pre>
+
# Add a comma and your username ex: <pre>audio:x:29:pulse,tux</pre>
OR
 
# Open the Terminal and type as root <pre>gpasswd -a <username> audio</pre>
 
 
}}
 
}}
===Fullscreen problems/cursor won't disappear===
+
 
{{Fixbox|1=
+
{{Fixbox|description=Crackling sound/audio delay in PulseAudio||fix=
{{Fixbox/fix|Fullscreen problems/cursor won't disappear|ref={{cn|date=February 2017}}}}
+
Type in the terminal this command to stop and then start PulseAudio at the same time:
Running a very light window manager may fix some problems with fullscreen games not going fullscreen and will make the mouse courser hide when in front of a full screen window.
+
<pre>
Openbox is a very light manager that is available for many distributions.
+
pulseaudio -k && pulseaudio --start
#Install openbox "sudo apt-get install openbox" or the equivalent for your distribution
+
</pre>
# change  <pre>$cd '/YOURGAMEPATH'</pre>  to <pre>$cd 'openbox'</pre>
+
{{ii}}You can bind this command as a keyboard command in your DE.
 
}}
 
}}
  
 +
===Software===
 +
{{Fixbox|description=Screen tearing|fix=
 +
{{ii}} You may also use GNOME, Cinnamon, and KDE Plasma which use their own compositor that directly communicates with the GPU without any performance loss from the Nvidia side.
 +
Nvidia users can fix the screen tearing by enabling '''Force Composition Pipeline''' in Nvidia Settings, if it persists, enable '''Force Full Composition''' (Keep in mind that it reduces the performance in games even more).
 +
 +
AMD and Intel HD users do not have to do anything as DRI3 handles the refresh rate by default without compromising the performance, provided the compositor contains the Present extension.
 +
 +
If it persists, chances are you may be required to install and use a 3rd party compositor such as Compiz, Compton, etc.
 +
}}
 
{{References}}
 
{{References}}
 +
<references />
  
 
[[Category:Guide]]
 
[[Category:Guide]]

Latest revision as of 17:34, 26 November 2023

Linux
Linux cover
Developers
Linus Torvalds
Release dates
Linux September 17, 1991
Linux at Wikipedia

Linux is the open-source Unix-like operating system based around the kernel of the same name created by Linus Torvalds and released on September 17, 1991. As the kernel itself lacks many user-level tools, it is often paired with free and open-source software (FOSS) provided by the GNU Project as well as other popular user-level applications, and packaged as a "distribution" ("distro" for short). As a result of its reliance on tools provided by the GNU Project, the operating system consisting of the kernel and bundled user-level tools is sometimes controversially referred to as GNU/Linux as well. The operating system sees ongoing development and due to its free and open-source nature is often used as the base on which other services or platforms are built on, such as Stadia and Steam Deck.

Users wanting to find a distribution of Linux usually end up following a few general guidelines:

  • The strength and weakness of Linux is its freedom of user choice.
  • There are no best distros; it all depends on the user's need. Users commonly switch between distros ("distro hopping") until settling on one.
  • Always refer to the documentation of the chosen distro in case there is a problem. It's advisable to check the ArchWiki regardless of the distro as it is broadly and succinctly written. In addition, reaching out to the distro's community for support is always an option.
  • Use virtual machines to test Linux distributions without replacing the existing operating system on the physical machine.
    • To test a distribution installed on a virtual machine on the physical machine itself without replacing the existing operating system or dual booting, a tool called Ventoy can be used to create a bootable vDisk on a USB flash stick.

Key points

Wide variety of distributions (distros) available, allowing unparalleled user choice and customizability.
Some native Linux games may perform better or worse when compared to other operating systems.
Many Windows games can be played on Linux using Proton or Wine.

Resources

DistroWatch - a page dedicated to Linux distributions
Linux Journey - a beginner-friendly page about learning Linux in general
ProtonDB - a crowdsourced database of Proton games compatibility
Phoronix - a website dedicated to hardware and benchmarking in Linux
OpenBenchmarking and FlightlessMango - lists of user-made benchmarks in Linux
ArchWiki and Gentoo Wiki - wikis intended for their respective distro but is useful for others as well

Communities

Gaming On Linux - a large community dedicated to gaming on Linux
/r/linux_gaming - Linux gaming subreddit

Distributions

There are two types of release models for Linux distros.

Fixed release

Offers stable packages.
Most distros are beginner-friendly.
Very little maintenance.
Package versions are usually tied to the distro version, so the OS needs to be updated to get the latest packages.
Stable packages typically don't have the newest features. This is especially important in the case of GPU drivers.
This issue is alleviated by the fact that the vast majority of user-facing applications are now available as a Flatpak, Snap or and AppImage which allow you to run the latest version of the application regardless of what exact version of underlying OS you have.
Manual intervention is required to add user-made repositories in some distros.
Updating a distro to the latest version doesn't normally require a fresh install, but can take up to several hours.
Many Debian-based distros offer "backports" and/or "testing" modes that provide newer versions of some packages than what the stable version does.
Distribution Based on Desktop(s) [fr note 1] Release cycle Supported by[fr note 2] Description
Ubuntu and Ubuntu flavours Debian GNOME, KDE Plasma, LXQt, Budgie, MATE, Xfce, UKUI 6 months, 2 years for LTS Steam, GOG, many commercial developers The most popular distribution. Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) is officially supported by Steam. Ubuntu non-LTS is updated more often and contains newer packages and functionality. Ubuntu flavours offer different desktop environments with the same compatibility as Ubuntu.
Pop!_OS Ubuntu GNOME 6 months same as Ubuntu[fr note 3] An Ubuntu-based distro created and maintained by System76 which utilizes its own repository. Unlike Ubuntu, it includes much more recent drivers for graphics cards, the installer ships with Nvidia support, and it's generally more recommended for beginners.
Linux Mint Ubuntu LTS Cinnamon, MATE, XFCE Up to 2 years same as Ubuntu[fr note 3] The most popular beginner-friendly Linux distribution. LMDE 2 Edition is based on Debian. Packages may be much older compared to Ubuntu LTS releases. The main advantage of Linux Mint is the built-in kernel upgrader.
KDE Neon Ubuntu LTS KDE Plasma Up to a year same as Ubuntu[fr note 3] A distro created by the KDE community. Compared to Kubuntu (A KDE Plasma-flavoured Ubuntu), it provides the latest version of the KDE Plasma desktop environment, while simultaneously being able to use packages from Ubuntu LTS.
Fedora and Fedora Spins Independent GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE, MATE, Cinnamon, LXDE, LXQT, SUGAR 6 months Fedora is a very stable, independent distribution sponsored by Red Hat Enterprise. GNOME is its default desktop environment, but Fedora Spins offer many alternatives. It is as user-friendly as Ubuntu but tends to be more willing to move to new technologies. Spins offer different desktop environments, but when it comes to compatibility, they are the same as Fedora.
openSUSE Leap Independent GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE 1 year for each new release Leap uses source from SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), which gives it a great level of stability. openSUSE has YaST, which is a user-friendly GUI to install packages, manage the system, and install Nvidia proprietary drivers in a simple way.
SteamOS Arch Linux(starting with version 3.0) Debian(old versions)[1] KDE Plasma Varies Steam Linux distribution made by Valve Corporation specifically for the Steam Machine or couch gaming. It currently provides the latest stable Linux kernel along with newer GPU drivers and an option to act as a desktop system. It may be behind in terms of package updates.
As of June 2021, SteamOS is based on Debian Jessie, meaning that non-Steam packages have not been updated since 2016.
  1. Default options are marked in bold
  2. look at Official Support TODO: add it
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Support is not official, but the distros are similar enough that everything which works for Ubuntu will work in Pop!_OS.

Rolling release

Provides the latest version of packages as soon as they're released by the upstream developers.
No distro upgrade procedure is required, as most distros have only one version.
A package update may cause stability issues, as extensive testing is usually limited.
No currently-listed rolling release distribution has official support from any digital distribution store, due to the distros' reliance on .rpm binaries instead of .deb.
Some distros offer a semi-rolling release, meaning that packages will be tested before releases.
Distribution Based On Desktop(s)[rr note 1] Description
Arch Linux Independent GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE, MATE, Cinnamon, LXDE, LXQT, SUGAR, Deepin, Budgie, UKUI Arch Linux is a distribution designed for advanced users looking to customize every aspect of their system, building from the ground up rather than the top down. There is a huge number of packages available through the AUR (Arch User Repository). Arch Linux does not have a graphical installer and requires research on the user's part to properly install.
If you're new to Linux, Arch most definitely should not be your first choice.
Manjaro Arch Linux GNOME, KDE Plasma, Xfce Manjaro is based on Arch Linux and offers a user-friendly experience out of the box. By default, it comes with Nvidia's proprietary drivers, which makes it straightforward to install. It uses the Pamac app to install native, AUR, Flatpak, and Snap packages in a simple way.
openSUSE Tumbleweed Independent GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE A rolling version of openSUSE which uses automated testing to provide more stability than many other rolling releases. When used with BTRFS on a root partition, snapshots are taken before and after updates, allowing easy restores if there is an update breakage.
Solus Independent Budgie, GNOME, MATE, KDE Plasma Despite following the rolling release model, it provides stable packages and features great hardware compatibility with any GPU. It includes a special tool called Linux Steam Integration (LSI) which allows users to easily customize Steam, ranging from using the libraries from the system (native mode) or a forced 32-bit mode. Only stable releases of library and software are added, with very few exceptions—such as Nvidia's Vulkan beta drivers.
  1. Default options are marked in bold

Desktop environments

By default, Linux is a text/command-line-based operating system. However, the Linux community has created a variety of desktop environments to offer a user-friendly GUI experience. Most include their own basic software for common use cases, such as a file explorer or word processor.

As a rule of thumb, environments with heavy RAM use typically add another 500 MB to the operating system's RAM requirements (which usually range from 500 MB to 4 GB), compared to environments with light RAM use.

Name RAM use Description
GNOME Heavy

One of the oldest desktop environments that is still continuously updated. Offers the most radical departure from the traditional Windows-style paradigm of start-menu-and-a-taskbar.
It has historically been considered slow but has made huge strides in improving the fluidity and responsiveness in the last few years, particularly on gaming-grade machines. Offers a variety of customizations via GTK3/4 themes and Gnome Extensions.

KDE Plasma Heavy

The first major comprehensive desktop environment released for Linux, which sees regular maintenance and feature updates. Out of the box, it offers a familiar Windows-like experience but also allows nearly limitless ability to customize the functionality and look and feel of the desktop.

Budgie Heavy

Created by a Solus developer and currently maintained by Solus Team. It serves as an alternative to GNOME with a much more desktop-like interface, which bears similarities to modern Windows.

Cinnamon Heavy

Created by the Linux Mint Team, Cinnamon offers an experience that is very similar to Windows 7.

XFCE Light

Starting off as a clone of a Unix-like desktop environment called CDE, it became its own with a Windows XP-like appearance and light memory usage. XFCE is well-suited for low-end hardware and people who like to settle on one user experience and never change it (while still getting the security and maintenance updates).

MATE Light

MATE spawned as a spiritual successor to GNOME 2 after a controversial change in GNOME 3. It is recommended for Windows and Mac users while providing its own feature set such as mouse hover audio previewing.

LXDE Light

LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) is a lightweight and fast, feature-rich desktop environment. It is designed to be user-friendly and slim while keeping resource usage low. LXDE strives to be modular, so each component can be used independently with few dependencies.

The Original team that created LXDE has largely moved on to LXQT due to controversial changes in the GTK framework, however, a community of loyal users and developers continues to use and maintain it.
LXQT Light

Despite its limited features (as it is essentially a rewrite of LXDE with a different UI framework) along with the lack of a compositor, it is perfectly suited for the lowest-end hardware.

Kernel

Wikipedia page
It is important to update the Linux kernel as new versions provide security updates, bug fixes, better performance, and support for hardware. A distro's repository contains all the supported versions for that distro.

There are two main releases of the official Linux kernel:

  • Long-Term Support (LTS) is slightly behind in terms of hardware support and features but offers better stability and longer support.
  • Stable release (sometimes called the current release) offers the best hardware support and the newest features. It should be the default choice for a gaming machine and be avoided only if it causes issues.

Despite these differences, both releases offer the same security updates.

Kernel replacement

This section is meant for advanced users, you can easily break your OS if you don't know what you are doing!

While both stable and LTS Linux kernel releases can be used for gaming, there are also community-made ones that add features and improvements. These kernels may or may not improve one's gaming experience, and may require DKMS (dynamic kernel module support) versions of drivers and headers to make hardware usable with multiple kernels.

The most notable releases:

For help with installing different kernels on a distro, consult the kernel's official website or the distro's knowledge base.
It is advised to keep the current official kernel in case of issues.
UKUU is a useful utility for swapping kernels on Ubuntu (and Ubuntu derivatives).

Microcode

ArchWiki article

It is vital to install the microcode for the CPU as the manufacturer provides security and stability updates, although most often your distribution will push those updates directly to you. Most distributions use either a package manager or some kind of firmware/drivers manager to update the microcode.

Hardware

Graphics

Generally speaking, if you use AMD graphics, you're likely to have a flawless experience as AMD makes open-source drivers available and Linux developers integrate them directly into the kernel.
Generally speaking, if you use Nvidia graphics, you're likely to have to make some independent efforts to either install or enable Nvidia drivers, as Nvidia does not offer any open-source drivers which makes the distribution maintainers hesitant when it comes to packaging or enabling Nvidia drivers by default.
Nvidia's drivers are also of worse quality than either AMD's own Linux drivers or Nvidia's Windows driver, with features that exist in the Windows drivers missing in the same card's Linux driver. This is entirely Nvidia's choice, and Linux developers and maintainers can do almost nothing to rectify the consequences of Nvidia's behavior.
ArchWiki's ATI and Catalyst Article
ArchWiki's AMDGPU/AMDGPU Pro Article
ArchWiki's Nvidia and Nouveau Article
ArchWiki's Intel Graphics Article
Brand Driver type Kernel driver Library Supported GPU Vulkan support
AMD/ATI Open Source Radeon Mesa (GLX and DRI) GCN 2 and older architecture No
AMDGPU GCN and newer architecture1 Yes (RadV, AMDVLK)
Proprietary AMDGPU Pro GCN and newer architecture Yes
Fglrx Catalyst GL Library GCN 3 and older architecture No
Nvidia Open Source Nouveau Mesa (GLX and DRI) Any Nvidia GPU Yes (NVK for Kepler and up)
Proprietary Nvidia Nvidia GLX From Kepler based GPUs to recent Yes
Nvidia 390 Nvidia 390 GLX From Fermi based GPUs to recent No
Nvidia 340 Nvidia 340 GLX For Tesla based GPUs
Nvidia 304 Nvidia 304 GLX From GeForce 6 series to Tesla based GPUs
Nvidia 173 Nvidia 173 GLX GeForce 5 FX series (NV30 to NV36)
Nvidia 96 Nvidia 96 GLX From GeForce 2/3/4 MX/Ti
Intel Open Source Xorg Intel2 Mesa (GLX and DRI) Any Intel HD Graphics GPU Yes (ANV for Gen9 and up, HASKV Gen7/Gen8)
Xorg modesetting
VIA/S3 Open Source OpenChrome Mesa (GLX and DRI) Unichrome series, Chrome9 2D only No
Proprietary VIA Unified GFX Chrome9 No
3DFX Open Source tdfx MesaGL Voodoo3 and up, Voodoo 1 & 2 2D only No
ARM Open Source Panfrost Mesa (GLX and DRI) Mali Midgard, Bifrost and Valhall Yes (PanVK)
Qualcomm Open Source Freedreno Mesa (GLX and DRI) Adreno A2xx-A7xx Yes (Turnip)
Broadcom Open Source V3D Mesa (GLX and DRI) VideoCore 5 on Raspberry Pi 4 Yes
Imagination Technologies Open Source pvrsrvkm Mesa (GLX and DRI) PowerVR Rogue Yes

1 - GCN 1 and 2 architecture support in AMDGPU is experimental.

2 - Do not use it on Intel HD 4000 series and newer GPU.

Generally, AMD/ATI users should use the open source driver as it provides the best performance and support compared to the proprietary ones, while Nvidia users should stick to the proprietary ones. There are some things to remember:

  • Try not to install drivers from the GPU manufacturer's website unless forced to, as distro maintainers package the driver to be offered from the package manager.
  • If forced to use Catalyst, Nvidia 173, or Nvidia 96 drivers, one must downgrade Xorg to the last supported version.
  • Before using the open-source driver one must install LLVM and Linux Firmware packages.

Installing drivers

Ubuntu (and Ubuntu-derived distros such as Mint, Pop!_OS, and Neon)

Use sudo add-apt-repository <PPA repository> to add one. Make sure to run sudo apt update in order to update the repository list after adding one.

Repository Description
ppa:paulo-miguel-dias/pkppa Padoka Stable Mesa. For AMD/Intel/Nouveau GPU drivers, also contains Wayland.
ppa:paulo-miguel-dias/mesa Padoka Unstable Mesa. Same as the previous, however, it is the developer version. Mind the issues you may encounter.
ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa "Graphics Drivers" Teams' PPA. Contains the recent proprietary Nvidia drivers and the Vulkan drivers for that GPU.
ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/updates Ubuntu X Team's Stable Mesa. For AMD/Intel/Nouveau GPU drivers, also contains Wayland.

Fedora

To install Nvidia drivers on Fedora, it is usually sufficient to install the latest Nvidia drivers from the software center. Simply search for Nvidia and install the driver with the highest version number.

If you have a more complex setup, such as an Optimus laptop, or the above instructions do not work for you, you can also use 'NVIDIA Auto Installer for Fedora Linux'. It is a set of scripts that can handle both normal installs and more advanced configurations.

To use it, execute the following in the terminal:

sudo dnf install dnf-plugins-core -y && sudo dnf copr enable t0xic0der/nvidia-auto-installer-for-fedora -y && sudo dnf install nvautoinstall -y

Once installed, type in nvautoinstall into your terminal. The program will show you the options you can use.

The most basic installation is performed by issuing the following command:

sudo nvautoinstall rpmadd && sudo nvautoinstall drive.

To install support for Vulkan API (will be functional only if you have a Vulkan-capable GPU and driver), execute the following command sudo dnf install vulkan-loader vulkan-loader.i686

Instructions
  1. Launch the terminal and update/reboot system: sudo dnf update && reboot
  2. Launch the terminal and add the official repos: sudo dnf install fedora-workstation-repositories
  3. Enable the Nvidia driver repo: sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled rpmfusion-nonfree-nvidia-driver
  4. Reboot, then verify the addition of the repository using the following command: sudo dnf repository-packages rpmfusion-nonfree-nvidia-driver info
  5. Open the software app, select Add-ons > Hardware Drivers > NVIDIA Linux Graphics Driver > Install

If you used nvautoinstall above, you can also install Vulkan API via sudo nvautoinstall vulkan.

openSUSE

Please refer to the openSUSE User Documentation Project for instructions.

Optimus support

Nvidia Optimus Linux guide
Optimus support in Nvidia GPUs is still considered to be troublesome.

In the case of laptops that have Nvidia Optimus support, it is recommended to have PRIME enabled, which can be done by installing an additional package. Follow the distro’s documentation to set this up.

AMD users only require running the game with the DRI_PRIME=1 command.

Audio

ArchWiki page

Linux has several sound systems available. The most common one is PulseAudio, but a new system called PipeWire is looking to supersede and consolidate all previous systems into one. For most games, PulseAudio will work.

In the case of MIDI, installing the Timidity or Fluidsynth package is required along with either a SoundFont or the FreePats package. Depending on the distro, it will either be set up automatically or require manual intervention.

Input devices

Libinput ArchWiki article
Touchpad ArchWiki article
Keyboard Configuration in Xorg ArchWiki article
Touchscreen ArchWiki article

Linux supports a vast array of input devices, including legacy hardware. Many programs exist for gaming peripherals in case further customization is needed.

General

  • Piper - Configure gaming mice

There are some other ones made for products from specific companies:

Razer

Roccat

Controller support

All DirectInput and XInput controllers are supported. In case of issues with XInput controllers, it is recommended to install xboxdrv.

If dealing with a game that has very limited or no controller support at all, the AntiMicroX program offers a solution. It allows the user to bind keyboard and mouse inputs to the controller. However, it currently only works with Xorg.

Additionally, a user can use Steam Input in the Steam app to configure their controller.

Other

Disk partitioning

ext4 is the default file system used by most Linux distributions.
While the file system used on Windows, NTFS, is supported, it is generally not recommended to use as it may cause compatibility issues.

The most important aspect of disk partitioning is often the swap partition; it generally acts as RAM replacement. The absence of it will cause software to shut down due to low memory, and it is also used to offload memory from RAM when entering power-saving modes such as Hibernation or Sleep. The size of the swap disk depends on how much RAM is available in the computer; if less than 8 GB of RAM, increase the swap disk, or if more than 8 GB of RAM, decrease the swap disk.

It is generally recommended to partition disks in this particular order:

  1. / (Root)
  2. Home
  3. Swap disk

A user can create multiple partitions for each directory with a specific disk size to use or use the entire free space on Root and leave some for swap.

Display server

Wayland is newer than Xorg and is considered to be technically superior.
Wayland is not supported by older proprietary games.

Linux utilizes a display server system in order to present a graphical environment with which the user can interface. The two prominent ones are Wayland and Xorg.

While Wayland offers more a modern and secure backend, Xorg has legacy support and will generally be more compatible than Wayland. In addition, Wayland is still in active development and is missing features that would provide a gaming experience in parity with Xorg.

Benchmarking

ArchWiki article

Benchmarking in Linux can be achieved with the Phoronix Test Suite. It is easy to use despite not offering a user-friendly GUI. The biggest advantage is it saves the information as a webpage, making comparing tests much easier.

Steam users can use Valve's voglpref, which requires Steam.

PCI passthrough

ArchWiki page
/r/VFIO Reddit page

Since Linux 3.9 and recent QEmu versions, it is possible to passthrough a graphics card, motherboard, or even other hardware into a virtual machine. The main advantage of it is having a native GPU working on Windows in a virtual machine, which allows you to play Windows games on it while using Linux.

There are some disadvantages:

  • A second GPU for PCI passthrough is required
  • GPU must support UEFI
  • CPU must support hardware virtualization and IOMMU
  • Motherboard must support IOMMU
  • It is not an easy process for beginners

Stores and clients

Name Client available Registers Linux sales? Notes
Steam Yes Yes
  • By default, the client includes libraries required for native games to run (Runtime mode), but it is possible to make the software use libraries from your system instead (Native mode)
  • Includes Proton by default (may require manual installation from the Tools tab).
Humble Bundle No Yes
  • The store does not provide information about required dependencies for games.
GOG.com No Yes
  • The game's store page shows the required dependencies for games.
  • Uses MojoSetup as an installer.
  • Running the start.sh script may cause issues. Run the binary executable directly to bypass issues.
Itch.io Yes (Optional) Yes None
Feral Store No Yes
  • Sells only Mac and Linux ports they have made.
Game Jolt Yes (Optional) Unknown
Flathub No No
  • Offers open-source freeware games. Overlap with the distros' own package repositories is high.
Snap Store Yes (Optional) No
  • Offers a mix of open-source freeware games and preconfigured Wine games.
  • Offers some games for ARM, PowerPC and System z distro installations.
ZOOM Platform No Unknown
  • Very small game selection (50 Linux games total) as of November 2023.

Improvements

Hardware

Disable mitigations for transient execution CPU vulnerabilities

Be aware that disabling these will cause your PC to be susceptible to multiple vulnerabilities such as Spectre, Meltdown, ZombieLoad, etc. Use it with discretion.
Outside of specific microbenchmarks, disabling the default mitigations should result in an average performance increase of 5-10%. The following parameter used here is available only in 5.1.13 kernel or newer (or backports to 3.16.68, 4.4.180, 4.9.176, 4.14.119, and 4.19.43), for others see this parameters string.
Edit the GRUB settings

Open up the grub file found in /etc/default/ with a text editor as root and in GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT= add mitigations=off at the end.

Re-generate the grub.cfg using one of these commands as root:

grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

update-grub     # Used by Ubuntu-based distros, easy version of the 1st one.

Disable mouse acceleration in Xorg

Some desktop environments offer an option to set up the mouse acceleration directly from the settings menu (Such as KDE Plasma, GNOME, and later on MATE)
Create a new Xorg rule

Create a config file in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ as any number-custom name.conf (for example 50-mouse-acceleration.conf, keep in mind that it does not accept spaces in names) as superuser/root and add the following script:

Section "InputClass"
	Identifier "My Mouse"
	Driver "libinput"
	MatchIsPointer "yes"
	Option "AccelProfile" "flat"
EndSection

Then restart the system or Xorg (In most distros it is Ctrl+Alt+Backspace ←)

Improve shutdown time in systemd

Edit the system.conf

In some desktop environments such as LXQt, the system shutdown or restart process may take longer due to Systemd having the time to stop the session set to 1 minute 30 seconds by default.

  1. Edit as a root the system.conf file located in /etc/systemd/
  2. Find DefaultTimeoutStartSec and DefaultTimeoutStopSec, uncomment them if necessary and set the time limit in seconds.
  3. Type sudo systemctl daemon-reload

OR

Install the watchdog package and enable/run the watchdog service.

Resolution scaling with xrandr

It is entirely possible to scale the resolution through multiplications (--scale) or by resolution (--scale-from) with xrandr command. Provided that you input the monitor name and your current resolution, which can be learned by using xrandr -q command (It will also list available resolutions).

Here are some examples:

  • xrandr --output VGA1 --mode 1024x768 --scale 0.5x0.5 - this will downscale the resolution by 0.5 while using 1024x768 resolution in VGA1 monitor.
  • xrandr --output VGA3 --mode 1920x1080 --scale-from 1440x900 - This command will imitate the 1440x900 resolution under 1080p in your VGA3 monitor.

Software

Use Feral Game Mode to improve the performance

Most distros include the software in their repository, it is recommended to install both 64 and 32-bit versions to apply in every game, if not, the source code can be found in the GitHub page.
Supports custom scripts
Developers can use it to implement in their games.

Feral Game Mode is used by Feral Interactive to provide optimization in their games (since Rise Of The Tomb Raider) when being run, it provides changes to the following aspects:

  • CPU governor
  • Input/Output priority
  • Process niceness
  • Kernel scheduler
  • Screensaver inhibiting
  • GPU performance mode (Nvidia and AMD), GPU overclocking (Nvidia)

Once the package is installed, you can activate it when running other games with gamemoderun *game executable/launcher*, on Steam add gamemoderun %command% into Launch Options.

Enable 32-bit support for your distro

Enable 32-bit library support in Ubuntu/Debian based distros

As Ubuntu/Debian 64-bit distros have 32-bit libraries disabled by default, this can cause compatibility issues with the software (Especially with upgrading Wine). To enable it you must use the following commands:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update
In Debian unstable, one can optionally also add support for x32 with sudo dpkg --add-architecture x32, although not all that many games support it.

List missing dependencies

List the missing dependencies

As GOG, Steam, and other stores mostly support Ubuntu due to its popularity in both making another distribution (Such as Linux Mint) or wide use, there can be limited support for the other distros such as Arch Linux, Fedora, etc. Mostly in terms of requiring dependencies to run the game or software.

The ldd command can be used to check which dependency it requires and if they are in your system.

ldd <binary file>

After running the command, it'll list all the *.so files the software uses, if there is a "Not found" somewhere, this is the moment to learn which package contains the file.

The missing dependency checkup can be even easier with the inclusion of the grep command.

ldd <binary_file> | grep "Not found"

This will only look for the lines related to "Not found" - if nothing shows up then you have everything you need.

Improve compiling speed in AUR (Manjaro, EndeavourOS, Arch Linux)

Open makepkg.conf as root and under MAKEFLAGS add -j#. Where # is the sum of (number of CPU cores you wish to use) + 1 (so if you wish to use 4 cores, you need to put -j5 for example)

Keep in mind that some programs require using one core for stability's sake.

Create a script making the game use libraries from your system instead

Make a native executable for your game
This method may improve the game's compatibility and sometimes even the performance on your Linux system. Can be useful in older Linux games that rely on older SDL interfaces such as Majesty.
  1. Create an empty text file and open it with any text editor.
  2. Add the following script:
#!/bin/sh
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/path/to/library /path/to/executable

3. Replace /path/to/library with one of these paths:

  • If the game is 64-bit /usr/lib64
  • If the game is 32-bit and you are using a 64-bit system /usr/lib32
  • If the game is 32-bit /usr/lib

4. Once done, save it and make it executable using either chmod command or via Properties with your file manager.

Notes

  • You are required to learn which libraries the game uses and install them if needed. Each game has its own library folder which may help you learn this.

Common fixes

Hardware

The Nvidia DKMS driver won't install after updating it
If none of them won't work, you may have to downgrade your kernel and wait for the update that fixes it. Provided that you or someone else reported this issue.

Text Mode

  1. Boot up to your kernel
  2. Enter the text mode by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F2-F10 and if necessary, stop the display manager.
  3. Type in as root, dkms install nvidia/<version> --all. If everything is done successfully type reboot.

LiveCD/LiveUSB

  1. Boot to the LiveCD/LiveUSB
  2. Mount your partition(s) using mount /dev/sd<disk and partition and Chroot it with chroot <root partition> (In Arch Linux system it's arch-chroot instead).
  3. Type in dkms install nvidia/<version> --all. Once it's done without any errors, you can restart the system.
Set up a primary monitor in multi-monitor setup[citation needed]
  1. Install xrandr using your linux distribution's package manager.
  2. Run xrandr from a terminal emulator and find the name of the monitor you want to set as the primary (i.e. "HDMI-0").
  3. Run xrandr --output <name> --primary.

Notes

To automate this when the system starts, prepend the command to your ~/.xinitrc-file, or your desktop environment's equivalent.
No sound[citation needed]

Open the Terminal and type as root gpasswd -a <username> audio, if that did not work then:

  1. Open the group file as root in a text editor located in /etc folder.
  2. Find the following line
    audio:x:29:pulse
  3. Add a comma and your username ex:
    audio:x:29:pulse,tux
Crackling sound/audio delay in PulseAudio

Type in the terminal this command to stop and then start PulseAudio at the same time:

pulseaudio -k && pulseaudio --start
You can bind this command as a keyboard command in your DE.

Software

Screen tearing
You may also use GNOME, Cinnamon, and KDE Plasma which use their own compositor that directly communicates with the GPU without any performance loss from the Nvidia side.

Nvidia users can fix the screen tearing by enabling Force Composition Pipeline in Nvidia Settings, if it persists, enable Force Full Composition (Keep in mind that it reduces the performance in games even more).

AMD and Intel HD users do not have to do anything as DRI3 handles the refresh rate by default without compromising the performance, provided the compositor contains the Present extension.

If it persists, chances are you may be required to install and use a 3rd party compositor such as Compiz, Compton, etc.

References

  1. Debian releases - last accessed on 2021-06-26