For those whove tested both, are you seeing more fps on linux compared to windows (nvidia 3060ti user here) or is it negligible?
if so what distros you all using?
I haven’t had the motivation to swap my desktop over to Linux yet since it’ll take a good day or more to get everything on my PC backed up to my server, but I did convert a laptop and it seems to work pretty well. I use Mint exclusively for my Linux machines. I tried the Steam way, Lutris, Proton, and Wine, but they all had problems. I landed on Faugus Launcher and it worked flawlessly. I didn’t try Bottles.
I still might try Wine again for general programs like Photoshop and other exe installs, but I’ll stick with Faugus for WoW.
I use Linux (Ubuntu) With Lutris, and ProtonPlus, and WINE. Didn’t have any major issues. As for more fps, the only thing I can say is the game is stable, and does not skip like it did when I was running Windows. Stable as ever, Nvidia 4080, max graphics on the game.
If you are on the fence run Linux from a USB before doing a full install or run it on an old laptop to experiment. There is a learning curve, but the literature is out there to help you along.
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The FPS difference should be negligible. I wouldn’t use FPS as a basis for swapping Operating systems, there’s more compelling reasons to use Linux than FPS imo.
I use mint
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I would also argue that if your main concern with your computer is gaming, its not worth the swap, period. Ive watched my Linux friend fight getting games running properly too many times (not wow, other than issues with the store, but they did figure it out eventually).
But there are non-gaming reasons to want to get away from microsoft and such, so if youre already switching for those reasons, aight, fair game.
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I have to agree with the sentiment here. The main reason I moved from Windows to Linux were solely based on the bloat of Windows, and the malware/spyware tactics used with Windows. Every thing we did on windows is monitored, and the constant Xbox infomertials, got to be annoying. Not to mention being a server for everybody else’s windows updates.
Linux is getting better in terms of user ability, but its been a long road trip in the software department. I think they finally got smart and started making programs that assisted new Linux users. When I tried linux ten years ago, it was brutal as I just didn’t understand the operating system the way I do today.
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Idk I’m on the fence about that a little. Once you learn and understand how to make games work on Linux and get over that hump, you get to enjoy gaming more because the OS stays out of your hair (faster boot times, non invasion updating, less OS crashing, often times better compatibility with older retro games)
But it is an investment of time to learn what you need to know to get there.
It’s a bigger hurdle up front that saves you from the persistent irritation of windows. That’s worth a lot to me, because I’ve cleared it already.
It really depends on the user
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Going off on a tangent, Valve should get SteamOS working under virtualisation on Windows and Mac then encourage developers to target SteamOS instead.
I know this is possible, to a degree, because Docker works on Window and MacOS despite the fact that it relies on Linux to work. How did they do it? They run a tiny Linux distro! When you have Docker on Windows or Mac, you have a tiny Linux running in the background under virtualisation.
Then we would have an open source OS (that can run directly on hardware or via virtualisation) that can be the universal target for games.
Steam has invested so much development time into proton, they’ve really been a major player in the Linux gaming renaissance.
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Debian user here. I’ve had linux installed on my home PCs since 2011 or 2012. WoW has worked fine since I came back to the game in BFA (first quit after WotLK). I otherwise hadn’t been doing too much gaming since moving to linux, and was only playing small games that worked natively on Linux, such as Dwarf Fortress.
I’ve got a mid-spec machine, AMD Ryzen 7600 and Radeon 6600. With the exception of World content that draws a zillion people, WoW runs fine on high settings (though not max).
The largest hiccup is the terrible Battle.net client that seems to have updates sporadically that make it break and require deleting the newer Battle.net folder or updating Proton. I wish Blizz would release WoW via steam, so I could abandon their garbage launcher.
My work life is all-in on the microslop ecosystem, as I imagine most businesses are. In the past few years with windows and its products, I probably mumble to myself “I can’t believe people pay for this expletive product” every day.
If WoW implemented kernel-level anti-cheat or something that made it impossible to run on Linux, I would simply quit. There is absolutely no way I will install windows again on a PC I own. For me, Microsoft and Windows is simply not worth dealing with to play a game.
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It was unlikely before M$ bought Blizzard. Now, it’s an impossibility. I wouldn’t be surprised if M$ forces Blizzard to convert their server software from Linux to Windows servers.
Is cachy OS the best linux gaming OS?
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Debian 13 “Trixie” KDE Plasma 6
Backported kernel 6.17 to take advantage of NTSYNC with ge-proton10-28
I get between 70 and 120fps @ 4k on an AMD RX 7900 XTX depending on what’s going on around me.
Honestly I think the Steam Machine is going to be turning point against windows. It will make it easier than ever for people to make the move to linux.
https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steammachine
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I’m right there with ya
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your question is kinda moot. I went 100% mint linux two months ago after dual booting for a bit. you want linux not for wow performance but for being the better OS than windows 12 in general. if you respect your privacy, having control of your systems and avoid the intrusiveness of AI bots and being always online with windows account , linux is your answer
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I would say, WOW isn’t the best game to compare, as it’s poorly optimized for high end machines.
It plays great on my computer:
Operating System: Bazzite 43
KDE Plasma Version: 6.5.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.22.0
Qt Version: 6.10.1
Kernel Version: 6.17.7-ba25.fc43.x86_64 (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Processors: 16 Ă— AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core Processor
Memory: 32 GiB of RAM (30.3 GiB usable)
Graphics Processor 1: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER
Graphics Processor 2: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core Processor
Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Product Name: B650 GAMING X AX V2
Could it run better, yes. But it plays just fine for me.
People need to stop worrying/focusing on what is the best linux distro. It’s all the linux kernel, with Wine/Proton for non-linux native games. The desktop environment is NOT dependent on distro. You can install any desktop environment on any distro and customize it to look and behave how you want it to.
Just pick a main branch of linux: arch-based, debian-based, or fedora-based, and you’ll be fine. Cachy OS is a good pick for arch-based, as installation is easier than arch. Mint/Ubuntu/Debian is fine for Debian-based. Just go Fedora for fedora-based.
You may need to enable non-free repositories for NVidia drivers, but this task is trivially simple these days, even on a non-free unfriendly distro like Debian, and there are a zillion online tutorials showing you how to do this. If you have an AMD graphics card, congratulations, you never have to worry about drivers again.
If you’re on windows, simply give one of these a shot and finally free yourself of Windows.
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+1 for Faugus. Working flawlessly.
Until Linux embraces kernel level anticheat, which they won’t, it’s pure hopium that it’s ever going to be a primary target for entire genres of games.
WoW is content to have warden running in user space, but most fps games want kernel access these days.
Using Linux Mind, not missing Windows at all. Game works fine through whatever app of your choice. Why Blizzard as not adapt to Linux is anyone guess, even Desktops are being sold with the Linux ops instead of Windows.. Not just that, even the dept of defense uses Linux.. Anyone that knows a thing or two about PCs uses Linux.
Blizzards should/needs to make the necessary steps.. Windows is in significant decline, as more and more consumers and corporations care about their privacy.
Yea Blizzard, plz make it happen, its just a few lines of code.. if not AI will make it happen in seconds 