Linux as a viable gaming OS

Linux. To many this is really just a hobbyist operating system and shouldn't be used on most computers. What are we really though? We computerists (I am keeping this word) try to get every little bit of extra speed and performance out of our computer. After you're all done configuring the 5Ghz overclocked processor tweaking RAM there is just a little bit more we can tweak. Our choice in operating systems can yield many new outlets for customization while still retaining the ability to play my games. GNU/Linux isn't just for those that hold a degree in computing, it is an operating system designed for endless tweaking, learning, and doing.

The biggest reason I switched to Linux was freedom. I could choose what everything looked like easily. There were no restrictions on how my system started. Yes I know there are programs and minor mods for windows but every bit of extra software I have to download just makes it feel incredibly slow.

So now that I am done babbling about freedom and other nonsense lets get back to giving this a try.

Where should I start? Probably the best OS to start off with, is Ubuntu. Yes it is free and it makes trying this out even easier. The other benefit is that it is one of the most popular distributions and a base for many other distributions which makes tools and tutorials widely available.

But everyone tells me only low grade indie games are available on Linux! You do get a large selection of new indie games, which is quite awesome. Big name games are also starting to make the switch. Valves devotion to Linux is a huge plus and using Debian (base of Ubuntu) as the base for their Steam OS will really help the field. War Thunder, CS:GO and Team Fortress 2 are just a few of the big names.

What is glNext and why should I be excited? glNext is the next step in opengl development. It is a graphical API that helps animate images on your screen. The reason you should be excited is backing from Valve and other developers and this will help push cross platform development. Opengl has already helped greatly with small game development and now that major players are backing it we can look for great new projects. Other supporters of glNext are also AMD and Nvidia.

So do I have to buy special hardware to run linux? No! Most distros are designed to work well right after install with minimal adjustments made by the user. In some cases it is wise to download a new graphics driver instead of using the open source one installed with the OS.

So be honest with yourself, how much more optimization can really be done on your current setup. Maybe there are a few hold outs on the windows platform. I know this for work I am required to use windows for one antiquated piece of equipment. For these purposes I dual boot and that is easily done. The Ubuntu installer offers to install along side the windows operating system and is very easy to get it up and running. For me it usually takes no more than 45 minutes start to finish with all the updates.


To get ideas on different desktops, tools, workflows, and designs check out unixporn. This stuff may still be fairly advanced for you yet but it is always a good idea to set goals.

Edit: Since this blog was written is was announced that glNext has become Vulkan.