What Distro are you running?

[SamwiseRed]

Everytime I get froggy and format my HD I usually try to go full time Linux user. The problem I always have with it besides gaming is that it always feels sluggish. No matter how much ram or CPU i have, Windows 7/XP always seems to run alot faster. I read that this could be due to how Win7 preloads alot of things into RAM making things faster when you access them. Anyways just wanted to know what you guys are using and if you have any advice.

Right now running Mint 16 with Cinnamon (64 bit). it is not too bad but it just feels sluggish at times. it does run TF2 decently (just horrid load times) so i cant complain. I am thinking about switching back over to Ubuntu or maybe something new.

Note: Id like it to run steam games with as minimal problems as possible so i will probably be using some form of ubuntu no matter what. I will also be using this distro for java development. i dont think the java thing will be a problem with any distro but maybe there is one who has a few perks over the others for it?

[r00t]

I've always felt linux is much more responsive than windows. Even gaming, I get better framerates in Wine. The distro doesn't matter too much to me as I've tried a few and always just end up stripping the default programs for my creature comforts. To this end I like arch linux, but if I'm going for a quick setup will use Ubuntu (wubi installer is nice). My favorite desktop is XFCE and I can't stand the new Gnome or KDE even though I love Qt.

I don't think your choice of distro will effect java too much (altho a new version of the JDK [not the JRE which annoyingly bugs you to update almost weekly] was just released and might not have packages for every obscure distro yet)

[SamwiseRed]

i was reading that some people had problems with cinnamon itself. ive actually never used kde or gnome. i think when i had ubuntu i used theirs (unity?) hmm maybe i should just look at changing my desktop environment instead.

ill look into xfce and post my specs, maybe this machine just sucks.

[r00t]

XFCE is great for machines without the greatest hardware, but so simple and slick so I use it on my supercomputer. Unity is a major step backwards for Linux desktops and is the first thing gone when I install ubuntu. They poorly copied windows 8 type thinking, which is awful in itself

[SamwiseRed]

for sure cinnamon runs alot better than unity. i hated it. i only have 4 gigs of ram and a 2.2 dual core cpu. if i might ask, do you have an ati or nvidia gfx card? right now im running a nvidia and i wonder if perhaps bad drivers could be a problem.

[SamwiseRed]

ah there is an xfce for mint. ive never actually changed desktop environment from one to another without reinstalling. gonna check it out. thanks.

[LulzSect]

http://houseofd.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/linux_vs_pc_mac.jpg

[r00t]

I have an Nvidia - evga gtx 780 ti so even shitty drivers couldn't slow it down.

I got better frames on my laptop using Linux with an Intel HD 3000 only

[SamwiseRed]

installed xfce and i do notice a difference. pras.

[r00t]

Pras

[Rettj]

Powerful

[stormlord]

Have you tried Lubuntu:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubuntu

Please note I haven't tried Linux yet, but OMG I'm closer to trying it than I've ever been.

I've probably try Mint or KDE.

General link about gaming in Linux:
http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm?feature=3410&bhcp=1

Another about Linux-friendly MMO's:
mmohuts.com/editorials/linux-mmorpgs

As a Wurm Online player for 2 years, I'd recommend it, as long as it doesn't crash for you. It has corpse runs and no gps on its in-game map and no mini-radars. It feels like an old school game, but it's much more than an old school game. It's more like a upgraded Ultima Online, and UO was well ahead of its time.

It's clearly not a popular game because it has so little hand holding, and lots of grind. However, I loved it when I played it in 2012 and it's easily the best MMO I've ever played. It eclipses EQ 1. I think it's a better game if you play it alone after joining a village, but it's also a lot harder to play alone. It's important to join a village when you first start to learn how the game works. Why is it better alone afterwards? I think when you join villages the game becomes grindier because there're less things to do. In villages and cities, it becomes much more about digging huge trenches and building/imping endless floors and walls and specializing in just a few skills. Villages tend to be deeded too which means there's no real threat from monsters because of deed guards. Despite all that, it's still good to join villages off and on (like for social reasons), especially on pvp servers. Beyond that, the game also has some epic pvp servers where there're almost no rules.

(just sayin all this because it's Linux-friendly)

[Orruar]

I use the Windows 7 distro, because I want a computer where installing any new software doesn't take all night and a few cups of coffee. I also like being able to play pretty much any game ever made without much hassle.

[r00t]

I use the Windows 7 distro, because I want a computer where installing any new software doesn't take all night and a few cups of coffee. I also like being able to play pretty much any game ever made without much hassle.

Installing new software on linux doesnt take all night. In fact, Linux package managers are much easier and efficient to use than windows installers. I mean this in a big way too, such as setting up a server in the enterprise with all the libraries and bells and whistles you need on it. Simple example: one command line to set up LAMP vs. having to go through like 420 install screens to set up WAMP.

Also Wine plays pretty much every game without much hassle. Certainly every modern game.

[LulzSect]

http://www.graffitiwithpunctuation.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/tljncfom.jpeg

[moklianne]

Also Wine plays pretty much every game without much hassle. Certainly every modern game.

Some MMO's cheat detection engine's don't play nice with WINE or virtualization at all. Lineage 2 had a serious issue with WINE years ago. You just have to be aware and not simply jump in head first.

On Linux itself, I use Ubuntu for my MythTV back and front ends, simply for the great community support. If you don't know the ins and outs of Linux, you may never find a solution to your issue on your own and need community support. If you are using a distro that not many use, well, you may be out of luck.

Does WINE have a directx wrapper? When I was using it, for any type of acceptable performance I had to use OpenGL and most games are designed with one or the other in mind, not both.

[Rettj]

Which one is best for p99+"desktop apps"?

[Hailto]

Did you ever come back after rage quitting from dying in Unrest naez?

[khanable]

osx distro cause i'm civilized and like my printers to work

[Orruar]

Installing new software on linux doesnt take all night. In fact, Linux package managers are much easier and efficient to use than windows installers. I mean this in a big way too, such as setting up a server in the enterprise with all the libraries and bells and whistles you need on it. Simple example: one command line to set up LAMP vs. having to go through like 420 install screens to set up WAMP.

Also Wine plays pretty much every game without much hassle. Certainly every modern game.

There are an insane number of problems with using Wine with modern games. When I was doing work to get PhysX up and running on a linux system, I came across no shortage of people upset that they spent $60 on a game they couldn't really use because of a problem with Wine or their particular distro. If you need a computer to just do a few simple tasks reliably, Linux is the way to go. Otherwise, it's way more hassle than its worth.

[r00t]

Does WINE have a directx wrapper? When I was using it, for any type of acceptable performance I had to use OpenGL and most games are designed with one or the other in mind, not both.

Wine has a thin layer that simply maps direct3d calls directly to do their openGL equivalents. A number of other libraries are used to port the entire directx framework (OIS for input I think, etc).

I will say that some rendering/game engines that do optimize for directx a lot better and that is where you may see some framerate benefit, but generally the benefit of using *nix over windows (way less resource intensive) makes the difference a matter of subjective opinion.

osx distro cause i'm civilized and like my printers to work

props to apple for making CUPS. I think pretty much any distro can install it tho

Did you ever come back after rage quitting from dying in Unrest naez?

yea in upper guk will be online tomorrow need twink+PL

There are an insane number of problems with using Wine with modern games. When I was doing work to get PhysX up and running on a linux system, I came across no shortage of people upset that they spent $60 on a game they couldn't really use because of a problem with Wine or their particular distro. If you need a computer to just do a few simple tasks reliably, Linux is the way to go. Otherwise, it's way more hassle than its worth.

Linus Torvalds' opinion of Nvidia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_36yNWw_07g

To "do a few simple tasks reliably" is funny when you consider Linux and BSD dominate 99% of the supercomputer market share (top 10 all using Linux (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOP500#Top_10_ranking)), simply because Windows cannot do simple tasks let alone complex ones reliably

[Orruar]

Supercomputers use Linux because they need reliability over usability.

And what's up with Linux fans and their idolatry of everything Linus Torvalds has ever said? It's disturbing.

[r00t]

Actually I don't agree with everything Linus says. I think it's stupid that he very openly and wrongly bashes C++ for compatibility concerns, yet hodgepodged platform-specific assembly code that could have easily just been C everywhere in the kernel for no real reason.

I linked that video because it was pertinent to your physx problem: he says Nvidia is the worst manufacturers to work with when getting drivers on Linux. He also noted that now they're trying to get into the android market, making them super douchey.

[Orruar]

I didn't bash Linux for having shoddy PhysX support, since it's not totally their fault and anyone who has dealt with Nvidia development support knows how much they suck. I only mentioned that I had worked with it because that's when I was in the shadowy underworld of gaming forums with the corpses of games that don't work on Linux strewn about on every other thread. This was all to make the point that your "Wine plays pretty much every game without much hassle" theory is pretty obviously false to anyone who has ever ventured into the realm of gaming on Linux.

[r00t]

I would not have made the same statement 3 years ago. ps there are native GPU drivers for physx for Linux, written by nvidia themselves

[SamwiseRed]

argueing to naez about anything in the computer field is gonna get your ass forumquested. pras.

[radditsu]

osx distro cause i'm civilized and like my printers to work

Printers? This is 2014.

[radditsu]

I have seriously thought about pulling the trigger ona linux build for awhile. Then I fight our zimbra server for about an hour and decide not to.

[LulzSect]

http://i.imgur.com/tTW3cT5.jpg

[SamwiseRed]

edit: fixed

[Azure]

http://www.slackware.com/~msimons/slackware/grfx/shared/SWtuxgnu.png

[Rellapse40]

http://i.imgur.com/tTW3cT5.jpg

fucking lold

[LulzSect]

Check out this sperglord discussion:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7720219

[a_gnoll_pup]

Install Gentoo.

[SamwiseRed]

Install Gentoo.

ive considered it. i read that it out performs ubuntu in almost every way so i imagine it would be the same vs my linux mint (ubuntu based)

mite be fun since i havent been playing much lately. just been programming in java. fun times. yay

[Obwin]

Dual boot windows/Ubuntu on my desktop. Osx on my laptop. Game from windows most of the time, do everything else in Ubuntu, I like having the terminal and being able to google and getting shit done/ installed / updated in a flash .

[Azure]

You nerds running gentoo need to get with the times.

https://www.archlinux.org/

is almost as powerful and much less hassle then gentoo to get rolling.

by power, arch compiles for your architecture and lets the installer have total control of libs and packages etc... it's just a hell of a lot better automated and let's you skip shit you don't need compiled/perfect for your system, stuff that is overkill.

p.s. gentoo and arch are too much effort, that's why I let Patrick Volkerding do all the work ) and slack.

[SamwiseRed]

arch vs gentoo... FIGHT

also anyone ever try any of the BSDs? i always get turned off by their community. they almost as bad as mactards, at least thats what it seemed like when i did some research.

[Azure]

think gentoo would probably win in a duel to the death with no rules a la mortal kombat by a slim margin just because it is the most flexible distro that I know of outside of DIY

[SamwiseRed]

ye that linux from scratch always seemed like a cool idea. maybe one day when i harness the power of computer knowledge ill try it.