linux for gaming

Linux supports most hardware configs. Nvidia drivers tend to be better than AMD for GPU's.

You should take a look at Linux Mint too. Many Ubuntu users are switching to that distro.

The big problem is that Linux just isn't seen as a gaming platform, so most games are not written to run on Linux. WINE has had some success getting games to run on Linux, and Valve's Steam console is supposed to use a custom Linux distribution, so game support in Linux could be changing soon.

Casey

I have never had any problems with my AMD HD 5830 GPU on Ubuntu, though getting the driver to install was a bit of a pain the first time. But after that I never had any trouble, I have read that others have had better luck with Nvidia.

So you can use AMD, its not unheard of.

You can be absolutely sure that you will not be able to play whatever game you want with Ubuntu.

Couple of things:

I've used both AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards with recent versions of Mint and they both worked just fine without any trouble.

Ijack's comment is spot on.

I have never ran a virtual machine form inside of Linux personally, but you should be able to run XP from within Linux. I'd say that you'd probably pay a decent penalty on game performance though.

If gaming is your priority with your computer then there is no substitute for Windows unless you are happy with the catalog of games that Valve has ported. There are varying degrees of success with some popular titles with PlayOnLinux and WINE, but you have to earn it (it often takes some work).

To preserve functionally you can do a side by side install and choose which system you'll be using at startup. This way you can encourage more programmers to port to Linux by buying Linux games but you still get to play your windows only ones without buying a new ms system.

Just be aware of the security problems that XP will pose when it goes out of support. The vulnarabilities will be advertised by patches to newer versions but will not be fixed. It'll be a field day for the bad guys. You should also allow for the fact that not all games will run on XP.

But if you are slightly less ambitious about what games you want to play, and don't connect the XP side to the Internet, you should be fine.

I just wanted to add my 2 cents here.

I've been using linux for over a decade and havn't used windows at all in that time.
I game often, and currently have a radeon video card.
Most hardware works well in linux these days and there are 1000's of games out there, although not everything you use in windows will be available. There is always some alternative, or something you probably never needed to be using in the first place

Many games are available through steam client written for linux http://store.steampowered.com/browse/linux/
For example Footbal manager 2014 is a popular upcoming title. Also Team Fortress, Dota 2, Amnesia, Left4Dead!
Other games can be played through Wine as users above said http://www.winehq.org/ the site is very good, has lists also of games which play without any problems in linux and games that need a little tweaking and play fine.

In my opinion it's the best time to think to switch to linux Valve announced its own distro that will be focused on gaming http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/ .
Ubuntu is a good choice to go, it's a very friendly and welcoming distro. Also has its own app center and a nice desktop UI.
The driver support on linux is good generally. You will be amazed by the boot time of new ubuntu 13.04. I've run it in a 4years old VAIo laptop and was incredibly fast.

Anyway we are about to see many changes in gaming. Hopefully SteamOS will be a success and that will be the start of the linux gaming era. RIP MS windows.

You are going to love linux, especially if you are the kind of guy you want to dive deeper one day try Arch Linux. It's a powerful distro that you can give it the shape you want.

The best part with linux is that you have the control, and nothing is hidden from you.

You can install this application in Ubuntu

http://www.playonlinux.com/en/

There are some predefined settings in this application for some mainstream games like Skyrim, AC3, AC Brotherhood etc to run on linux. Works well too, I have tried it....

I use linux and maybe I could help.

1. Wine for Linux is just a joke. You have to go through a lot of hassle to get any Windows games to work, so wine is not at all an option. Better to depend only on the Native games.

2. There are almost 200+ games on steam for Linux, so if you are a new gamer, then you might find just enough games for you. Linux is a good gaming platform for someone who loves games like Indie games. Games like FEZ, Trine 2, Mark of Ninja etc work just awesome on Linux.

3. If you are looking for FPS games on Linux, then you would be disappointed. There is not a whole lot of FPS games here. Forgive me for saying this but FPS games on Linux like Cube 2, etc look like they are from the early 90's. So, it clearly does not even feel like FPS games.

4. If you like games made by Valve, then Linux is a great platform, because of the awesome support form Valve. There is Team Fortress 2, Left4Dead 2, Half Life, Counter Strike, and new games coming from Valve everytime. So, if you are like Valve's games then you would like the Linux as gaming platform.

5. There are some big titles here like Serious SAM 3 BFE which looks fantastic but there are way too much killing and the end experience is that it is not that enjoyable game.

6. Also there are reports coming that Crytek (the guys behind the Far Cry and Crysis series) that they are porting their Crytek engine to the Linux platform in sometime soon. Also Metro Last Light is soon coming to Linux as announced by the company behind that game.

Conclusion :

If you are looking for a new platform for gaming and like the Indie games like FEZ, Mark Of Ninja, etc. Then there are titles that you might like. But if you are looking for some FPS gaming, then the Linux is not prepeared yet for that.

Yes, with the steam OS coming, there would be a lot more games coming to Linux. Infact games are coming to Linux now faster than ever. So if you are someone who wants to support the Linux gaming Community, then feel free to join us. We would be delighted by new guys coming to Linux.

Also with Steam OS right around the corner. There would be releases for the Linux. So, just stay tuned. Finally the era for Linux gaming had arrived.


You can have a look at all the games available on Steam on Linux here at store.steampowered.com/browse/linux/‎ . The library would eventually have some big AAA titles, thanks to Valve's vision. If you can join the Linux gaming community, then we would be delighted by a new member joining out community.

I hope this helped.

Dota2 is a good call. Stick with dota if you want a real challenge and game with skill. Go for LoL if you prefer casual.

Dota2 is a good call. Stick with dota if you want a real challenge and game with skill. Go for LoL if you prefer casual.

Metro Last Light just launched for Linux. AAA Titles have not started coming to Linux and big gaming studios have now started gaming seriously.