I’ve been thinking about switching to Linux for a while, but there are some things that make me want to stay on Windows. For example, Gaming and installation of graphics card and software availability.
My G-Card was GT 730 2 GB ddr5.
Can I be able to play the games that Windows supported without losing frames?
Your GPU is very weak, and because it was a budget card back in the day it doesn’t have support for a “new” technology called Vulkan which is an alternative to OpenGL.
Vulkan is used by Proton (you can think of it as a Windows emulator, even though it’s not exactly an emulator) to convert DirectX calls to something native. Without Vulkan Proton needs to convert DirectX to OpenGL which loses a lot more performance, and in the case of newer games (ones that use DirectX 12) it’s not possible.
So it really depends on what games you want to play, realistically I don’t think you’re playing anything with DirectX12 because those games are all newer than your card, so I don’t think your GPU would support them even in Windows.
I would say give it a go in a separate partition/disk/thumb drive and see how it goes. I don’t think the experience of gaming will be good for you, but I can’t imagine the rest of the PC has good specs if that’s the GPU, so day to day might be a lot more comfortable on Linux without windows hogging down resources.
@[email protected], in case you don’t know, DirectX (just like ‘Vulkan’) is a graphics rendering software. It draws graphics. I have seen many people being confused by these terms so I thought I should clarify.
Also here’s a video that explains how to dual boot windows and fedora (a pretty good linux distro) or maybe you could use Pop_Os! since they have pretty good nvidia support. I don’t know about legacy ones though.
My suggestion is to use a beginner distro with easy dual boot options. Linux Mint comes to mind. Get that going and try it out. If it works for you, you can then move on to ditching your Windows install and/or using a more advanced distro.
Unless you’re more of a “dive into the deep end” sort. If that’s the case, grab Fedora Workstation and make sure to enable the proprietary software repositories. Fedora is stable, and the desktop will be a reminder that this isn’t Windows and it won’t act like it. From there, you can find help all over the place, from Fedora’s documentation and forums to simple internet searches.
I wouldn’t dual boot because of the possibility of Windows breaking the bootloader. If OP could spare a separate drive or USB stick specifically for toying with Linux, they may get more out of it before committing.
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What is vulkan?
So, if my card doesn’t support vulkan am I not able to play any games?
Depends on the game tbh. What do you like to play?
Batman arkham Knight, BioShock infinite, GTA 5 & hot pursuit
If I don’t game, then Linux is worth for my config?
Why do you want to switch to Linux in the first place ?
Personally, I wanted to be in absolute control of my PC. I am a professional book cover illustrator and after ~30 years of using Adobe Photohop and Illustrator, I blindly went all in on Linux. I found my way, differently than I imagined, but happier than ever.
If you have the will, you’ll find your way.
Are you not going to list the games that you want to play? If so, then just head over to www.protondb.com and make sure they are playable.
You should definitely give it a shot! Due to proton, you should be able to play most, if not all, of the games you play om windows (unless they have obnoxious anticheats). A good resource for checking game compatibility on linux is ProtonDB. In terms of performance, there will almost certainly be a slight impact, but in my experience (with an admitingly far more powerful gpu) it really is minimal. And if it really doesn’t work out, you can always go back to windows.
What kind of pc do you have? Is it a pre-built, a laptop, or is it a custom build desktop?
Also, what kind of games are you planning on playing?
Its an old lenovo thinkcare desktop, i5 2nd gen, 8Gig of ram, GT 730 2 GB. Games - Mostly late 2013
It sounds like the best option would be a dual boot, Linux for everything except games and when you want to play just boot into Windows. If you do this i would strongly suggest a two HD set up, one for windows and one for Linux, for two reasons, if you don’t like Linux then you still have the original windows setup, two Windows will at one moment wipe the dual boot grub and you’ll ‘lose’ the Linux startup, unless you have one OS per Hard Disk. I don’t game anymore. Like you I also have an old card Gtx760 🤣🤣
Definitely use 2 HDs. I’ve ran into the issue with Windows all of a sudden deciding to wipe the boot grub. Makes no sense!
Nobora or popOs or any others?
You shouldn’t do this at all. Poorly supported hardware, and if this is the point where you are asking for help then you don’t have the basic computer skills to keep s Linux desktop going.
Oh wow, that was snobbish.
It takes very little effort to maintain a linux desktop. This isn’t the 90s, you know. Here’s a quick guide:
Install Fedora Workstation. Once a week, run
sudo dnf update --refresh
Got an Nvidia graphics card? When you install Fedora, enable the non-free repositories. Actually, unless you have a reason not to, do that anyway.
Done. System up to date and more stable than Windows. And that’s on what’s referred to as an “intermediate” distro. A “Beginner” distro like Mint is even easier.
Oh, wait, you’re a gamer you say? Well then use Nobara or Pop_OS instead. They’re a bit more advanced, but nothing reading a wiki can’t take care of.
Getting on a high horse and pretending Linux is as hard to use in 2023 as it was two decades ago helps no one. Not the potential new user, not the community or its reputation, no one.
I hate this RTFM/yur 2 dumb attitude more than damn near anything in the community. It’s such bullshit.