Valve have released the Steam Hardware & Software Survey for March 2025, and as expected with the Simplified Chinese language dropping the Linux stats have shot back up.
From the sample size of my two friends I don’t think Nvidia GPUs are that much of a problem anymore on Linux. I don’t personally own an Nvidia GPU so take that as you will.
Certain multiplayer games like CoD because of its anticheat are definitely unplayable on Linux. Only reason I still have windows is for that and Phasmophobia. But I think I can get Phasmo multiplayer running if I tinker with it. Maybe.
Nvidia GPUs are absolutely still a problem on Linux. It’s a problem that can be worked around, but it will require working around.
It’s honestly one of the biggest issues with Linux imo. If we want to encourage widespread adoption, it becomes really difficult to persuade people when they find out their GPU is essentially incompatible without major massaging. Especially since Nvidia is the most popular GPU seller on the market.
And the “it’s so easy, people just don’t want to learn” messaging doesn’t actually encourage long term use; If someone has been told that changing is easy but immediately encounters issues, then you’ve just made yourself an untrustworthy source of information in their eyes. They’re more likely to go “welp I guess it’s not for me” and just stop trying. If they’re at least presented with a realistic use-case and some of the most common pitfalls, they’ll be much better equipped to actually soldier on and learn. Just like teaching someone to ride a bike, going “it’s so easy, just keep peddling” does nothing to help when the person is laying in the grass with a scraped knee.
That part wasn’t aimed directly at you; It was more to head off the inevitable responses that always happen any time the argument gets started. Sorry if it sounded snarky.
If you use Bazzite, there is absolutely zero massaging necessary to use an Nvidia GPU. I know because I made the transition fulltime to it last June with my GTX 1080. To be fair, it includes the proprietary drivers, which I think almost every other distro is too principled to do OOTB.
From the sample size of my two friends I don’t think Nvidia GPUs are that much of a problem anymore on Linux. I don’t personally own an Nvidia GPU so take that as you will.
Certain multiplayer games like CoD because of its anticheat are definitely unplayable on Linux. Only reason I still have windows is for that and Phasmophobia. But I think I can get Phasmo multiplayer running if I tinker with it. Maybe.
Nvidia GPUs are absolutely still a problem on Linux. It’s a problem that can be worked around, but it will require working around.
It’s honestly one of the biggest issues with Linux imo. If we want to encourage widespread adoption, it becomes really difficult to persuade people when they find out their GPU is essentially incompatible without major massaging. Especially since Nvidia is the most popular GPU seller on the market.
And the “it’s so easy, people just don’t want to learn” messaging doesn’t actually encourage long term use; If someone has been told that changing is easy but immediately encounters issues, then you’ve just made yourself an untrustworthy source of information in their eyes. They’re more likely to go “welp I guess it’s not for me” and just stop trying. If they’re at least presented with a realistic use-case and some of the most common pitfalls, they’ll be much better equipped to actually soldier on and learn. Just like teaching someone to ride a bike, going “it’s so easy, just keep peddling” does nothing to help when the person is laying in the grass with a scraped knee.
Well you won’t hear me argue for that. I don’t come off like that do I?
I wouldn’t recommend Linux to my mother for instance. She may use a laptop for work all the time but thats about as far as her knowledge goes.
That part wasn’t aimed directly at you; It was more to head off the inevitable responses that always happen any time the argument gets started. Sorry if it sounded snarky.
If you use Bazzite, there is absolutely zero massaging necessary to use an Nvidia GPU. I know because I made the transition fulltime to it last June with my GTX 1080. To be fair, it includes the proprietary drivers, which I think almost every other distro is too principled to do OOTB.
In my experience, and many others’ it is a problem. YMMV. Not really a debate I care to rehash.