Tag: linux

Linux Gaming Part 2 : AMD to the Rescue?

In my latest video, I revisit my Linux gaming experiment with AMD hardware after the feedback I received on my first attempt. You can see the results here!

In that earlier video, I installed a Linux distribution called Bazzite on a gaming laptop with an Nvidia GPU and the results were disappointing compared to Windows. Many of you suggested that the real problem was Nvidia’s drivers and recommended I try an AMD GPU instead. That’s what I did this time.

For this follow-up, I set up a GMKtec Evo T1 mini PC (compensated affiliate link) with an Intel Core 9 285H paired with GMKtec’s external GPU unit, the AD-GP1 (affiliate link), on top. Inside that enclosure is an AMD RX 7600M XT with 8 GB of VRAM connected over Oculink. This is essentially the same as plugging a card into a desktop. It’s the only AMD setup I had on hand, but it seemed like a good test case, especially for those interested in eGPUs.

Bazzite installed without issues. The hardware, including the GPU, was detected automatically with no manual intervention. I should note that both the mini PC and GPU were provided free of charge by GMKtec, but they had no role in this video’s content or opinions.

For benchmarking, I started with Cyberpunk 2077 on medium settings at 1080p. On Windows, the same setup averaged 131 frames per second. On Linux with AMD, the benchmark came in at 127.77 frames per second, essentially within the margin of error. On the prior video we saw about a 20% reduction in performance running similar tests. What impressed me most was that I didn’t have to touch the command line or tweak anything—it simply worked out of the box.

Next up was No Man’s Sky. Running at 1080p with enhanced settings, the game hovered around 60 frames per second, sometimes higher. The performance felt on par with Windows, without the performance hit I saw on Nvidia.

Not everything worked perfectly. Red Dead Redemption 2, which I own on Steam, wouldn’t boot at all. Others in the Bazzite community reported similar issues, so it seems like a known compatibility problem. On the other hand, Terminator Resistance, a fun first person shooter, ran at 4K medium settings at about 60 frames per second, again comparable to Windows.

Overall, using AMD hardware brought me much closer to a plug-and-play Linux gaming experience. Many of the games I tested ran just as well as they do on Windows.

All of this reminds me of the Linux based Alienware Steam Machine I tested about a decade ago, where the promise was there but the compatibility wasn’t. Proton has changed that equation, and while not every title works, most do, and they work well. This experiment showed me that with the right hardware, Linux gaming can feel nearly turnkey similar to how it does on the Steam Deck.

Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to try AMD hardware. It made a big difference, and if you have an AMD GPU, you might find that Linux gaming works better than expected. The progress in just ten years is remarkable, and it raises the question of whether we might soon see purpose-built Linux gaming machines make a comeback.

Linux Gaming Still has a Ways to Go.. Bazzite on a Gaming Laptop Review

One of my most favorite purchases of the last couple of years is my Steam Deck. I’m amazed by how capable SteamOS is. It’s a Linux-based system, not Windows, yet it manages to run the majority of Windows games surprisingly well on very modest hardware. Much of the technology that makes that possible is also available for other Linux distributions, which led me to try installed the gaming-centric Bazzite on the Asus Strix G16 gaming laptop I recently reviewed.

You can check out my Bazzite experience in my latest video review.

Bazzite is optimized for running games on desktops, laptops, and handhelds. I selected the Asus-specific installer with Nvidia support, chose KDE for the desktop environment, and went with a standard install rather than the beta live version.

The setup process was straightforward: download the installer, flash it to a USB drive using Balena Etcher, and boot from the drive. I did run into an issue after installation where the system wouldn’t boot until I disabled Secure Boot in the BIOS. Once that was changed, Bazzite loaded into its desktop environment with Steam preinstalled.

My first test was Cyberpunk 2077, using the same settings I had used in Windows for comparison. On Windows, the benchmark averaged about 176 frames per second; on Bazzite, it was closer to 136. That drop in performance was noticeable, and the display brightness was also lower compared to Windows. There were some hardware quirks as well, such as missing keystrokes on the keyboard and reduced control over the backlighting.

Bazzite comes with Lutris for managing games from platforms beyond Steam. My GOG titles worked without issue — Space Quest IV launched quickly in ScummVM — but Epic Games titles were another story. Shenmue III and Deathloop, for example, failed to load after launching from Lutris. Steam titles generally worked fine, especially those that already run well on the Steam Deck, though most showed a performance gap compared to Windows.

This is the challenge for Linux gaming on laptops: hardware optimization. Manufacturers spend considerable time fine-tuning performance for Windows, but the same level of support often isn’t there for Linux. Consistent hardware platforms, like handheld gaming devices, seem to fare better.

While Linux gaming has come a long way and it’s impressive to see modern Windows titles running at all, my tests suggest that on a gaming laptop like the Strix G16, Windows still has the edge in performance and hardware compatibility straight out of the box.

Commenters on my video also pointed out that AMD has done much more work optimizing their drivers for Linux vs. Nvidia. So in a follow-up video I’ll test the GMKTec AMD based eGPU I reviewed a few months back connected to the GMKTec Intel Core Ultra 9 I reviewed last week.