Quick outline
- My test rigs and games
- What I look for in a “good gaming” distro
- My picks: Nobara, Pop!_OS, SteamOS, Arch/Garuda, Fedora, Ubuntu/Mint
- Real game results and small fixes
- What still hurts on Linux
- Final picks and who should use what
My setup, my mood, and my mess
I spent three months hopping distros. I played, broke stuff, fixed stuff, then played more. I’m stubborn like that. That whole journey turned into my deeper desk-side review.
Speaking of quick flings, if hopping between Linux distros has you craving other no-commitment adventures, swing by OneNightAffair — it’s a modern dating platform that makes finding a discreet, one-night connection fast and straightforward.
For Central Florida readers, there’s even a city-specific classifieds hub on the platform—take a peek at the Backpage Altamonte Springs board where you’ll spot localized postings that make arranging an easy, low-stress meetup even quicker.
- Main PC: Ryzen 7 5800X, RTX 3070, 32 GB RAM, NVMe SSD, 1440p/144 Hz monitor.
- Laptop: Ryzen 9 6900HS, Radeon 6800M, 16 GB RAM.
- Controller: DualSense. Also a dusty Xbox One pad.
- Tested in late fall. The room got warm. Fans whooshed like a tiny leaf blower. Fitting, right?
Games I used a lot:
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Cyberpunk 2077
- The Witcher 3 (next-gen)
- Hades II
- Forza Horizon 5
- No Man’s Sky
- CS2
Games that gave me the cold shoulder:
- Destiny 2
- Apex Legends
- Valorant
- Fortnite
- New Call of Duty
Those use anti-cheat that still blocks Linux. I’ll say it again later because it stings.
What makes a distro “good” for games?
I want three things:
- New graphics stacks without weird hacks.
- Easy codecs, controllers, and Proton flavors.
- Stable updates so game night doesn’t turn into bug night.
I also like one click stuff. I game after work. I don’t want to babysit kernels.
The short version: my winners
- Best for most people: Nobara
- Best if you have NVIDIA and want simple: Pop!_OS
- Best couch box: SteamOS (on a Deck or a living room PC)
- Best if you like to tweak for fun: Arch or Garuda
- Best “safe and familiar” pick: Ubuntu 24.04 or Linux Mint with a few add-ons
Now, the stories. If you want a broader perspective on these and other desktop distros—beyond just their gaming chops—check out the thorough write-ups on Desktop Linux Reviews. For the blow-by-blow saga of my distro-hopping spree, see I tried a bunch of Linux distros for gaming—here’s what actually worked.
Nobara: The one that felt tuned from day one
Nobara is Fedora with game stuff baked in. Extra codecs, Proton GE, OBS tweaks, and sane defaults. It saved me time.
With its latest 42 release, Nobara even touts better hardware support and measurable performance gains.
Real notes:
- Baldur’s Gate 3 at 1440p High + FSR Quality: 90–110 FPS on my RTX 3070. First run had some shader stutter. Second run was smooth.
- Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p High + DLSS Quality: 65–85 FPS. Looked clean. Night City lights popped.
- Hades II: locked to 144 FPS on my monitor. Tiny dips during big fights.
Controllers? Plug and go for the DualSense. Vibration worked. Steam picked it up fast.
Recording? OBS was ready with nvenc and vaapi. I recorded a BG3 boss fight and didn’t tank my frames.
Little hiccup: after one update, the Steam overlay got weird. A quick reboot fixed it. Not cute, but fine.
Why I kept it on my desktop: it felt like someone set the table for me. I just played. It even became the best gaming Linux distro I actually use in my follow-up article.
Pop!_OS: My “NVIDIA and chill” pick
Pop!_OS is friendly. The NVIDIA image gave me the right driver on install. No hunting.
Need to hop between integrated and dedicated GPUs? System76 explains how in their graphics-switching guide.
Real notes:
- Cyberpunk 2077: same 65–80 FPS at 1440p High + DLSS Quality. Once I turned on GameMode, lows evened out.
- Forza Horizon 5: 90–110 FPS at 1440p High. Races were butter. I grinned like a kid.
- The Witcher 3 next-gen: 70–95 FPS at 1440p High (no RT). With RT, frames tanked. I turned RT off and moved on.
Pop Shop had Lutris and MangoHud. Easy. Proton GE took two clicks. DualSense rumble worked here too.
Small gripe: Pop can sit on older Mesa for a bit. That hits AMD more than NVIDIA, but still worth noting.
SteamOS: The couch king
On my Steam Deck OLED, SteamOS crushed indie games and handled big ones with care.
- Hades II: perfect for the sofa. 60 FPS with no sweat.
- No Man’s Sky: 40–60 FPS on the Deck at medium. Tweak a bit, and it sings.
On a living room PC, Steam Big Picture felt right with a controller. Family-proof. I could hand the pad to my nephew and step back.
Limits? Desktop stuff is there, but not as comfy. It’s a game box first.
Arch and Garuda: The “let me tinker” path
Arch gave me the newest kernels, Mesa, and tools. Garuda adds a slick setup and gaming tools out of the box.
Real notes:
- CS2 ran better after a quick kernel bump and fresh Mesa. I saw fewer micro stutters.
- I used Gamescope for a steady 144 Hz feel. It helped with frame pacing in Forza.
But updates need care. I read the notes. I held big updates before a raid night. You break it, you fix it. That’s the bargain.
Fedora and Ubuntu/Mint: The steady ones
- Fedora 40 was clean and fast. I had to add a few extras (media packs, Steam bits), then it felt close to Nobara without the candy.
- Ubuntu 24.04 and Linux Mint were calm. Add latest drivers and Proton GE, and games were fine. Great for folks who like a classic feel.
On Ubuntu, my laptop’s AMD GPU wanted newer Mesa for better Forza and No Man’s Sky. I used a fresh Mesa repo, and frames went up.
Real game examples and tiny fixes
What I changed that helped:
- Steam Proton: I set per-game Proton to Proton GE (GE-Proton 9-something). It fixed launcher bugs in Forza and a sound quirk in BG3.
- GameMode: I set “gamemoderun %command%” for Cyberpunk and Forza. Fewer dips.
- MangoHud: quick view of FPS and frame time. It showed me when shader comp was the real issue.
- DualSense: it worked on all picks. If rumble was off, I toggled Steam Input on, then off. Weird, but it worked.
Numbers that stuck with me (desktop, 1440p):
- BG3 High + FSR Q: Nobara 90–110 FPS, Pop!_OS 85–100 until shader cache warmed.
- Cyberpunk 2077 High + DLSS Q: 65–85 FPS on both Nobara and Pop!_OS.
- Witcher 3 High (no RT): 70–95 FPS. RT was a slideshow on my 3070, so I skipped it.
- Forza Horizon 5 High: 90–110 FPS. On Arch with Gamescope, frame time lines looked nicer.
Your rig will differ. But these feel fair.
What still hurts
- Anti-cheat walls: Destiny 2, Apex, Valorant, Fortnite, and new Call of Duty still say no. That’s a hard stop.
- First-run shader stutter: it’s better now, but you’ll see it. Second run is smooth.
- NVIDIA moods: it’s better than last year. Still, the driver can feel fussy after big updates. I reboot and move on.
- Odd bugs: a dangling overlay here, a sound swap there. Nothing major, but it happens.
I unpack a few more of these rough edges in [my hands-on piece about Linux gaming’s real wins and woes](https://desktoplinuxreviews