Hello everyone,

I just installed Garuda Linux—I tried CachyOS right before and really liked it. I’m still not fully comfortable with Linux yet. I understand that I can switch kernels to “improve” performance. I have a somewhat unusual CPU: a Ryzen 9 7945HX with an RTX 5070, in a desktop setup (Miniforum motherboard). Are the Zen 4-optimized kernels worth it?

Also, with CachyOS, I had to disable C-states in the BIOS because they caused freezes, no matter which distro I used. Is there any option that would allow me to keep C-states enabled?

Does disabling C-states actually impact performance? I haven’t noticed any difference so far.

Thanks in advance for your answers!

(Translated from French to English—apologies for any mistakes! 😅)

Hello everyone, I'm hoping to move from Windows 11 to Arch Linux in the near future, but I'm new to Arch and I also play some games that are gonna potentially require some tinkering to get running how I want before I can fully cut the strings and be free of Microsoft. I should also mention I have an Nvidia GPU which I've read can sometimes be a challenge.

My idea is to install a second SSD drive and install Linux on that one first and setup a dual boot where I can run either Windows or Linux. My thought is that I'll be able to take my time getting acquainted with Arch and gaming on Linux in general and when I'm ready I can turn the Windows drive into extra storage. I have a X570S Aorus Master motherboard and it seems like I can definitely install multiple SSDs but I've been reading that not all the slots are treated the same and one is connected to the CPU whereas the others are not. This has me wondering if my hypothetical plan is even feasible. Would anyone be able to let me know if installing an OS to an SSD in one of these secondary slots would cause issues when booting from it? If it's just a tad slower, then I don't really mind since it would only be temporary anyway, unless it would be so much slower that it would make it difficult to identify any potential problems with my setup. For example, I've read that people tend to have performance issues when they use an NTFS formatted drive and if I made a mistake like that I wouldn't want to end up assuming the performance issue is tied to the drive installation instead of the file system if that makes sense.

For context, I do have some coding experience and I've used Linux in the past just normally Debian based distros. I'm not super techy but I'm comfortable for the most part using command line tools and editing config files so I think I should be able to handle Arch, I'm just trying to leave some room for growing pains as I attempt to make it my daily driver.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

I'm running into a really annoying issue on Linux Mint. On Windows, even at lower frame rates, games still feel smooth and not stuttery. The same thing happens on Arch—the gameplay stays smooth. But on Mint, even with up-to-date drivers and high FPS, it feels like the frame pacing is off, making the game feel kinda laggy. In-game settings haven’t helped (this happens across multiple titles). Any tips or workarounds?

I'm going to make the jump to Linux from Windows 10! I'm ready to jump into the Linux pool - but which pool?

1. I have a Steam Deck - which is amazing and convinced me to jump to Linux!
2. As far as my research goes, Arch based Linux is the best and strongest. But Arch is a headache for beginners.
3. I do a lot of media editing: Photo, video, and music (DAW), specifically KONTAKT and PreSonus Studio One.

Bazzite is a strong recommendation for gaming, but Grok recommended Novara as an alternative since it is better with my work apps. Anyone uses Nobara?