Thinking of switching to Linux

Operating Systems & Open Source Linux
1

Hello, 

I'm seriously considering switching to Ubuntu as my main os. the only thing holding me back currently is gaming. I am a huge gamer so I have a few questions for the Tek community. I know some games do run on linux, but many of my favorite games don't. I know I could dual boot and boot into windows when I want to play certain games, but that seems like a little bit of a hassle. I have seen some people on Macs use a virtual machine for windows and play games that way. So my question is how well would that work for gaming? Would be there be a performance hit? I assume there would be, but I don't know for sure. Anyway thanks for taking the time read this if you do. :)

2

I am also kinda curious about this. I have a alienware m14x that I was thinking of throwing Ubuntu on but I use it quite frequently for LAN parties and I know Linux kinda sucks for gaming. I never really put much thought toward dual booting but I might have to give it a try. 

3

Here are two options:

  • Wine/PlayOnLinux (WINE is a compatibility layer which allows .dll files to work in the Linux environment and thus some games can be played natively)
  • Virtual Machine + VGA Passthrough (use a virtual machine to emulate the Windows operating system then use VGA passthrough to give the virtual machine direct access to your graphics card. This requires virtualisation extensions like VT-d or AMD-Vi in your CPU).
4

Dual booting is easy just install Linux after Windows.

Wine isn't too bad you won't be able to go above directx 9 at the moment they are working on 11. go to winehq to find out if your games/software works with it.

VGA pass through is amazing if you can get it working. Your CPU and Mobo will have to support it. Intel K  series CPUs can't do it for some reason unless it is LGA 2011. All AMD CPUs now support it but not all Mobos do. KVM is built into Linux and it is pretty amazing. Xen is also available.I have seen more luck with Xen over KVM but things on the KVM side has been moving fast so that may have changed.

Check out Sabayon if your want to use Linux for gaming. It is a distro purpose built for gaming.

 

5

I have a quesiton on Sabayon. Is it compatible with steam currently?

6

Where/how can I find out if my mobo supports VGA?

 

7

I was looking at wine and it said that steam will work with it. Have you used it that way and how well does it work?

 

8
  1. Sabayon come with Steam (Linux version) preinstalled as long as you go with the KDE or GNOME version. It also has a Steambox mode built in
  2. Steam ( Windows version) works great in Wine but check your Windows games before hand
  3. You need to check for VT-d or AMD-Vi support and IOMMU too. Check your CPU as well just in case.
9

Awesome thanks! Could I find the support for AMD-Vi and IOMMU in my mobo documentation? 

10

It should say if it there or look for your mobo ion new egg also you will have to turn it on in the bios

11

There is a lot more to it than that. Deciding to switch to linux from any .net or uncle apple architecture without first sampling the flavors will have you, probably for the next 15 months, scratching your head attempting to make it look and feel like what you have now. For everyone that attempts to make nix a .net hybrid you are doing nothing but creating something that in the end wont be as comfortable as what you have now. So why switch? ... but if you take the time to adjust your own discipline, learn terminal command, familiarize yourself with bash, I assure you - you will wonder why you waited so long. for the run of the mill target audience - mastering the command line is too complex, there is no immediate reward or satisfaction. To some in the nix world this is a concern / for others its a perfect dividing line. and even further - Ubuntu also creates a veil keeping the helpless at bay. Its the shittiest of linux available / but people pimp the evil in trade for the simplicity it offers. Dont be afraid / and I further recommend / create some live distro on usb keys and sample whats out there before you set sail with no map. F12 is your friend. Doesnt microsloth have a windows-to-go option. I partition my hard drives to handle what ever OS flavor I choose jumping between ARCH and DEBIAN all day. Virtual DE and Dual Boots will confuse the hell out of you and neither will ever run to your systems complete ability. I install my OS partitions on small SSD's. (micro or USATA) and allow my data to live in a seperate RAID array. That way when there are problems you can isolate a partition and it not harm the sysconfig or your data and encryptions. The big problem I see between multiple OS installs on a device, virtual environments and dual boots is correctly configuring a swap between them. You can install an entire linux OS (not live) on an 8gig usb key. give that a try first.   

12

Currently gaming is the only thing holding me back from switching. I'm really interested in learning linux. I see linux as the feature of computing. 

 

13

Should it say in the specifications that it supports it? And if it doesn't im guessing not.

14

My mobo is a Gigabyte 880GA-UD3H. I didnt find anything on newegg so im not sure.

 

15

Well give Linux a try in a Virtual Machine 1st. Try a few different distros and Desktop Environment. Learn some BASH commands. If you like it dual boot it with Windows. There quite a few games on Linux and for what you don't have boot into windows for.

16

Will do :D Distro recommendations? As well as a good virtual Machine

 

17

I don't know about Virtual Machines - I've only ever used them once or twice and I don't have much experience - but for a distro, I would recommend Manjaro XFCE. It looks pretty nice and comes with the Steam launcher pre-installed and the relevant multilib repos, so you don't really have to worry about any extra hassle when installing it on your machine. It's based off of the Arch Linux system, which is a good Linux system to know, in my opinion.

18

Use Openbox it will work just fine in Windows

As already said Manjaro is nice since Arch based

Sabayon is my current favorite it is based on Gentoo . It is unique in how it compiles your software tailored for your hardware.

 Fedora is the testing bed for Redhat Linux which is most used Enterprise Linux also it is the most bleeding edge of the Distros since many of the people who develop the Linux kernel use it.

Opensuse is like Fedora but is the testing space for Suse Enterprise Linux the second most used pro Distro

All my recommendations are easy to use and install but have advanced features under you can use. The all have wikis that is strongly recommended to read for which ever one you try.

I like Ubuntu when it come to their mobile offerings (Ubuntu Touch) you can dual boot that with android if you are interested. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2571011

Gentoo and Arch are both great but have a steeper learning curve.

 

19

You talked about learning BASH commands. Are there some specific ones i should focus on?

 

20

Just basic stuff like how to install software and navigate the file system. The Linux(Unix) file system is a different creature than Windows. Learning how to script, use pipes and symbolic links is useful as well.

For what ever distro you use learn the package manager. Software is not downloaded from Linux, it is normally done in the package Manager. Firmware and drivers are a part of the Kernel, unless it is proprietary like GPU drivers. 

Try setting a basic sever of some kind. Experiment with different user interfaces. Linux is a play ground since it is fully open.

Take it slow. To many people dive in and delete their windows partition and mess something up. Then they have no computer and feel bitter about the experience.