I’m considering installing Linux on my laptop but I’m unsure if I should start with a virtual machine first. My main use cases are gaming and coding, so I want to make sure it’s the right fit.

What are the pros and cons of using Linux for someone like me? Would starting with VirtualBox be a good idea before going all in?

  • Björn Tantau@swg-empire.de
    11·
    14 hours ago

    If your gaming consists of popular multiplayer games you might have a bad time. Many games with intrusive anti cheat don’t work. Check https://areweanticheatyet.com/ for compatibility.

    Almost every other game should work without any issues, especially when you have them on Steam.

    • Dojan@lemmy.world
      2·
      7 hours ago

      Even this can depend a lot. I’ve some friends that play that Marvel game (Rivals?) and it works great on Linux. I myself have played Monhan and Warframe a lot on Linux. I’m not much of a competitive player, and I think where you might run into problems is competitive live-service titles.

      Guild Wars and Final Fantasy XIV are both multiplayer games and work flawlessly for me.

      Some games might require some fiddling you might not have on Windows, but it’s not that bad.

      Even VR is pretty plug and play, though I’ve not bothered with FBT yet, and I think it differs a lot depending on what headset you have.

      OpenSUSE Tumbleweed. AMD CPU with NVidia graphics.

    • Fecundpossum@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      13 hours ago

      So, I used to play valorant and pubg when I was still a windows user. It was around the time of my switch to Linux that I learned about intrusive kernel level anti cheat.

      Honestly, I don’t miss them, and refuse to play a game that compromises the safety and security of my operating system, just as much as I refuse to use an operating system that even allows kernel level access to something as trivial as a game.

      My latest run in with this issue was the Marathon pre-alpha. I was granted access only to find that Bungie was Linux hostile, and after making a few speeches about it in the discord I uninstalled it and left.

      I’m fine with this scenario. If I want competitive multiplayer I have CS2, Apex legends, and others. If games refuse to support Linux, fuck em.

      Just another lens to view this through. There’s a certain rebellious spirit that can come along with embracing FOSS, and that should be part of the appeal.