Contents:
Introduction
Linux Basics
My Setup
Disclaimer
Guide
You can skip the gibberish and check the guide here to install linux, if you already made your mind :D
1. Introduction
Linux is an operating system which is very transparent towards the user, unlike windows which focuses more on providing a polished experience for the user thus no command line tinkering or "sudo". But sometimes this experience also fails to deliver, thus the occasional hiccups (BSOD), or the privacy concerns that come alongside the telemetry data that windows send to Microsoft servers, here in comes Linux, as it being an opensource operating system is a relatively clean experience as the code can be verified by a lot users who will point out the hidden privacy concerns (if any), also any other discrepancy that the user might want to know before installing Linux.
Linux being void of all the extra services as windows also has a very low overhead, thus utilizing very little system resources, for example, at idle, in windows the average RAM consumption is 2.4 - 2.7 GB, which in comparison to a Linux is high as it consumes on average 1.4 - 1.8 GB of RAM. These extra services can be added afterwards if need be. Thus, the popularity of Linux on low end systems, like Raspberry Pi.
Back to gaming, it requires as much resources as you can provide, so less the number of services and programs hogging the system resources, the better. Linux being relatively stripped down takes less resources than Windows, thus the games can use more percentage of the existing hardware, resulting in better performance or as we call it "FPS".
2. Linux Basics
Linux, has a learning curve to it, so it is a good idea to start from basics before starting to install it. So, lets learn those:
Firstly, there are "Distros", which is short for "Distributions", these are like flavors of Linux, as being an opensource operating system, everybody has a different take on it, hence the differences, for example: Ubuntu, Pop!_OS, Manjaro, Arch Linux. These are all flavors of Linux but have key differences that help them differentiate from one another. Most popular of them is Ubuntu, as most of the guides are made for it, which for beginners is the best bet.
Secondly, onto the stability and everyday use, Linux is a great option for everyday use for light work use, as other applications might not be natively supported on Linux. Note: Linux can run Windows programs through a program called "WINE" but the stability is guaranteed. If you plan to use Linux in place of Windows, please firstly check for the support of the programs you might be using.
Lastly, our recommendation, according to us, you should dual boot Linux alongside, Windows, as Linux can be used whilst gaming or any other work that can be easily accomplished in it. Also, on case any program you require is not supported in Linux, you can boot into windows.
3. My Setup
Talking specifically about my setup, I have a Dell Inspiron 5577, with the following specs:
CPU: Core i5 7300HQ
GPU: GTX 1050 (4GB)
RAM: 8GB (2400MHz)
SSD: SK Hynix 128GB (SATA)
HDD: TOSHIBA 1TB (5400RPM)
OS: Windows 10 + Pop!_OS 20.04
I play Counter Strike - Global Offensive mainly, I used to get 120 FPS at max and an average of 100 FPS on Windows, but I used Linux and voila 250 FPS peak, and average 180 to 190 FPS.
4. Disclaimer
Not everything is hunky-dory in the world of Linux, even though steam is supported, not all games are native, so there might be games that won't be available on steam store. Lutris is another tool that helps to get more games on Linux, "Linus Tech Tips" made a great video about it, (see below):
To check which steam games are supported and run well on Linux please visit the ProtonDB website, it's a great initiative by Valve Software.
5. Guide
To keep this post clean, the guides have been shifted to posts mentions below in the forum section:
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