Linux Mint

[watzup_ken]

Starting this thread to introduce Linux Mint. Been a Windows user most of my life with some occasional switch to Mac OS and Ubuntu once in awhile. But with all these Windows bloatware and advertisements that gets injected into the OS, I think it is really time for me to get out of Windows for good. This time round, instead of going back to Ubuntu or Mac OS (too expensive), I decided to go with Linux Mint as recommended when looking online.

I won't got into details about how to install the OS, but if you know how to install a fresh copy of Windows, it works the same way. I installed it on my gaming laptop because the memory is soldered and I am having concerns about how much memory Windows is sucking from it. To give some context, upon booting into Windows, the memory usage is about 6GB out of 16GB (a little less due to iGPU).

First impression:
- No forced login. You just set a password which is required for any 3rd party software installation, and you are good to go.
- I like the clean look on Linux Mint.
- Boot up is very quick and resource utilization is very low. For comparison, once I boot in, the memory usage is less than 2 GB. Once you start launching Firefox, it may go up to 3 to 4GB. Conversely on Windows, after booting up, its using up 4 to 5GB.
- Drivers are preinstalled. I get to select whether to use Open Source driver Nvidia driver for my GPU. Works surprisingly well on my laptop with most of the functions working, including keyboard functions. Nvidia Optimus also works well. Only thing I seem to lost control over is the changing of backlight style, which I am exploring to see if there are any way to adjust the backlight style. *Update* There is OpenRGB.
- Under light load, my system runs very quiet and cool which I guess is due to less processes running in the background.

General observation:
1. I think compatibility is where people may be worried off. Fortunately for me, I don't game much nor install too many apps nowadays. I may update as I go along as this is day 2 with Linux Mint.

Steam is available in the app store for download. By default, quite a number of games are not compatible and the "Install" option is greyed out. Fortunately, you can force it to run in Steam in the Compatibility settings. It will run the Proton translation and the few games I still play runs fine. The caveat here is that the initial load time may be longer.I have not had a lot of time to try out games, so something that I will test over time. *For laptops with iGPU and dGPU, games works best when you switch Optimus or any GPU switching software. In fact I noticed some games will not launch with Optimus on and I had to manually go to the BIOS to set it to dGPU only*

Common apps like Zoom, Spotify, Citrix, etc are downloadable from their respective official website or in the Linux Mint store.

2. One can avoid typing commands in the Terminal as the user interface provides most functions and installation experience of some common applications is similar to Windows.

3. For Nvidia users, DLSS don't seems to work. Issue is with Nvidia it seems.

Prelim conclusion:
For anyone getting frustrated like me and wants out of Windows, I think this is worth trying out Linux Mint. There is some learning curve, but the overall UI is intuitive and frankly, not hard to accustom to. Game and software compatibility is good so far, though I have limited time to test this out more comprehensively. But I can tell if your usage is light, i.e. surfing net, word processing (Libre Office installed and free), watching Youtube, casual gaming, etc, this OS works great. I am initially a little apprehensive about trying this out, but I am glad I did and likely won't be reverting my laptop back to Windows. I will also be transitioning my HTPC to Linux Mint now that I have tested and cleared my doubts.

 

[watzup_ken]

It has been almost 2 weeks since I moved to Linux Mint, hence, sharing some updates on my experience so far.

To summarize,

• There is some learning curve as compared to Windows. Some apps installation are better off using Terminal. But because Linux Mint is very popular, hence, it is not that difficult to find information on it.
• Gaming - I don't game much, but when testing some games, what I noticed is that most games will run using Proton, but they may not run smoothly, i.e. low frame rates or frames that varies widely. GOW for example for some reason runs at around 30 FPS on a laptop RTX 4070, and doesn't change even if I lower the resolution. Some games run well, i.e. performs like on Windows. I suspect I may have done something wrong resulting in the poor performance even in some Steam deck optimized games. More to update on this over time. I do find this Youtube video very helpful, so sharing with everyone.
• Resource usage is very low compared to Windows. RAM usage for example stays below 3GB when booted up, and I have not seen it exceed 8GB even when launching games with browser and some apps running in the background. In general, a freshly installed Windows will require around 4 to 5GB at idle. With the same laptop running Windows, RAM usage under similar conditions can shoot up to 7+ GB with very few apps running. The base Windows processes already takes up a lot of RAM even after disabling or removing unwanted ones.
• This is one of those rare times I use suspend quite frequently. On Windows, it takes awhile to go into and out of suspend more, but near instantaneous on Linux Mint without issues. Previously I tend to use this feature on Mac OS, but almost never on Windows.
• By default, Linux Mint is feature rich. You can still get more apps on the store.

Overall, no regrets and I will likely continue using Mint. Again, there is some learning curve and gamers may or may not be that comfortable with some games not working. Funnily, I tried installing Windows yesterday and I instantly regretted due to the number of updates that takes a very long time. And I noticed the RAM usage sitting at 6 to 7GB most of the time. So I immediately stop updating and go back to Linux Mint. Haha.

 

[watzup_ken]

Given the popularity of Black Myth: Wukong, and ample benchmarks out there, I just did a couple of runs to see how well the game runs on Linux Mint.

Basic laptop specs:
- Intel Core i7 13700H
- 16GB LPDDR5 6000 memory in dual channel mode
- RTX 4070 mobile (105W limit)
- 2560 x 1600 IPS monitor @ 165Hz

I was struggling to get this game (along with some 3D games) to launch in Steam. It seems that problem lies with the GPU switching (Optimus) that is not working very well. So even though it was set to on-demand performance GPU (Nvidia), system will attempt to launch the game with Intel iGPU, causing the game to not launch. Going to the BIOS, I disabled iGPU, and it works fine now. So if your laptop comes with a dedicated MUX switch, it should be easier to handle this nuance.

I ran the benchmarks a few times, but the below are left constant, while only changing the upscaling quality. I did not bother running the game at native resolution without upscaling because it was a stuttery mess.
1. Resolution @ 2560 x 1600
2. Game quality is set to High without customization for consistency

Now on to results:

DLSS @ Quality (68% scaling) No Frame Gen
Avg 45 FPS
Max 54 FPS
Min 29 FPS

DLSS @ Balanced (60% scaling) No Frame Gen
Avg 50 FPS (Linux) vs Avg 59 FPS (Windows)
Max 62 FPS (Linux) vs Max 69 FPS (Windows)
Min 37 FPS (Linux) vs Min 46 FPS (Windows)

Finally, FSR @ Quality (68% scaling) With Frame Gen - just to test for fun
Avg 69 FPS
Max 78 FPS
Min 59 FPS

Personally, I am no fan of frame gen because while the FPS numbers look higher, I still think it looks somewhat stuttery. As a general observation, I think if I don't pay that much attention to the fine details (not going to pixel peep), FSR and DLSS looks pretty ok to me. Where it was apparant that FSR is doing comparatively worst is in the rendering of the flowing water, which looks somewhat low in quality. It is quite obvious for me and therefore, something to call out.

While the benchmark was running, I took a look at the CPU and RAM usage using the System Monitor tool in Linux Mint.
CPU ~60 to 70% usage
RAM (16GB) ~ below 70% with my Firefox browser and System Monitor tool running in the background.

Overall, I think this is a pretty good experience. I can't find a like for like system running Windows to compare, but looking online, I think the results are quite close.

 

[watzup_ken]

Anyway, for folks that are only focused on gaming, I can also recommend installing Bazzite OS. Steam is well optimized on it, and all the necessary gaming related software are preinstalled. I am running this Linux OS on my mini PC with AMD APU. So far so good.

 

[tsteo77]

Bazzite OS

Just got back from both sengkang and IMH hosptital after 11 days of stays due to electronics harassment. Hope i won't get hospitalization soon.

@watzup_ken​

Anyway, good efforts for recommending linux as a best gaming os. I tried a few linux OS.
I'm still looking out for an linux OS which is as easy as windows and most compatible with softwares and ,y favourite playwares (games).

 

[watzup_ken]

Just got back from both sengkang and IMH hosptital after 11 days of stays due to electronics harassment. Hope i won't get hospitalization soon.

@watzup_ken​

Anyway, good efforts for recommending linux as a best gaming os. I tried a few linux OS.
I'm still looking out for an linux OS which is as easy as windows and most compatible with softwares and ,y favourite playwares (games).

Oh dear, I hope you are better now. May be try and abstain social media or any comms type of site from time to time.

Anyway to your question, it depends which is your primary and secondary requirement.
- For gaming first, then I think Bazzite may be more straightforward since its configured for handheld gaming PC/ console in mind, and less tinkering to get some stuff setup/ installed. I have Bazzite on a Mini PC and I just plug my controller in, and hardly use a keyboard and mouse with it. It just functions like a gaming console now.

- Linux mint will be more like a good overall OS. Its clean and feature rich. Gaming require some tinkering as shown the video in my second post. Hence, if you are not that savvy with using terminal and expecting some sort of " it needs to work out of the box" solution, then it is still worth trying, but I just want to manage expectations. Most Windows users are used to the readily available features on it.

 

[youtube2021]

work laptop - Zorin OS
game htpc - Bazzite OS


Pay And Pay... all the way!

 

[stillgottheblues]

Deepin 23 as almost all distros are too ulgy out of the box. Secondly, it handles multiple languages out of the box. Thirdly, fingerprint and face unlock works on deepin.

Gamers can try cachy os and endeavor os, both Arch based.