this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2026
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Linux Gaming

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Distro Recommendations (kbin.earth)
submitted 3 days ago by HarkMahlberg@kbin.earth to c/linux_gaming@lemmy.world
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I have a home built PC that I want to get off Windows 11.

Specs:

  • Ryzen 3700X, upgrading to a 5800X3D soon
  • RTX 2080 Super
  • 500GB NVME for OS, 2TB SATA SSD for files, programs, etc.
  • 1440p Ultrawide monitor
  • an 8bitdo Ultimate controller

Usage:

  • I usually play indie games, emulators, and occasional AAA games. Most of my library is on Steam, with some games on GOG, e.g. Cyberpunk.
  • I have an original Steam Link in my living room, and I use it to play games from my PC on the couch. Does Steam on Linux even support this?
  • I also write game mods, so I need a distro that is a good fit for software development (C++, Python, and Lisp).
  • Random miscellany: I use mullvad VPN, stream movies from a friend's plex server, and use an SFTP client to back up photos and videos from my phone.

I've been an on/off Linux user in the past, so I know my way around basic/intermediate terminal usage and configuration. Buuuut every previous attempt to move to Linux ended in disaster, so I have little patience for asterisks, strings attached, etc. If you're offering a distro I've never heard of before, you're probably gonna be hard pressed to convince me.

Thanks for the help!

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[–] HarkMahlberg@kbin.earth 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Steam Link has never been able to figure out that my ultrawide monitor and TV don't have the same aspect ratio, so I have to go into Windows settings to change the resolution. Don't suppose that's easier on Linux?

Edit: Fun fact: Bazzite's Live USB doesn't have Steam installed on it so I can't test out that functionality, and Steam only offers a deb package that you can't install because Bazzite is immutable. Bazzite says they're not going to change that so I think I'm crossing Bazzite off my list.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I'm not sure live USB environments are going to work for gaming for other distros either. That's just not what they're meant for, and the USB is a major bottleneck.

If you're really worried about gaming, Bazzite is literally made specifically for it. It's pre-configured for it, plus has a bunch of pre built "ujust" recipes for anything else you might need.

If the premiere gaming distro is choosing not to have Steam in their live USB environment, I imagine they have well documented reasons.

My guess would be that it wouldn't be representative of the actual experience, and therefore would be counterproductive.

If you tried Steam on a live USB and it worked like shit, they don't want you blaming the (gaming focused) OS instead of the fact that you're trying to play games on an OS that's streaming from a USB drive.

Edit: by the way, you probably could just install the Steam flatpak. Just keep in mind that the performance might not be representative. You might even be able to install an RPM since it's Fedora.

Shit, you might even be able to just set up an Arch or CachyOS distrobox and run Steam off of that.