What's up, guys, gals, and non-binary pals? I switched from Windows 10 to Linux Mint back in December 2024, and I catalogued my experiences in these posts:
- Alright you nerds, I made the jump to Linux.
- Alright nerds, I installed Linux Mint on my MacBook Pro
Just wanted to let you nerds know that everything has been running flawlessly. I can play any game I have, and none of my productivity is blocked. Doesn't matter whether it's all my ROMs I archived, my Steam games, GOG games, whatever. Linux plays them, and performance is fantastic. I don't play any anti-cheat games as the only one I do play periodically is Overwatch, and it runs perfect.
I can without a doubt now say that I will never go back to Windows. Should have switched years ago!
Build specs (the full list is in my first post linked above):
- CPU 9800x3d
- GPU RX 7900 XTX
Here are some issues I still can't solve on Linux Mint:
- Can't control my GPU fans
- Can't control my case fans
- Can't bind my case fans to ramp up with GPU load
I've tried CoreCTRL and so many other solutions I read online, and none of them work. Problem for another day! So all I've done for now is increase the count of intake fans I have and set it to a good speed to move plenty of air (but also set my exhaust fans higher to help counter and ensure proper positive pressure airflow. I have too many fans to get the ideal balance of neutral air flow). GPU runs with OEM fan speeds.
Edit: There's a bug in pasting instance agnostic links, so I just added direct URLs to my instance posts.
Neat theme.
I have to ask though: Do these monitors not have HDR or VRR and run at the same refresh rate?
Those are the things why I usually wouldn't recommend Mint for high-end gaming rig like yours right now: None of the supported DEs are really ready for Wayland and therefore stuck with those problems (for now).
Thank you!
The monitors have HDR, but I disabled them. I have photosensitivity and lights can trigger migraines (not to be confused with headaches). Driving at night for example is impossible for me now with laser headlights.
As for VRR I don’t think I’m using it. I just set the refresh rate for each monitor, and when I game, I either set the game for VSYNC or adjust the max FPS accordingly.
I see.
HDR depends a lot on the monitor I guess. Mine isn't really brighter in HDR mode than normal because it's an OLED, so the big difference is that the darks can get darker and more detailed as opposed to the brighter brights on HDR LCD/LED panels.
As for VRR, I'm a huge fan of it and I can't recommend it enough. Particularly on high refresh rate monitors and demanding game it's a big win not having to tweak your settings so that the framerate always stays above the monitors specified refresh rate. No tearing. No penalty from not reaching the required framerate. Just a smooth presentation.
You can actually use VRR on X11, but only on for single monitor and it will introduce tearing on the others.
Got you on the HDR facts. I'm on LED monitors so I can't take advantage of that for now. But when OLED monitors get cheaper and I'm ready to upgrade (I'm on 1440p QD-LED i think is what the tech is called), I'll look into OLED. For now, my only oled device is my smart phone. And wow is OLED so nice to look at.
Good looking out on VRR! I'll do some researching into figuring out how to properly set it up on my build.
KDE suports HDR just fine. I believe both Hyprland and Gnome do as well. Those seem to be the most modern DEs generally speaking. Gnome and KDE being the most popular as well.
Edit: Just realized you said mint specifically. Mint are behind the times sadly.
Yeah, that's why I'm currently only recommending Mint to people who don't do any gaming. It's kind of a shame that Mint doesn't have a KDE spin. It would be my unconditional beginner distro otherwise.
Personally I run CachyOS + KDE with native Wayland and HDR enabled system-wide. It's kind of amazing how I don't even need to clog the launch parameters of every game with a bunch of variables and tools like gamescope anymore. I just have to hit launch and all the fancy features just work.
I am also on CachyOS and KDE here. It was a good find. Seems to be getting more popular and well known over time.