Hey linux_gaming folks! This is kinda long so I broke it into sections.

Preamble:

About two months ago I ordered a System76 desktop for gaming (see hardware details below). I wanted to give the pre-installed Pop_OS 22.04 a fair shake first. It worked pretty well though I encountered several problems:

• 6.16 kernel updates and no-longer-compatible nvidia drivers (solved several times)
• Distorted sound issues in games (solved)
• Atrocious artifacting with DLSS in Borderlands 4 (likely due to older nvidia drivers, so I swapped to the Epic-provided TSR in-game)
• Random game pauses lasting from 5-20 seconds while the system is otherwise responsive (never solved)

... and a few other odds and ends. I know Ubuntu 22.04 is pretty long in the tooth in the desktop linux world so I figured it was time to try other distros.

I switched to the Pop_OS 24.04 beta a couple of days ago and am a bit happier with it. I still have audio and DLSS issues in Borderlands 4. It generally takes 3-4 hours to have one of those long pauses and I haven't had enough time to test for it yet. It is definitely harder to find solutions to issues on a beta OS and I am not experienced enough with Linux on destktop machines yet (though I am learning -- I use ubuntu VMs regularly for work, but they are an entirely different animal).

The Question:

Because of the issues above, I am looking to try other distros and then stick with 1 or 2.

So far, I am looking at Bazzite and CatchyOS. Are there others I should consider?

What I am looking for in a linux distro:

• Reasonably easy setup (finding and installing a few drivers is fine, but I really don't want to do it for all of them)
• Easy package/driver rollback
• Solid Nvidia GPU support, particularly an ability to upgrade nvidia drivers as stable ones are relased since I often play newer games
• Stability once configured (though this is less of an issue with good rollback support)
• Solid game performance
• Ability to alt-tab to check a browser or chat app if needed
• Good documentation
• At least WiFi 6 support (preferably 7)

My hardware:

• System76 Thelio Mira R4
  • AMD 9800X3D
  • 64 GB RAM
  • Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti
  • 4 TB PCIe5 M.2 SSD, 4 TB PCIe4 M.2 SSD
  • Built-in WiFi 7 + Bluetooth 5.4
• Asus VG279QL3A 180 Hz 1080p monitor (connected via DisplayPort, currently using monitor's speakers) - I will likely swap to a 1440p monitor once I find a large enough one that I like
• Razer Naga 2014 Left-Handed
• Razer Huntsman v2 Analog
• XBox One controller (via USB, for FH5)

A few notes on the Razer Naga mouse -- it is key to my gaming layout due to physical limitations, to the point where I have a spare 2020 edition still in the box in case the current one dies on me). I can use it without OpenRazer support if needed since that is mostly for the RGB settings.

My currently most-played games:

• Dune Awakening
• Borderlands 4
• Space Marine 2
• Helldivers 2
• Forza Horizon 5

I expect to play the following in a few months:

• Dying Light: The Beast
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Path of Exile II
• Remnant / Remnant II
• ... probably some other cool games I find
• ... and the dark gods help me if I get back into WoW, but I am feeling the pull a little

The other applications I tend to use on my gaming rigs are pretty standard:

• Firefox
• Brave (for sites that MUST use chromium browsers like Homebrewery)
• 1password
• Discord
• Signal

If I am doing anything other than light browsing or gaming, I will use a different computer.

I don't have enough info/experience to pick a desktop environment yet (virtually ANYTHING is better than Windows 10/11 and I am usually using the CLI if I am not gaming or web browsing). The default Pop_OS Gnome and Cosmic layouts were fine with a few minor tweaks.

Bonus related question:

Does this look like a sane partition / mount setup?

• Expand current EFI partition from 1 GB to 4 GB
• Leave 4 GB recovery partition for PopOS
• 100 GB - PopOS (mounts as / only in PopOS)
• 100 GB - Bazzite (mount as / only in Bazzite)
• 100 GB - CatchyOS (mounts as / only in CatchyOS)
• 100 GB - AnotherDistro? (TBD)
• 1 TB - Shared Home Folder (be sure to use different usernames for each distro; mounts as /home)
• ~2.5 TB - Shared Games Library (mount as ~/Games; approx size, use remaining free space)
• 4 TB - Second drive that stores media, alternate Steam library for less-used games, backups, etc)

Thanks for reading and any suggestions you have!

Edit: fixed a typo

submitted by /u/Ja7onD
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Maybe it's the year of Linux haha 😂

submitted by /u/lunarson24
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submitted by /u/UwUAutumn1666
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I'll be using it for 1440p gaming, web browsing, and nothing else. My PC has 32gigs of ram, a 3060ti, and an i7-11700k 3.6ghz. I don't really play much multiplayer so I'm not worried about anti cheat compatibility. I appreciate any advice as I've never used Linux before although I am pretty tech savvy and not afraid of using CLI for some things. I'm just sick of windows BS and am ready for something better.

submitted by /u/Boring-Bus-8721
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