Best OS for gaming, and why?

[Mr. Marvell]

What the title says - plead your case, I'm curious.
(This is extremely broad of a question, please consider the nuance.)

[Dutchgamer1982]

well fact remains.. windows 10 and 11 are NOT what users want... and gamers.. usually quite loyal to windows.. tend to stick to windows 7 or move to linux.

this should be a signal to windows that what they should release is a windows version that is like windows 7.,. free of all the crap that we not want.. and with the features that have been cut out...

if they keep ramming this privacy intrucing crap.. I only see more and more people ditching windows... until they don't even have the everybody uses it cause everybody uses it advantage anymore.... it is quite simply not what people want...

where windows for eons had over 99% userbase on pc.. they now have declined to just 89%... with 5% on macOS (yes even on non mac systems) and 6% and growing on linux...
and those are numbers from januari 2024.. most likely when the new numbers come in.. the decline has increased.. some hint windows use already is as low as 83%.,. with macOS risen to 6% and linux to 11%...
this should worry microsoft and send the signal their windows 12 better be not like 10 and 11 or they might find themselves out of the game very soon..

it gotten to the point not even all prebuild pc's are sold with windows by default anymore.. which should send signals to ms HQ they are doing something wrong...

they could get away with a LOAD of predatory stuff.. due the fact that well who wants to use the one os nobody else uses.. but that homefield advantage is FINALLY eroding.. and the erosion is speeding up...

with over 10% linux users.. and growing it will become more standard for programs to have native linux support... and that in turn will lower the need to use windows... which in turn will make more people jump to linux as the "my program not works on linux" argument gets weaker and weaker...

[BurakZG]

Originally posted by Dutchgamer1982:

well fact remains.. windows 10 and 11 are NOT what users want... and gamers.. usually quite loyal to windows....

it gotten to the point not even all prebuild pc's are sold with windows by default anymore.. which should send signals to ms HQ they are doing something wrong...

This is a bit funny. As a "dutch gamer" you should know: "wie betaald, wie bepaald" (the one who is paying can decide).
Gamers are NOT clients for Microsoft.
End users of Windows are NOT clients for Microsoft.

Corpos (big employers) are clients of Microsoft. They pay big money for Windows licences.
Big laptop and desktops manufacturers (HP, Lenovo, Dell...) are clients for Microsoft.

Microsoft couldn't care less about what gamers or end-users think about WIndows, because they don't pay for it.

[Ontrix_Kitsune]

Originally posted by r.linder:

There are good outliers like, more recently, GTA V (online) which brought in BattlEye to deal with cheating, and Rockstar completely refused to toggle support for Wine/Proton which leaves Linux users out of GTA V online and potentially GTA VI as well

I've tried to help explain that to people in the GTAV forums but for some reason folks refuse to understand, it seems you're included so I'll give a try to see if I can help educate you about that game: Rockstar is not concerned at all if their game works in Linux because that is not in their list of supported operating systems for that game. They are *ONLY* concerned if their recent update to the game works in Windows. Which it does work perfectly fine in Windows. If it doesn't work in Linux after their update then tough cookies. If people want to play the game online then they should be playing the game in the operating system it requires to function correctly.

No one using Linux should be complaining about the game suddenly not working correctly in Linux. GTA-V was *NEVER* supported under Linux. It was never supposed to run in Linux at all. Not even years ago back in 2015 -> 2024. It's Valve + The Linux Community that figured out how to get it to work in Linux. They did it before and they can do it again some day. Everyone needs to complain to the steam Linux forums about GTA-V and also complain to the Linux community at large, NOT Rockstar. They are the ones that can get that game working in Linux again.

I will never understand the Linux community at all in regards to games: "This game that wasn't supposed to work in Linux suddenly stopped working in Linux after an update and I'm mad now." ... 😂

[De Hollandse Ezel]

Originally posted by BurakZG:

Originally posted by Dutchgamer1982:

well fact remains.. windows 10 and 11 are NOT what users want... and gamers.. usually quite loyal to windows....

it gotten to the point not even all prebuild pc's are sold with windows by default anymore.. which should send signals to ms HQ they are doing something wrong...

This is a bit funny. As a "dutch gamer" you should know: "wie betaald, wie bepaald" (the one who is paying can decide).
Gamers are NOT clients for Microsoft.
End users of Windows are NOT clients for Microsoft.

Corpos (big employers) are clients of Microsoft. They pay big money for Windows licences.
Big laptop and desktops manufacturers (HP, Lenovo, Dell...) are clients for Microsoft.

Microsoft couldn't care less about what gamers or end-users think about WIndows, because they don't pay for it.

my 120 guilders win 95, 140 guilders win 98, 350 guilders win xp.. and 350 euro win 7 full retail licences (all ultimate/professional whaterver was highest) mind to differ....

yeah I felt a bit scammed when starting with xp full retail was no longer default.. but you got a oem that was 25% cheaper.. or the same licence as you always had full retail for 3 times as much...

but if the windows is bad.. I aint spending at al....

oh I DID spend 350 euro to extend my windows 7 support 3 more years.. that should have send a message too...

and while you are correct for prebuilds.. custom builds after all are a small market percentages

like i said already you do see prebuilds with linux being sold... not many but there is a start.. like 5% of them now come with linux as an option.. and 2% linux exclusive.. and that share IS growing too.

when I state that only 83% of systems run windows.. that INCLUDES all those prebuilds.... which is a sign on the wall... sure some might have been sold as windows systems and had it removed and linux installed..

but as that happens don't you know that manufacturers selling laptops that overheat cause proper cooling costed 2 euro more material... would spend anything on a windows licence if they could get away selling laptops with a FREE linux preinstalled?

which is exactly what is slowly but steady starting to happen... soon it be linux standard on prebuilds sure we CAN instal windows but that will cost you extra...and than that option will be gone alltogether... it's a snowball.. and 99% o 83% seems a small decline.. but it is massive in the snowball effect.... as in the speed of decline will increase... and becomes self-reinforcing after a point we may already have passed..

[Quint]

Originally posted by BlackBloodRum:

Originally posted by Quint:

None of this matters. Companies can't do anything to Linux users as Linux is open source. And Linux is not managed by a company. Sure, some distros might be (see Ubuntu) but all distros are pretty much the same under the hood so moving from one distro to another is not a problem. Whereas on Windows it's a pain in the ass.

Yes and no.

Yes, you can switch distros to avoid it and yes you could use a privacy friendly one.

No, they could demand certain games can only run on distributions where a specific kernel module is loaded if they wished (Providing kernel level anti-cheat). This could be done via "Steam OS" as the easiest option.

Games work on all distributions, currently. But that's because there is nothing stopping it, it wouldn't take much to stop "unapproved" distributions from running them, though I'm sure the community would find ways to make them work.

And no, not all distributions are the same under the hood. I wish people would stop saying this. There are many differences between the distributions if you dig deep enough. From a user perspective it may feel the same from a usage perspective, but underneath there can be many differences, for example some distributions apply patches to the kernel, they may apply different distro-specific patches to packages to fix bugs, etc.

Measures can be taken to prevent that. Steam is the biggest gaming platform by far. IF Valve's SteamOS eventually releases, they could mandate the Linux ports of games to function under SteamOS. Obviously this assumes that SteamOS by default is an ideal, open system.

What I mean by under the hood is that they all use the same kernel and are able to run pretty much the same suite of apps and programs. They actually are different under the hood but I was talking about it in a simplified way for the ease of understanding.

[Quint]

The question is, will devs choose to make Linux ports that will comply with Valve's (my completely fictional) requirements or will they simply make it run via Proton and get on with their day?

[DonMcK]

Originally posted by Quint:

The question is, will devs choose to make Linux ports that will comply with Valve's (my completely fictional) requirements or will they simply make it run via Proton and get on with their day?

Probably not the dev's call, they don't pay for development and maintenance of the code. It's the people with the money that will make the decision.

[De Hollandse Ezel]

Originally posted by Quint:

Originally posted by BlackBloodRum:

Yes and no.

Yes, you can switch distros to avoid it and yes you could use a privacy friendly one.

No, they could demand certain games can only run on distributions where a specific kernel module is loaded if they wished (Providing kernel level anti-cheat). This could be done via "Steam OS" as the easiest option.

Games work on all distributions, currently. But that's because there is nothing stopping it, it wouldn't take much to stop "unapproved" distributions from running them, though I'm sure the community would find ways to make them work.

And no, not all distributions are the same under the hood. I wish people would stop saying this. There are many differences between the distributions if you dig deep enough. From a user perspective it may feel the same from a usage perspective, but underneath there can be many differences, for example some distributions apply patches to the kernel, they may apply different distro-specific patches to packages to fix bugs, etc.

Measures can be taken to prevent that. Steam is the biggest gaming platform by far. IF Valve's SteamOS eventually releases, they could mandate the Linux ports of games to function under SteamOS. Obviously this assumes that SteamOS by default is an ideal, open system.

What I mean by under the hood is that they all use the same kernel and are able to run pretty much the same suite of apps and programs. They actually are different under the hood but I was talking about it in a simplified way for the ease of understanding.

steam unwanted drm that robs you off game ownership and renders them unplayable..

you most defitly do NOT want steam OS

[Lixire]

Originally posted by Dutchgamer1982:

well fact remains.. windows 10 and 11 are NOT what users want... and gamers.. usually quite loyal to windows.. tend to stick to windows 7 or move to linux.

this should be a signal to windows that what they should release is a windows version that is like windows 7.,. free of all the crap that we not want.. and with the features that have been cut out...

if they keep ramming this privacy intrucing crap.. I only see more and more people ditching windows... until they don't even have the everybody uses it cause everybody uses it advantage anymore.... it is quite simply not what people want...

where windows for eons had over 99% userbase on pc.. they now have declined to just 89%... with 5% on macOS (yes even on non mac systems) and 6% and growing on linux...
and those are numbers from januari 2024.. most likely when the new numbers come in.. the decline has increased.. some hint windows use already is as low as 83%.,. with macOS risen to 6% and linux to 11%...
this should worry microsoft and send the signal their windows 12 better be not like 10 and 11 or they might find themselves out of the game very soon..

it gotten to the point not even all prebuild pc's are sold with windows by default anymore.. which should send signals to ms HQ they are doing something wrong...

they could get away with a LOAD of predatory stuff.. due the fact that well who wants to use the one os nobody else uses.. but that homefield advantage is FINALLY eroding.. and the erosion is speeding up...

with over 10% linux users.. and growing it will become more standard for programs to have native linux support... and that in turn will lower the need to use windows... which in turn will make more people jump to linux as the "my program not works on linux" argument gets weaker and weaker...

Gamers tend to stick to Windows 7? Huh?
New games flat out don't run on 7 anymore as they require 10 1909 minimum for the most part.
a lot of existing online games also dumped Windows 7 support years ago. We got to the point that even LoL doesn't run on 7 anymore

Also Windows market share did drop for a couple of years. Macbooks generally became far more popular with the release of Apple Silicon that you can buy a laptop with great battery life and good performance for actually a decent price
On the low end, you have Chromebooks within the education market or users with such minimal computer needs that all they need is a web browser and those are extremely cheap machines
Kiosks and screens that show ads and information? You don't need Windows for it. can use a low end board and run Android on it for free without any licencing costs attached to it

Even if a future Windows 12 release that is perfect from start to finish. it won't increase Windows's market share as there are simply more efficient and cheaper ways to do things today compared to back in the 2000s.

[The_Abortionator]

Originally posted by ᛗᚱᛗᚨᚱᚠᛖᛚᛚ:

Originally posted by Zef:

What kind of smoothbrain level of question is this?

There is only 1 proper gaming OS on PC and that's windows.

The differences in performance between 10 & 11 are for the majority negligible.

If we're talking about linux distro's probably the most idiot proof setup is something like bazzite, which improves on steamOS with even more current kernel and drivers while keeping the immutable os configuration.

https://bazzite.gg/

Relax, I didn't mean for it to be taken seriously, and I agree with you for the most part. I just posted this because I was curious to see different perspectives on it. The main things to take into account are just overall resource economy and compatible stability. Windows trumps stability obviously, but has disappointing resource use on idle, while Linux trumps resource economy but has stability issues, maybe there's a middle ground I don't know of.
Smoothbrain level question indeed, but without it I wouldn't have known Bazzite was a thing, so thanks for that, brother.

What makes people think this?

What makes kids think Linux has stability issues? Like for real?

Linux servers run for decades with zero issues.

Meanwhile insurance companies require you restart your Windows servers routinely or they won't cover you.

This school yard myth your guys have is so bizarre.

[The_Abortionator]

Originally posted by ᛗᚱᛗᚨᚱᚠᛖᛚᛚ:

Originally posted by PopinFRESH:

Wut? You think Windows is more stable than Linux? What nonsense site did you get your information from? The primary benefit of Windows over Linux is software (games) compatibility; not because it is more stable than Linux.

Your original question ignores what types of games are being discussed. For a very broad generalized answer with game compatibility in mind; Windows 11 24H2. If all your games are supported via proton and don't have anti-cheat that developers refuse to implement on Linux then there are several Linux options available that would work better than Windows.

By stability I just mean overall compatibility with games, and therefore how stable it can run without issues, I say that having used Linux before, and gaming on it a lot, and generally speaking your average game requires a lot of finesse and tweaking to run smoothly without any issues - even with native support or a solid Proton/Wine layer it yielded a handful of issues on some games; issues that Windows doesn't have out of the box, and yes - I did just mean broad gaming as a whole.
I get this is a very general question, but really I mean this more as a topic for discussion - I wasn't looking for a dead-narrow answer. Just a broad spectrum of opinions and their reasoning behind it.

I just click install then click play. Thats it. Hell, running under Linux games like GTA4 are more stable and Borderlands 2 sees a 200% performance boost vs Windows.

MaxPayne requires mods to fix the audio in cutscenes in Windows but not Linux.

Linux also no longer suffers from shader bugs in games as they now compile 50,000% (yes real number) faster in Linux than Windows.

[The_Abortionator]

Originally posted by Ontrix_Kitsune:

Originally posted by r.linder:

There are good outliers like, more recently, GTA V (online) which brought in BattlEye to deal with cheating, and Rockstar completely refused to toggle support for Wine/Proton which leaves Linux users out of GTA V online and potentially GTA VI as well

I've tried to help explain that to people in the GTAV forums but for some reason folks refuse to understand, it seems you're included so I'll give a try to see if I can help educate you about that game: Rockstar is not concerned at all if their game works in Linux because that is not in their list of supported operating systems for that game. They are *ONLY* concerned if their recent update to the game works in Windows. Which it does work perfectly fine in Windows. If it doesn't work in Linux after their update then tough cookies. If people want to play the game online then they should be playing the game in the operating system it requires to function correctly.

No one using Linux should be complaining about the game suddenly not working correctly in Linux. GTA-V was *NEVER* supported under Linux. It was never supposed to run in Linux at all. Not even years ago back in 2015 -> 2024. It's Valve + The Linux Community that figured out how to get it to work in Linux. They did it before and they can do it again some day. Everyone needs to complain to the steam Linux forums about GTA-V and also complain to the Linux community at large, NOT Rockstar. They are the ones that can get that game working in Linux again.

I will never understand the Linux community at all in regards to games: "This game that wasn't supposed to work in Linux suddenly stopped working in Linux after an update and I'm mad now." ... 😂

What a bunch of garbage. They should be mad, and why not. R* took 2 years to bring GTA5 to PC, they took YEARS to have heists which was promised on release, they kept lowering performance in the name of stopping cheaters (which didn't stop cheaters), they still dont use dedicated servers, they have their AC be Linux compatible only to remove compatibility by switching to an anticheat thats SUPPORTS LINUX but refuse to do so in the name of fighting cheating which has had ZERO IMPACT on stopping cheaters.

Like, if you dont understand that then thats on you.

[Ontrix_Kitsune]

Originally posted by The_Abortionator:

I just click install then click play.

You just demonstrated to everyone that you don't use Linux. That is so far from the reality of gaming in Linux that your comment is completely laughable. Every game installed in Linux has to be fixed, modified, modded, try 1 of the 16+ different proton versions, give up and install packages in terminal windows, etc, etc, all to try and make it work. Then after all of that effort and time there's still no guarantee that the game you want to play will ever even start up or play at all, or if it does run that it will work normally.

Nothing in Linux for gaming is ever "click install and click play". I've tried many different versions of Linux on my modern gaming computer (Ryzen 5800X + RTX 3070 Ti) and spent over a week trying to get my favorite games in my steam library to ever run on Linux. I found multiple games in my steam library that will never run in Linux no matter how much faffing about I did or what I installed or what proton version I used. Nothing could be done to make them work in Linux. If I used Linux daily then I would just have to give up being able to play certain games entirely.

Originally posted by The_Abortionator:

Thats it. Hell, running under Linux games like GTA4 are more stable and Borderlands 2 sees a 200% performance boost vs Windows.

Originally posted by The_Abortionator:

Linux also no longer suffers from shader bugs in games as they now compile 50,000% (yes real number) faster in Linux than Windows.

Those are some very bold claims. Please provide us a link to somewhere on the internet that backs up your numbers and your claims with information.

Originally posted by The_Abortionator:

What a bunch of garbage. They should be mad, and why not. R* took 2 years to bring GTA5 to PC, they took YEARS to have heists which was promised on release, they kept lowering performance in the name of stopping cheaters (which didn't stop cheaters), they still dont use dedicated servers, they have their AC be Linux compatible only to remove compatibility by switching to an anticheat thats SUPPORTS LINUX but refuse to do so in the name of fighting cheating which has had ZERO IMPACT on stopping cheaters.

Like, if you dont understand that then thats on you.

Tell you didn't read my words you just quoted again... 😂

As I said above in my words where you quoted me (Why do I have to repeat myself like this?): Rockstar NEVER did anything to make the game compatible with Linux. Literally nothing. Rockstar games never has and never will do anything for GTA-V to make it work in Linux. It was Valve and The Linux Community that figured out how to make GTA-V work in Linux. NOT ROCKSTAR.

Every person using Linux that plays a Windows game in Linux knows that said Windows game can (and probably will) release a patch at any point in time that will make that game suddenly not work on Linux anymore. This goes for ALL windows games run on Linux. Sometimes Windows games get patched then they don't work anymore on Linux at all. When that happens Linux users just don't get to play that game anymore until someone else in the Linux community fixes Linux to be able to play that game again. That's just a fact of life of gaming on Linux.

[Çapgun]

Originally posted by Electric Cupcake:

Originally posted by Çapgun:

SteamOS is only available on the Deck, Bazzite is made to be similar to SteamOS and works on most machines.

Bazzite hmm. Never heart but looked. Has future.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OwWRCrGoXV0

Didn't Valve officially release Steam OS for other handhelds? No Bazzite needed. [/quote]
Yes there is iso image.

[Çapgun]

Originally posted by Ontrix_Kitsune:

Originally posted by ᛗᚱᛗᚨᚱᚠᛖᛚᛚ:

What the title says - plead your case, I'm curious.

Windows XP was the best. Microsoft peaked during the XP days. Nothing since has offered an actual improvement over XP, only adding bloat no one wants.

Correct. Xp has better hw efficiency but dropped for 7. Win 7 has better Multicore cpu compatibility and d3d11 api.