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So i have a gaming desktop that not the best or the newest. What takes up most of my drive space is games, updates, and software's. Im wondering if i should switch to linux and if linux will improve any performance for my main machine? If you believe i should switch what os should i go with or why or why not should i switch?

I mostly game and do mess with ollama/ai tools because i think that's cool. I want to do more things in the future but that might beyond my drive space?

What would you advise?

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[-] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 20 points 3 weeks ago

Linux probably wouldn't make your games any faster, but it could make the OS feel snappier.

Reasons to switch:

  • you hate Windows
  • you like to customize stuff
  • you're curious about Linux
  • you don't play many MP games
  • you tend to leave a ton of stuff open, which makes things run slowly
  • saving 40GB or so of space means the world to you (Linux is pretty lean)

Reasons not to switch:

  • you need Windows-specific software, like Adobe stuff or games w/ anti-cheat
  • you're not interested in tinkering at all, and having any minor issue would frustrate you
  • you want the best possible performance for games

Linux is better at memory and task management, generally speaking, but performance in specific apps depends a ton on the specific app, from being slightly better to being noticeable worse.

As for which Linux distro to go with, I hear good things about Linux Mint, though I don't use it myself. But honestly, look at the most popular distros and find one that looks cool to you, they're all pretty good. Ones to check out are:

  • Debian (or Linux Mint Debian Edition) - ol' reliable, may have some issues on newer games
  • Fedora - tries to be close to bleeding edge, without as many sharp edges
  • Bazzite - gaming focus, tries to imitate Steam OS
  • openSUSE Tumbleweed - my personal daily driver, though I generally don't recommend it for new users since there's not a huge community to find help

There are tons more great ones. If you list your must-have apps/games, maybe someone can give a better recommendation, though honestly most distros are similar enough that if it works on one, it'll work anywhere.

[-] Benaaasaaas@group.lt 15 points 3 weeks ago

Just a point about phrasing but pretty much all MP games work flawlessly, just not the esports titles with draconian anticheats.

[-] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago

Sure, my point is anti-cheat, which is a pretty common feature of MP games, at least the popular ones. But yeah, I could've been more clear, thanks for the correction.

this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2025
35 points (88.9% liked)

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