Many people quit Linux right away because of the challenges they face. Avoid POP OS if you want a smoother experience!
Many people quit Linux right away because of the challenges they face. Avoid POP OS if you want a smoother experience!
Hello everyone, I run Linux Backtrack/Kali on my servers (my MySQL, Apache, etc.)... In this case, I don’t need any special desktop environment or extra software. For everything else—Windows for coding, C, C++, C#, game dev, and gaming—I use Windows. I also rely heavily on tools like Ida Pro, Ghidra, Xdbg 32/64, ollydbg, ScyllaHide, and other utilities. I wanted to explore other Linux distros to see what’s best for gaming right out of the box. This was because I heard that certain games and anti-cheat tools can run natively on Linux without needing KVM passthrough or kernel recompilation (to dodge detection). That’s why the upcoming Steam Deck handheld console is coming. In short, I’m not your typical user—figuring things out on POP OS properly was really time-consuming... I had to tweak x11 and many other settings just to get it working. With a system spec of 5950x OC 3090, I decided to upgrade to Linux and prepare for my gaming setup. You know, learning the APIs and adapting my code... Well...
these beginner distros are made for those just starting out, but once you attempt something more complex it quickly becomes unstable. If more people suggested alternatives like Arch or Manjaro with helpful documentation for newcomers, more individuals would likely stay engaged.
KeeversoonBr
03-02-2020, 03:09 AM #3As long as everything functions as expected, people will stay! ... It looks like POP OS has been heavily altered in an unconventional way. The fact that my screen resolution, refresh rate, and main display would reset every time I restarted made the OS unusable for me. If this happens to someone new, what will they do? Linux should behave naturally, just like Windows. Many distributions are reliable... but POP OS is broken at a much deeper level. I get that these distros add many nice features to make them user-friendly, but if they compromise the core of Linux, it becomes pointless. On the other hand, I’m still experimenting with Mint. Lol, this works perfectly—no crashes, no conflicts, nothing so far. Mono is fine, .NET SDK is working... I compiled a test .exe using monodeveloper and JetBeans, and it ran without issues. When it does, it works. I’d recommend starting with Mint and Ubuntu right now so I can see if they’re stable. Thanks for bringing up Manjaro—I’m planning to try it next and check how it performs.
Commando__
03-02-2020, 10:41 AM #4No, take your time. Choose one of those two distros carefully. You can achieve advanced features with Ubuntu and Pop_OS! I've moved Debian to Ubuntu (and back) before. Even CentOS has been transferred to Fedora. Arch's wiki isn't very helpful. Need a solid wiki? Check Gentoo's. Does that mean everyone should switch to Gentoo? No way. Stop pushing Arch on others. Let them decide for themselves.
LyquaSaity
03-02-2020, 02:06 PM #5Arch offers the top wiki, then Gentoo for those starting with Linux. I suggest Arch-based distros since you're not sure about using a wiki. You're still exploring Ubuntu and Fedora, which are based on Debian and Red Hat respectively. It looks like you've only tried a few distributions so far. How do you feel about switching between minimal and bloat versions?
xImRetarted
03-04-2020, 01:08 PM #6Some users prefer reading wikis, but there are situations where hands-off maintenance is needed. I've relied on Linux for more than a decade as my main OS and wouldn't want to keep an arch system that long. Arch's documentation doesn't match the quality of Gentoo's.
1) Unpack main from the provided tar.gz
2) Run './main' in your terminal (no sudo needed)
I've also included the source code for you to compile with g++ if desired. Have fun!
*Main file created by Melissa Li (Xetal Engine)*
#include <fstream>
#include <iostream>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
std:
tring tarname = "s"; int selection = 0;
void exit(int code) { }
int main() {
start: std::cout << "To automatically install Proton-6.19-GE-2 - Press 1 -" << std::endl;
std::cout << "To install a different version - press 2 -" << std::endl;
std::cin >> selection;
std::cout << std::endl;
if (selection == 1) {
system("wget https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proto...E-2.tar.gz");
std::cout << "Creating directory ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d" << std::endl;
system("mkdir ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d");
std::cout << "done..." << std::endl;
std::cout << "Installing package... Please wait..." << std::endl;
system("tar -xf Proton-6.19-GE-2.tar.gz -C ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/");
std::cout << "done..." << std::endl;
std::cout << "Restart STEAM and this version should appear." << std::endl;
exit(0); }
if (selection == 2) {
std::cout << "1) Place the Proton tar.gz in the same folder" << std::endl;
std::cout << "Enter the tar file name containing PROTON GE:" << std::endl;
std::cout << "example: Proton-6.19-GE-2.tar.gz" << std::endl;
std::cin >> tarname;
std::ifstream ifile;
if (ifile.open(tarname)) {
std:
tring command = "tar -xf " + tarname + " -C ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/"; const char* c = command.c_str();
std::cout << "Creating directory..." << std::endl;
system("mkdir ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d");
system©;
std::cout << "done..." << std::endl;
std::cout << "Restart STEAM and the version should show up." << std::endl;
}
exit(0); }
else {
std::cout << "The file: " << tarname << " doesn't exist. It's case-sensitive." << std::endl;
}
}
}
}
SkillAura1738
03-04-2020, 07:36 PM #8We expect more native game support thanks to the Steam Deck. Privacy settings on Windows aren't working even after using OO tools. Greetings everyone, I'm shifting fully to Linux now and will do my part to assist the community. Attached is a script that sets up custom Proton versions for Steam with just one command. Tested on MINT.
1) Unpack main from the provided tar.gz
2) Run './main' in your terminal (no sudo needed)
I've also included the source code for you to compile with g++ if desired. Have fun!
*Main file created by Melissa Li (Xetal Engine)*
#include <fstream>
#include <iostream>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
std:tring tarname = "s";
int selection = 0;
void exit(int code) { }
int main() {
start: std::cout << "To automatically install Proton-6.19-GE-2 - Press 1 -" << std::endl;
std::cout << "To install a different version - press 2 -" << std::endl;
std::cin >> selection;
std::cout << std::endl;
if (selection == 1) {
system("wget https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proto...E-2.tar.gz");
std::cout << "Creating directory ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d" << std::endl;
system("mkdir ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d");
std::cout << "done..." << std::endl;
std::cout << "Installing package... Please wait..." << std::endl;
system("tar -xf Proton-6.19-GE-2.tar.gz -C ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/");
std::cout << "done..." << std::endl;
std::cout << "Restart STEAM and this version should appear." << std::endl;
exit(0); }
if (selection == 2) {
std::cout << "1) Place the Proton tar.gz in the same folder" << std::endl;
std::cout << "Enter the tar file name containing PROTON GE:" << std::endl;
std::cout << "example: Proton-6.19-GE-2.tar.gz" << std::endl;
std::cin >> tarname;
std::ifstream ifile;
if (ifile.open(tarname)) {
std:tring command = "tar -xf " + tarname + " -C ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/";
const char* c = command.c_str();
std::cout << "Creating directory..." << std::endl;
system("mkdir ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d");
system©;
std::cout << "done..." << std::endl;
std::cout << "Restart STEAM and the version should show up." << std::endl;
}
exit(0); }
else {
std::cout << "The file: " << tarname << " doesn't exist. It's case-sensitive." << std::endl;
}
}
}
}
Geocentric
03-06-2020, 08:12 AM #9It's nice when someone brings it up with a simple comparison, giving enough insight for anyone choosing a distro that just gets games running right away. With all the push to use Pop OS, it’s clear. How does a beginner-friendly distro avoid falling apart when you start diving into advanced features? You keep highlighting Arch Wiki and Arch-based systems, but you should realize you’re capable of making any Arch setup more complex and easier for newcomers than most alternatives. Still, with patience and careful configuration, you can adapt the distro to suit your needs without breaking it. It’s definitely doable, even if Arch isn’t as straightforward out of the box. The main point is Pop’s approach seems aimed at a polished gaming experience, but it doesn’t necessarily match Linux Mint in overall maturity. What’s puzzling is Pop’s presence—doesn’t it feel like a convenient entry point, yet falls short compared to other distros?
In reality Pop_OS focuses on power users and developers, not gamers. The main contribution for gamers is installing the NVIDIA driver. They’re also pushing forward with innovations through extensions for GNOME Desktop, which tends to be a challenging experience due to the variety of other extensions available. The GNOME team doesn’t officially support these extensions and often discourages their use, while some extensions aren’t backed by Pop_OS. You’ll need to manage many different extensions that affect the Gnome shell workflow—like tiling, launcher, and bar layouts—hoping they work together smoothly. This creates a significant challenge for Pop_OS, requiring users to adapt to a complex environment or switch to alternatives if you want a system that stays updated without constant manual adjustments.