Hey everyone, I just made the switch from Windows 10 to Linux Mint, and I’m really struggling with gaming performance. I have an Intel i5 10300H and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650Ti. I’ve installed the latest Nvidia driver (570 open) and have tried using Proton Experimental as well as Proton 9.0-4. Despite this, games like World of Tanks and Warframe are chugging along at around 7-15 fps, while I used to get 80-110 fps on Windows. I’m new to Linux and could really use your advice on how to improve this situation. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
5 Answers
It looks like you might want to try using an older Nvidia driver, like 550 or 560, and see if that helps. A few people have mentioned they were able to get better performance that way. Also, make sure you’re using Proton in experimental mode. I’ve read that it can make a significant difference!
Just a heads up, make sure your game settings and resolution match what you used on Windows. I heard some folks suggest switching from Linux Mint to a more up-to-date distro like KDE Fedora for better gaming performance. But honestly, with the right settings, Mint can still handle gaming decently well, as long as everything else is configured correctly.
I’ve already lowered the settings on Linux like graphics, but Warframe is still stuck at 7 fps.
One quick fix that worked for me was enabling “Disable compositing for fullscreen windows” in the Mint settings. Running games in fullscreen can really improve performance since having the compositor running can cause lag. I had major slowdowns before I figured that out! By the way, switching to Fedora helped me as I found the compositor issues less bothersome there.
Have you checked if you’re using the 6.11 kernel? It’s recommended for the 570 drivers, and you can find that in the Update Manager under Views > Linux Kernels. Additionally, if your laptop has both an integrated and dedicated GPU, you might need to set launch parameters to make sure the game uses the dedicated GPU properly. A quick look at protondb.com can also show if there are any specific tweaks people are using for the games you’re playing.
I didn’t know how to check the kernel version before, but it looks like I’m on 6.8.0-58 generic. Is that okay?
If you’re looking for a better experience, consider trying distributions that aren’t based on Debian, like Fedora or Arch Linux. Those tend to have more current packages and drivers which might help alleviate some of your performance issues. But be prepared for a steeper learning curve to set them up!
Yeah, but does Nvidia really perform better on Fedora or Arch? I thought it could be hit or miss.
I just switched to the 550 driver and I’m currently experiencing “Processing Vulkan Shaders” for the first time too. Fingers crossed that it helps!