Do you use Linux?

[Ferrum Master]

Maybe. I did retire from a career earlier this year..

On that note, CommodoreOS is actually very cool. I'm not going to switch to it from Mint because the software manager is not what I like compared to Mint's. But for Commodore users, it should be a very excellent experience!

Imho it is still Debian at core and skinned Gnome2 DE, with all pros and cons... you can convert that core into anything really... basically, just use the core Debian, I prefer it for server needs, as they are slow(conservative). The DE and all other things are less critical and you can swap them out usually with few lines in terminal. It is the Hanna Montana DE question. All other stuff you use is automated, just use your install scripts, git/compile, touch config files and everything is like nothing happened. The things that matter more is flatpak/snap preference. If you need ROCm then it leaves only few painless options, and these unpopular OSes will leave you with less information to patch things up.

 

[:D:D]

Some Steam Wine/Proton experimental results on my old X99 Fedora 40 Gnome on Xorg PC.

Unigine Heaven 4.0

Spoiler: Linux Heaven (Windows Ver) 101 FPS

Spoiler: Windows Heaven 111 FPS

There's also a Linux native version which runs with OGL at 104 FPS

Firestrike Extreme, wanted to use "Steel Nomad" but doesn't run for me under Linux.

Spoiler: Linux FireStrike Extreme 14107 pts

Spoiler: Windows FireStrike Extreme 16174 pts

Gears of War 5

Spoiler: Linux Gears of War 5 87 FPS

Spoiler: Windows Gears of War 5 105 FPS

Counter Strike 2

Spoiler: Linux CS2 175 FPS

Spoiler: Windows CS2 16174 pts

Unfortunately 'Shadow of the Tomb Raider' doesn't work with DX12 under Linux for me. DX11 does but going by the Windows example DX12 brings about 50% more FPS than running with DX11.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I had been running my Windows install for a bit there to play Destiny 2, but now that I'm burned out on it again, I'm back to my Manjaro install. Every time I use Windows, I'm reminded of just how poor sleep/standby mode is. It drives me mad to get to my PC and find that it woke up for some reason and never went back to sleep again, or how it will just refuse to go to sleep, even with nothing running. I don't doubt that there's something I could tweak, but both MacOS and Linux respect power management. In Windows, something always hijacks the sleep process.

 

[AusWolf]

I had been running my Windows install for a bit there to play Destiny 2, but now that I'm burned out on it again, I'm back to my Manjaro install. Every time I use Windows, I'm reminded of just how poor sleep/standby mode is. It drives me mad to get to my PC and find that it woke up for some reason and never went back to sleep again, or how it will just refuse to go to sleep, even with nothing running. I don't doubt that there's something I could tweak, but both MacOS and Linux respect power management. In Windows, something always hijacks the sleep process.

You have to go to the device manager, go through every single device (especially keyboards and mice) and untick the box "allow this device to wake the computer from sleep" one by one. I know it's a pain, but that's Windows for you.

By the way, Windows 10 just installed Copilot onto my PC without asking me first. Things like this freak me out to no end, and I find it intolerable. Also, my desktop icons are now scattered across my displays after every restart for no reason whatsoever. Enabling or disabling automatic arrangement has no effect. I'm fed up, honestly.

I'm gonna finish the new Alan Wake 2 DLC, and I'll do the swap. I'm just torn between Manjaro and Bazzite. Maybe I'll install both and we'll see which one suits me better.

 

[kilo]

And how's that

Zorin Pro doesn't have keys for activation like MS, but you get a key for support from them with Pro.

 

[johnspack]

God... Zorin Pro? Linux is free and should stay that way. Use Ubuntu with a bit of a learning curve to install wine. Or install Opensuse for a one click solution. Or install Arch
for a superior gaming experience that will require a bit of your attention to tweak. Still sounds like windows a bit....

 

[Wasteland]

Unfortunately 'Shadow of the Tomb Raider' doesn't work with DX12 under Linux for me. DX11 does but going by the Windows example DX12 brings about 50% more FPS than running with DX11.

FWIW, you can get the DX12 version of SOTTR working on Linux, using winetricks. I think this is the tweak in question.

That said, I found that DX12 puts up better numbers than DX11, but DX11 felt considerably smoother. The linux native version is probably somewhere in between. This was on Fedora 40, using the rig in my specs (<-- over there). No version I tried under Linux performed as well as Win 10, but again I'd say that Proton running DX11 wins on smoothness.

I'm gonna finish the new Alan Wake 2 DLC, and I'll do the swap. I'm just torn between Manjaro and Bazzite. Maybe I'll install both and we'll see which one suits me better.

Glad to hear. I hope you won't mind if I pontificate for a minute. Just pick something, preferably something mainstream, and try it. Half the challenge is getting over paralysis-by-analysis in the distro selection phase, which really doesn't matter as much as you might think. You seem like a pretty tech-savvy guy. You'll do fine. You may even find yourself having fun. There is a learning curve, and there will be frustrations, but there will also be moments when you think to yourself, 'holy shit, that was easy.' The first thing you're likely to notice is that the installation and basic setup process is quicker and easier on any mainstream Linux distro than it is on Windows--no dicking around to fool the installer into letting you use a local account, no special tricks to get around 11's hardware requirements, no registry edits to get rid of the fucking lock screen, no telemetry/privacy-setting whack-a-mole and/or "debloat scripts." Unless you use an Nvidia GPU, you most likely won't even have to install drivers.

Don't forget Ventoy, for all of your distro-installing needs. Fantastic tool. If you're really wrestling with the distro search, just toss a dozen ISOs on a thumb drive and go to town.

If you have any troubles, I'm sure we'd all be happy to help, or at least listen to you complain, lol.

 

[Timbaloo]

Let's make an @AusWolf migration thread

 

[Space Lynx]

God... Zorin Pro? Linux is free and should stay that way. Use Ubuntu with a bit of a learning curve to install wine. Or install Opensuse for a one click solution. Or install Arch
for a superior gaming experience that will require a bit of your attention to tweak. Still sounds like windows a bit....

Imagine if the Linux Mint Cinnamon team and Arch Linux team decided to have a baby together...

 

[obs]

I've been on Linux with my gaming rig for 2 years now after I saw how good the Steam Deck was running games I had to try it, I dual booted with Windows originally because I was still playing one online game that blocked Linux connections and as a backup just incase I needed it but as time went on and around 6 months ago when Plasma 6 launched I finally dropped Windows.

 

[bug]

Imagine if the Linux Mint Cinnamon team and Arch Linux team decided to have a baby together...

You can install Cinnamon on Arch. What else would you need from Mint? (Asking because I'm not familiar with Mint at all.)

 

[jak_2456]

You can install Cinnamon on Arch. What else would you need from Mint? (Asking because I'm not familiar with Mint at all.)

Mint is very plug and play and it has some great features that make it easier for new users like the app store and the welcome app. It's also FAR easier than arch to set up and you don't deal with a bratty user base that flexes "I use arch btw"

That last one was a half-joke; calm down arch users!

 

[bug]

Mint is very plug and play and it has some great features that make it easier for new users like the app store and the welcome app. It's also FAR easier than arch to set up and you don't deal with a bratty user base that flexes "I use arch btw"

That last one was a half-joke; calm down arch users!

Tbh Arch has become way more approachable since arch-install.

But yes, I treat Arch the same way I treat DSLRs: if you've used others and decided you've outgrown them, then and only then you switch to Arch/DSLR.

And in case you were wondering "I use Arch btw"

 

[Space Lynx]

You can install Cinnamon on Arch. What else would you need from Mint? (Asking because I'm not familiar with Mint at all.)

so I can use Arch with the same GUI of Mint Cinnamon that I am used to? how do I do this...

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Mint is very plug and play and it has some great features that make it easier for new users like the app store and the welcome app. It's also FAR easier than arch to set up and you don't deal with a bratty user base that flexes "I use arch btw"

That last one was a half-joke; calm down arch users!

Manjaro is just as easy to setup as any other distro that promises an easy install. Once up and running, just enable AUR Support in Add/Remove Software, and you'll spend barely any time at all in the command line, maybe none at all depending on your use case. I've found it less a hassle than Ubuntu-based distros.

so I can use Arch with the same GUI of Mint Cinnamon that I am used to? how do I do this...

https://manjaro.org/products/download/x86
There's a Cinnamon build.

 

[bug]

so I can use Arch with the same GUI of Mint Cinnamon that I am used to? how do I do this...

Cinnamon - ArchWiki

wiki.archlinux.org

Did I mention Arch has the best docs of all distros?

 

[Ferrum Master]

Did I mention Arch has the best docs of all distros?

Don't tease the RedHat people...

 

[bug]

Don't tease the RedHat people...

Over the many years of troubleshooting Linux (I'm a tinkerer, I will break stuff that works), Arch forums/wiki have helped me the most. Followed rather closely by Ubuntu forums/wiki.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Over the many years of troubleshooting Linux (I'm a tinkerer, I will break stuff that works), Arch forums/wik have helped me the most. Followed rather closely by Ubuntu forums/wiki.

That's community, but regards to documentation, enterprise... RedHat runs nuclear and nuke launch control... It is because it is pretty old, but it is pretty well maintained. It has top notch education docs.

 

[bug]

That's community, but regards to documentation, enterprise... RedHat runs nuclear and nuke launch control... It is because it is pretty old, but it is pretty well maintained. It has top notch education docs.

Enterprise, yes. But we were discussing installing Linux for use at home.

Fedora's forums are also a good source. A distant 3rd place, going by my gut feeling.

 

[lexluthermiester]

(Asking because I'm not familiar with Mint at all.)

You should give it a try so that you can be familiar with the differences.
I gave Arch a try not long ago and I understand why people like it. It's not for me, but I understand people's passion for it.

 

[bug]

You should give it a try so that you can be familiar with the differences.
I gave Arch a try not long ago and I understand why people like it. It's not for me, but I understand people's passion for it.

I suppose I can fire up a live USB or a VM. But iirc Mint is supposed to be "the most familiar for users coming from Windows" and it's Ubuntu-based. I'm the completely opposite camp: sw engineer, strong preference for latest and greatest. Plus, if I put in the effort to set up Arch before arch-install, I must have something to show for it, don't I?

 

[lexluthermiester]

I suppose I can fire up a live USB or a VM. But iirc Mint is supposed to be "the most familiar for users coming from Windows" and it's Ubuntu-based. I'm the completely opposite camp: sw engineer, strong preference for latest and greatest. Plus, if I put in the effort to set up Arch before arch-install, I must have something to show for it, don't I?

Those are fair points. I'm only suggesting you give it a go so you're familiar with it, which will help understand why some many love it.

 

[bug]

Those are fair points. I'm only suggesting you give it a go so you're familiar with it, which will help understand why some many love it.

I got that, it's a sound suggestion. But my backlog is so long, it will be months before I can make room for that. Plus, getting to know a distro means more than just firing up and use the browser to check your FB page. It takes months of usage

 

[lexluthermiester]

But my backlog is so long, it will be months before I can make room for that.

Ah, busy schedules suck..

Plus, getting to know a distro means more than just firing up and use the browser

Also a fair point.