Hey everyone! I’ve recently come back to Linux after a few months off due to a faulty SSD and some Windows projects. I’ve tried several Debian-based distributions in the past but didn’t have the best experience, especially with gaming performance. I started with Ubuntu 24.04, but had to switch away quickly due to poor Steam performance. I then tried Ubuntu 24.10 which worked better, but I encountered issues with Gnome causing stutters with wallpaper changes. I moved to Mint, which surprisingly worked really well for gaming even though it’s based on 24.04. I then went to Debian because I prefer a more stock experience and used KDE Plasma, and while it performed better than 24.04, it still wasn’t ideal for gaming.
Now I’m wondering what considerations I should keep in mind for picking the right distro for gaming. I want something relatively up-to-date, especially with the kernel and NVIDIA drivers. I’m not necessarily looking for a gaming-specific distro since I’ll use it for other tasks as well, and KDE Plasma is a must for me. Just wanted to gather some recommendations from others with similar experiences! For context, I run a Ryzen 9 5900x and an RTX 3080Ti. Thanks for any advice!
5 Answers
If you’re looking for strong gaming performance, give openSUSE Tumbleweed a try. It’s stable while being up-to-date and has excellent support for gaming, especially if you’re using AMD hardware.
I think Pop!_OS from System76 is an excellent choice for gaming. It’s designed specifically for gamers and has some useful features included right out of the box. Plus, it looks nice with KDE!
Honestly, I think Debian-based distros struggle because they don’t get updates frequently enough, which can affect gaming performance. If you’re tech-savvy, consider trying Arch or Fedora; they both have more regular updates and a lot of support for newer hardware.
For my gaming setup, Bazzite has worked wonders! It supports everyday tasks seamlessly while also providing solid gaming performance. You might want to give it a shot!
I’d also recommend Fedora with KDE. It’s my go-to for gaming, and it’s pretty cutting-edge. I have multiple PCs running Fedora, and they all handle recent games like a champ, plus the performance with Steam is great!
I’m pretty confident I can handle an Arch system. Worst case, I can always follow the advice from others if it gets too complex!