I'd stay away from Manjaro, personally. They've had a number of organisational and security fuck-ups that in my opinion makes it hard to take them seriously. Once is forgivable, but when they make the same mistake 3+ times it's just completely unforgivable and unprofessional.
Plus there's the whole "we hold Arch packages back two weeks but not AUR packages" - which means there could be dependency issues if you like installing stuff from AUR. In fairness though, they do request that users do not install AUR software on their site, so people do get warned about that.
Endeavour is good. If I was to go back to an Arch distro, it's what I'd use hands-down. Fundamentally just Arch with a better installer and a nice theme.
I'd also consider something Fedora based, like Fedora (duh), or Bazzite (if you want an atomic/immutable OS). Up-to-date, extensively tested. Bazzite even allows you to install it with out-of-the-box Gamescope support (in simple terms, you get some of the performance options and performance overlays that the steam deck has).
See also another source for the same.
I can vouch for Fedora, I used plenty of distros from Arch to Ubuntu (and many of it's forks) and even weird outliers like Solus and Fedora is the most boring distro out of all of them, and I mean that in the best way. To quote a certain Todd: "It just works!" Do note you will probably want to enable RPM fusion (basically mandatory if you use nVidia) to get access to useful non open source and license encumbered packages Fedora can't ship by default (like media codecs). Other than that, install Steam and whatever other launchers you want and enjoy a boring, reliable distro.
Manjaro was the first distro I used and it happened twice that it wouldn't boot anymore just because I installed updates. To be fair, I did use the AUR but that's like half the reason to use Arch in the first place IMO.
After that I installed EndeavourOS and that always worked fine but nowadays I use Fedora.
If "more stable Arch" is why you're considering Manjaro, consider openSUSE Tumbleweed. They're rolling like Arch, but openQA and rebuilding everything after a compiler update seems to catch a number of issues.
If you want easier to install Arch, consider EmdeavorOS.
Manjaro is pretty much never the right answer.
Issues with using AUR was enough for me to stay clear and not recommend to people.
Not that I'd necessarily recommend Arch as something for someone just getting into Linux or anything, but if you're deadset on using something derivative, I would just recommend going with Arch.
This install scriot makes it no harder to install than anything. And the wiki is robust.
However, if you don't want to learn how your OS works, and troubleshoot fringe issues, don't use Arch.
My route into Linux I wouldn't tell others to take.
I just installed EndeavourOS on a virtual machine to see what it was like. I can confirm, it's easy. It's definitely similar to other distros. Didn't feel like Arch at all.
I can't disagree. I love Manjaro on one of my devices, a shitty old HP laptop. It runs better than any other distro on it, and it's smooth as butter (even for light gaming) even though the hardware is terrible.
But.
I've had to reinstall more than once because things broke while installing upgrades, lol
Bazzite
Haven't used it myself, but I wanted to recommend it too. I've heard it's basically SteamOS for anything that isn't a Steam Deck.
Not only that. It can either be an almost 1:1 replacement for SteamOS (if you choose the
-deckvariant), or just a normal desktop distro with a lot of gaming optimizations, like the fsync-kernel, gamescope, hardware enablement, and quite a lot of QoL improvements.It's basically a "Download the iso and begin gaming in 30 minutes"-distro.
It also ships some additional software that is optional, but quite neat. For example, I discovered
LACTthrough it, which made over a year of GPU humming gone by allowing me to set fan curves.For some diehard Arch users, it might be "bloated", but I find it just right. I never had the feeling that the included tools are useless, and those that might be (e.g. Discord, OBS, etc.) are only installed when you tick the checkbox in the installer.
Not if you play rocket league lol. Bazzite has an inexplicable bug where rocket league specifically only uses 40% of your GPU and 25% CPU regardless of any graphics settings or launch options. With occasional drops to 7-10fps.
Bazzite. I’ll now accept my ban from the moderators.
EndeavourOS is the closest to vanilla arch, so i'd recommend that. There's no good distro for gaming, as long as the packages are up to date (so no debian) it's perfectly fine.
Debian has all the packages one needs for gaming, sufficiently updated to run games just as well as the other distros. It also has a better track record of not breaking, compared to rolling distros like Arch. Please stop spreading misconceptions.
Debian has all the updated packages one needs for gaming just as well as the other distros.
Yes and no, but I agree with the overall sentiment. Debian is entirely fine for gaming.
EndeavourOS is what got me to daily drive Linux finally.
The installation is easy, it's got sane defaults and pre-installs most common dependencies.
A distro that comes with the latest video drivers.
I'd give Nobara a try. I've been using it for about 2 years and it's been pretty seamless. Already comes with a bunch of Linux gaming related software, like Steam, Lutris, Proton-up, etc.
It also has a bunch of gaming performance patches automatically installed.
If you're not technically inclined at all and want a console style experience, Bazzite is probably your best bet.
All that said, most mainstream distros will give you a fine gaming experience, you just might have to do some manual fiddling and installing yourself depending on the distro and the games you're playing.
Hannah Montana Linux
Ah, a connoisseur.
Whatever works best for you. No distro is fundamentally better suited for gaming than others.
Archlinux
Imo. You shouldn't worry about "which distro is best for gaming" since they are all the same under the hood (mostly). There are no real performance benefits with different distros, so just pick one that feels and looks the best for you. I've heard that PopOS seems to be quite friendly for newcomers so it should be a good place to start exploring.
Pop!_OS is a bit too out of date in my opinion, the packages are super stale as it's based on Ubuntu 22.04! It certainly worked fine when I used it for a few months while trying to decide what distro was next. I used it briefly and enjoyed a lot of how System76 handles the Pop!_OS DE. However, so much of the software is trapped many versions behind of what is current in the Linux space...I can't be certain System76 was backporting fixes to these old ass program versions because I did have odd issues from time to time. Nothing system breaking, just annoying to deal with.
However, even System76 has finally started to offer Ubuntu 24.04 on their prebuilds, as they knew their repository is very stinky at this stage. That opens up access to modern versions of programs, access to bug fixes that make using a lot of software a smoother experience. I would recommend System76's COSMIC DE with an Ubuntu base when it is in stable; as the System76 team are bringing a lot of those handy Pop!_OS features with a brand new coat of paint and fresher (not bleeding edge) packages.
I use Nobara and I recoomend it to all my friends (the ones who like linux anyway).
while its true that really no linux distro will have any significant better game performance than another, Nobara stands out to me because its made by GloriousEggroll (the same guy who makes the protonGE patches for steam) for his dad so that his dad can have a simple no-fuss gaming computer they can use to game together.
the specific things I like about it are how it helps you get the correct graphics drivers and game/controller fixups at installation, and comes with steam preinstalled. I also like how the Nobara software updater also handles flatpaks as well as regular packages, its my one stop graphical (or CLI) shop for downloading or updating any new programs.
I also like its themes and that its based on Fedora.
Another vote for Nobara.
Everything is packed in and ready to go. No having to install extra shit, no having to download and compile shit. Its just all there, and it works.
And has been not only the smoothest, easiest experience with linux gaming that I've had.. but just in general the everyday usability is smooth, easy and great too.
My only significant complaint is that all the tech help is on a discord. Which means its not indexable, archivable, or searchable via your search engine of choice... so if you don't have discord, or if the discord goes away... So does all the knowledge base and help. but thats a complaint I have about discord in general.
Pop_OS?
Edit: Apprently the anwer is "no".
So far so good for me. I switched last week after dual booting Pop OS and Windows 10 for a few months. I used to use Mac OS X back in college and missed the interface, so Pop OS's implementation of GNOME felt good.
As for OP's question, someone else with more knowledge can answer if a specific distro has the best drivers/compatibility with games. Pop OS comes with NVIDIA drivers which works for me.
I also wanted a full desktop OS. Some of the distros will focus on being a controller-friendly frontend for gaming rather than a desktop OS.
It might be helpful to try something like Ventoy for any distros that support a live CD. You won't be able to fully test gaming performance, but Ventoy lets you try multiple distros on one disk.
Other questions for OP: What type of GPU are you using? What is your current OS?
I have good experiences with both bazzite and nobara.
Bazzite is an immutable OS though. So installing additional packages requires you layering them on top. It works differently than the traditional OS. Though if you just use it for gaming and browsing you'll likely never notice the difference.
Garuda also markets itself as a mainly gaming distro. I don't have any real experience with that. I tried it, but it didn't feel like it was for me.
I've happily used the former two though.
if I get off my lazy but I want to mess around with appimage and bazzite.
Bazzite if you want ezpz. CachyOS if you like tinkering, learning, and want to squeeze out that last bit of a peformance boost.
In summary: Choose what you want, what you have the easiest time working with.
A bit more into my own opinion-
Personally, I use Ubuntu as my gaming and productivity distro. It’s super easy to install and does everything for you (you can customize aspects of installation if you want). I’ve had issues installing Arch-Based distros on my rig, even with UEFI off. Arch-Based distros need more technical knowledge; I’ve found myself unable to dig too deep in the guts of certain aspects. The installer is truly hands-on, and due to the UEFI issue, my manual partitioning failed. It was specifically the EndeavourOS installer, which had this particular issue. Completely deleted my ability to boot Ubuntu, leading to a frantic night of reinstalling Ubuntu. I’d only suggest anything Arch related if you’re comfortable with learn by doing or have advanced experience with the inner workings of software.
For me, Ubuntu is a good middle ground that gives the user room to play, but also a stable base to build on top of. Valve's Proton Compatibility makes gaming on most distros fairly easy because a lot of the work is done for a user. I've run so many games on Ubuntu just fine using Proton. There are exceptions for older games, which have different methods to get them running on Linux.
You can also enable Flatpak on Ubuntu (using commands to install the proper dependencies to make Flatpaks work on your system). There are so many options aside from using Debs and Snaps on Ubuntu. Snaps have gotten much better over time, I find myself not having any noticeable issues now since Canonical has worked heavily on the installer.
The distro I end up recommending more, second to Ubuntu, is Linux Mint because of their onboarding new users experience. It's just as easy as Ubuntu to use, a bit aesthetically challenged though as Mint really embraces that default older Windows look. However, that familiarity helps ease new users into a Linux Distro.
Like others have said, Bazzite is a good option.The auto driver install is amazing. Had no problems with Bazzite, not like PopOs(some Driver issues with older NVDIA GPU). Only thing is the ISO's are really large (>6Gb).
Bazzite or Cachyos. One is designed for Gaming and be harder to break, One is Designed for Performance.
Bazzite has been perfect for me!
Personally gaming on Fedora without trouble. I've heard good things about Nobara - https://nobaraproject.org/author/gloriouseggroll/
I run endeavourOS and has done so for a few years already. I love it. For convenience sake I recommend you install flatpak and a kde-discover/gnome-software just for your everyday apps.
I game on a 1070ti and Nvidia is working fine for me on x11 Gnome. Give it a try :)
I've been pretty happy with Garuda Linux, Arch based. You'd be fine with near any of them though. Fedora base is amazing and stable and as well as the Arch based systems I use.
In the end it comes down to your hardware and what kind of gaming you want to do.
AMD gpus seem to work the best next with Intel GPUs. Nvidia can certainly work and be stable but has some drawbacks with Wayland from what I remember. (Maybe have been fixed?)Anticheat is a crap shoot sometimes
I’ve quite enjoyed Tuxedo OS on my gaming rig. Worked right out of the box with every game I’ve thrown at it with my Nvidia GPU.
I’ve had good luck with Garuda after nearly two decades on Ubuntu and its derivatives.
So much so that I moved my work os to it, despite the gaming bent.
Same. The default desktop style is a bit tacky but changing the style is not exactly difficult. Other than that it's just a more convenient Arch.
I'm quite new to linux gaming, and so far I've only used CachyOS and EndeavourOS.
I have a dedicated gaming computer with an AMD GPU, only one hard drive and no critical data. Both were easy to install but I just used the default options, didn't try to do anything complicated.
Performance-wise, I didn't see any difference (but I don't care enough to run benchmarks so maybe one gives me 3% more FPS than the other). I play in 1440p.
I've had a few mishaps on CachyOS regarding updates (2 years ago) so I tried EndeavourOS and it's all been smooth since then.I guess the answer to your questions depends a lot on your gaming style and on what is important to you.
If you're like me, you just want it to work and you do nothing else than gaming, then all the distros mentioned in this thread are about as good.
If you want to squeeze that extra 2 FPS, or if you want to game on older hardware, or if you also use that computer as part of your homelab... then there are going to be differences.
You might want to consider giving us more information on your needs/projects so that we can adjust our answers.Welcome to linux gaming :)
The only one i used is CachyOS so its the best out of the three
My best experience with gaming on linux was on nobara(gnome)
I made the mistake of installing Kubuntu 24.04 when I wiped Windows off my gaming machine. I regret it. It's not SO bad, but I don't like having Snaps shoved down my throat. Otherwise it's OK. And you still have great support online and tons of documentation.
The best alternative in my opinion would be Arch via the Endeavor OS distro. It's easier to install than standard Arch, it has an increasingly large community, awesome documentation (Arch Wiki), and is packages are up to date. And I think it's a rolling release? (Correct me if I'm getting)
Otherwise if you want stability, I'd suggest Debian stable. They just released a new stable version not too long ago so it's not too outdated. It's incredibly stable. However, over time the software isn't updated to the latest releases for stability's sake. It takes two years before they release a new version kinda like Ubuntu LTS.
Edit:
I should add that with flatpaks you don't really need the latest and greatest packages in your distro anymore. It's not really a big deal if you're not on the latest GNOME or KDE Plasma. It still works fine. Application wise you can get all the latest apps on Flathub anyway, regardless of distro or how outdated your Linux is.
If I need to reinstall, I'll be using Debian (stable). I don't want any hassle.
Don't game much but I'll pitch in with a different suggestion: Debian minimal install or Arch, same as for every use case.
I prefer apt based distros so I always go Debian, but with flatpak it's basically irrelevant afaik.
I've had no trouble mimicking my deck's setup and game compatibility on basically any distro, use gamescope, proton etc.
Debian isn't bleeding edge but it also just werks and with flatpak I haven't encountered any issues getting new stuff essentially totally segregated from the main OS then nuking it if anything is borked without reinstalls or any downtime.
There isn't "a best" exactly.
There are some things to consider though.
- What hardware are you using?
- Are the latest Video Drivers available for the distro you are considering?
- How much configuration do you want to do?
Its a nuanced question. There isn't a 1 size fits all approach to this.
For me, going Arch was the move. It fit my usage habits.
Intel Core i5-7300HQ, GeForce 1050 Ti. I know the proprietary Nvidia drivers work on Ubuntu-based and Fedora-based distros, and I think arch-based.
I used EndeavourOS for about a year and a half with no issues at all. Currently testing Nobara as I wanted to try something different. Again, no issues at all.
I use Zorin OS, which is based on Ubuntu. Never had to set anything extra up, just installed Steam and everything worked.
Just my opinions as I am still a Linux noob (been using it on and off for the last 15 years, but only on old hardware, and I made A LOT of mistakes):
Handheld? --> Bazzite
Desktop? --> openSUSE Tumbleweed
Manjaro, hands down.
Windows, lol
That famous Linux distro...
I'm not going to pretend that people won't have a good time gaming on Windows, but this is like someone asking for Italian food recommendations and you recommending sushi.
Presumably this person knows Windows exists. They don't need to be told about Windows.
