I’ve ordered myself some parts to build a PC for Linux gaming. In the meantime, i’m deciding on which linux distro to use.
For the desktop environment I typically use KDE.
I have used Ubuntu in the past but i’m ruling it out because of snaps and other such annoyances. This also applies to Ubuntu based distros that use the same repos (KDE Neon etc).
I see the wikis recommend Nobara, but I’m reluctant to use a Fedora based distro because I’m so used to Debian/apt (both as a desktop and server distros). I’m not ruling it out completely though.
Any reason why I shouldn’t just go with Debian + KDE and install Steam? Will I be missing out on lots of performance improvements or is this easily addressed by using an additional repo for a tweaked kernel and proton version or whatever?
For Gaming Debian SID if you want Debian.
No, don’t use Sid. No one should run it on a system they expect to work.
Debian has 3 phases stable, testing & unstable.
Debian Unstable is the initial gate for pulling in new code, applications need to not break everything in that environment before they can be moved to testing. A freeze is periodically applied to testing and RC/Major bugs are identified/fixed and Stable is released
Sid is the naughty child in Toy Story who destroys things. Debian uses Toy Story characters to name things and so Unstable got the nickname Sid.
If you have newly released hardware you might need an updated kernel. This can be found via backports.
Similarly Mesa covers the graphics drivers, you can pull the latest from backports, again you only need to do this if your graphics card is too new.
As someone who runs Debian Stable with KDE, it works great for gaming
I used to run Debian Testing and it’s fine, most of the time. I recommend using the named next release so you don’t get a ton of new packages when the testing freeze lifts (and thus a lot of potential breakage), and to only go to testing if you actually need something from it.
I’m on a rolling release now (Tumbleweed), but I’m familiar enough with Debian to whole-heartedly recommend it.
You’re talking about Debian experimental, Debian experimental > Sid > Testing > Stable, Sid is about the Same as Arch, or Fedora around new release’s a lot of people only use Sid and testing they’re only a few days apart, it is a common used OS for Desktops/Gaming, OP was asking about Debian and a Fedora based OS.
Also DD’s don’t backport Mesa anymore the Dev who did stopped years ago.
I think WINE recommend an up to date distro due to rapidly changing stuff needing up to date software and kernel. I think Debian wouldn’t be great for that. I’d personally recommend OpenSuse. Rolling, up to date and great with KDE. Good luck.
Pick what you’re comfortable with. In the end, you can get anything running in any distro. Linux is Linux. Worst case you may need to enable unstable repos or cherry pick packages from there.
Some of the “gaming” distros do include patches so if you want an out of the box experience it might make sense to pick one of those. But if you know your way around Linux, it stops mattering because your skills on your preferred distro outweighs the convenience of having it all readily available out of the box.
If you use Flatpaks, some include updated mesa/GPU drivers so the Debian base won’t even matter all that much as long as the kernel is new enough. Installing a bleeding edge kernel on Debian is usually fine if you have to as the kernel tries its best to never break userspace.
One word for you… NOBARA. ✌️
I’ve been happiest with arch, then later manjaro since I didn’t have to build it but it’s still arch.
There’s a lot more software for it with access to AUR. Personally I find it works well for me and I’ve been using arch and arch-based since 2015.
In case it wasn’t clear, I use arch btw.
Hard to take the comment seriously when there’s no reasoning behind it lol. Working fine for me for a few years now.
