Is there now, or has there ever been a linux distro made specifically for playing PC games?
I'm looking for a build that is known to play games windows won't necessarily run.
Example: My PC meets minimal windows system requirements and will play the game on lowest settings. When the same game is launched from linux Gaming build I'd be able to use higher settings.
Is there a linux distro made for hardcore gaming?
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whufclee
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Re: Is there a linux distro made for hardcore gaming?
By PC Games I presume you mean GFW (Games For Windows). I'm afraid they have the monopoly on gaming, if it weren't for GFW I'd have switched to Linux on all my setups long before now.
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Xphazer
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Re: Is there a linux distro made for hardcore gaming?
With Steam on Linux there is more games every weeks now. 
Its not about which distro would be the best for gaming, its about which distro will you be able to use.
If you are the type of person that cannot stand working on a small problem for an entire night, Linux might not be for you.
At the beginning, you might spend the entire night trying to just get a game to launch, without being successful at all.
Personally, I have fun doing so. I can try to get something to work on Linux for 4 hours straight and I will keep a nice smile on my face.
I feel a satisfaction at the end of it, I don't feel like "ohh finally, its done" .. nhaa I'm more like "Let's do it again!".
If you don't take pleasure to these thing, you are going to have a real rough time.
Linux is all about making your own research, nobody will go hold your hand to start. You cannot start to go on a forum to ask every single question you got (I'm glad to give you a reply now, i just mean the day you would use Linux, you cant just ask any question you have on forums, you need to do rigorous search's first.
All the answers are accessible from Google 90%+ of the time.
Also, if the idea of reading a lot (300-500-700 pages books) scare you, Linux might no be for you either.
(just a comparison here.. for all the documentation and guide you will need to read online)
And you should start by using Linux in a Virtual Machine first to see how it goes with you.
https://www.virtualbox.org
Simple answer: Ubuntu or Mint, at least for now. And enjoy your stay.
Its not about which distro would be the best for gaming, its about which distro will you be able to use.
If you are the type of person that cannot stand working on a small problem for an entire night, Linux might not be for you.
At the beginning, you might spend the entire night trying to just get a game to launch, without being successful at all.
Personally, I have fun doing so. I can try to get something to work on Linux for 4 hours straight and I will keep a nice smile on my face.
I feel a satisfaction at the end of it, I don't feel like "ohh finally, its done" .. nhaa I'm more like "Let's do it again!".
If you don't take pleasure to these thing, you are going to have a real rough time.
Linux is all about making your own research, nobody will go hold your hand to start. You cannot start to go on a forum to ask every single question you got (I'm glad to give you a reply now, i just mean the day you would use Linux, you cant just ask any question you have on forums, you need to do rigorous search's first.
All the answers are accessible from Google 90%+ of the time.
Also, if the idea of reading a lot (300-500-700 pages books) scare you, Linux might no be for you either.
(just a comparison here.. for all the documentation and guide you will need to read online)
And you should start by using Linux in a Virtual Machine first to see how it goes with you.
https://www.virtualbox.org
Simple answer: Ubuntu or Mint, at least for now. And enjoy your stay.
Re: Is there a linux distro made for hardcore gaming?
@whufclee
Thanks for that info. Just what i wanted to know.
@Xphazer
I did query Google/Yahoo. Nothing came up, so I posted here. Just figured this board might have more knowledge than first and second page Google results.
Same thing when I'm looking for a piece of software, I always check the sourceforge website. If I'm looking for a software on Google, they usually sponsor trailware and malware in their search results.
Thanks for that info. Just what i wanted to know.
@Xphazer
I did query Google/Yahoo. Nothing came up, so I posted here. Just figured this board might have more knowledge than first and second page Google results.
Same thing when I'm looking for a piece of software, I always check the sourceforge website. If I'm looking for a software on Google, they usually sponsor trailware and malware in their search results.
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Xphazer
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Re: Is there a linux distro made for hardcore gaming?
I love Debian too, but its not a good distro at all for a beginner...
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ted209
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Re: Is there a linux distro made for hardcore gaming?
It's an interesting question: what's the best distro for a beginner.Xphazer wrote:I love Debian too, but its not a good distro at all for a beginner...
I started with Ubuntu a few years back because it was good for beginners. As a very experienced windows user, it was a pretty frustrating exercise. For many things I wanted to setup or change the answer was inevitably: go to the terminal and enter a string of incomprehensible commands!
I now use Mint as a desktop for getting things done, but I use Arch Linux to actually learn about linux. I'm quite tempted to try debian one day though...