Microsoft has Copilot Plus PCs loaded with AI, and rumors are that Apple is all in on AI, too, but if you don't want AI in everything you do, there is another option: Linux.
With some anti cheat - no. You cannot. LoL, Valorant, Apex Legends - all no go for me… But for everything else I play. No issues at all - infact a lot of games run better on Pop_os than they do on Windows.
People keep saying you can’t use Nvidia GPUs with Linux or that the experience is horrible, but truth be told, if you already have one, you can keep it no problem. The main scenario where it still had issues as of last year was if you used KDE Plasma with Wayland on Nvidia (though I hear Plasma 6 improved a lot of it - not sure, because I didn’t have a lot of issues on Plasma 5 either).
Your best bet for Nvidia GPUs is an Ubuntu-based distro. Ubuntu itself is an option though not necessarily the best - they bake in some ads and a lot of people aren’t fans of being forced to use Snap, which has a proprietary backend unlike Flatpak. Personally I’d say go for Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop if you want a Windows-like desktop environment and Pop!_OS if you want something completely different altogether from Windows. On Mint or Ubuntu you can install the drivers from the provider proprietary driver installer (super simple), on Pop!_OS you can just get a Nvidia iso and have them preinstalled.
But honestly, I didn’t even have issues with Nvidia when I was on Gentoo, supposedly one of the harder distros to maintain.
Would I buy a Nvidia GPU now that I’ve completely ditched Windows? Probably not, but I’m also not in a hurry to replace my 3060 Ti just to get rid of the logo.
Nvidia support got better, I’m using it on NixOS with Wayland gnome and games have better FPS than last year, I’m maxing out my 280Hz 1080p monitor with older games
Nvidia just requires a driver install on most distros, and the newer drivers for Linux run rather well. All but one of my games runs better on Linux than on Windows (MK1 has slowdown issues on cinematics)
As of the last few days I’ve been trying out Linux gaming for the first time, and the prospects seem really good. ProtonDB suggests all games I care about are native or run fine and I’ve tested several, and I was able to use bottles to get an old MMO I play running incredibly easy.
Only thing I really have to dual boot for is Valorant.
Yes, but can you play modern games on Linux the same as on Windows? Even with anti-cheat software?
FYI Helldivers 2 works fine on an ubuntu + AMD GPU, as well as Baldur’s Gate 3. Haven’t tested any other game yet.
Setup is trivial thanks to Steam and proton.
With some anti cheat - no. You cannot. LoL, Valorant, Apex Legends - all no go for me… But for everything else I play. No issues at all - infact a lot of games run better on Pop_os than they do on Windows.
FYI, I’ve clocked over 1000 hours on Apex Legends, not a single one of them on Windows.
https://areweanticheatyet.com/
Ayyyeeee - just my experience, glad it’s working!
Battlebit also works fine and it uses easy anti cheat
Good to know! Thank you.
What about for Nvidia GPUs?
People keep saying you can’t use Nvidia GPUs with Linux or that the experience is horrible, but truth be told, if you already have one, you can keep it no problem. The main scenario where it still had issues as of last year was if you used KDE Plasma with Wayland on Nvidia (though I hear Plasma 6 improved a lot of it - not sure, because I didn’t have a lot of issues on Plasma 5 either).
Your best bet for Nvidia GPUs is an Ubuntu-based distro. Ubuntu itself is an option though not necessarily the best - they bake in some ads and a lot of people aren’t fans of being forced to use Snap, which has a proprietary backend unlike Flatpak. Personally I’d say go for Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop if you want a Windows-like desktop environment and Pop!_OS if you want something completely different altogether from Windows. On Mint or Ubuntu you can install the drivers from the provider proprietary driver installer (super simple), on Pop!_OS you can just get a Nvidia iso and have them preinstalled.
But honestly, I didn’t even have issues with Nvidia when I was on Gentoo, supposedly one of the harder distros to maintain.
Would I buy a Nvidia GPU now that I’ve completely ditched Windows? Probably not, but I’m also not in a hurry to replace my 3060 Ti just to get rid of the logo.
Nvidia support got better, I’m using it on NixOS with Wayland gnome and games have better FPS than last year, I’m maxing out my 280Hz 1080p monitor with older games
Nvidia just requires a driver install on most distros, and the newer drivers for Linux run rather well. All but one of my games runs better on Linux than on Windows (MK1 has slowdown issues on cinematics)
My 1080 was okay with Linux Mint, no complaints, and performance is the same from what I can tell. :)
Kernel level anti-cheat won’t work, thank heavens the Linux developers won’t allow that abomination.
No process deserves that kind of elevated permissions.
Start using Linux, tell those companies you’d buy but you’re on Linux, spread the word, wash, rinse, repeat.
Be the change you want to see.
As of the last few days I’ve been trying out Linux gaming for the first time, and the prospects seem really good. ProtonDB suggests all games I care about are native or run fine and I’ve tested several, and I was able to use bottles to get an old MMO I play running incredibly easy.
Only thing I really have to dual boot for is Valorant.
Steam Deck is extremely capable.
Steam is your best bet here. I’ve been playing Baldur’s Gate. Previously played Civ VI a lot… lots of great choices.
Some, not all. If you’re inflexible on gaming you’re going to want to get comfortable with Windows AI.
You can, but not 100%
They have solved the anti cheat issue, but the companies now have to ship the Linux fix for it to work with Wine. So understandably some just don’t.
All my games work, but YMMV
Yup, practically every single one. I play genshin impact on Linux completely unmodified and nothing tweaked.
This site has been objectively tracking the state of anti cheat really well: https://areweanticheatyet.com/
So you can see that majority of the anti cheats are working. Also games that use anti cheat are really not that numerous in the first place anyways…
IDGAF games
Roblox.
Roblox devs are extremely hostile towards Linux.
android.