Best Linux Distro for Gaming

[Yellowhello]

What is the best Linux distro for gaming WITHOUT GOING TO WINDOWS? What is the best distro for general use and that best replicates the windows desttop for a person coming from Windows and has used Windows all his life (me).

thanks!!!

[Tyreal]

I know Yurimxpxman is going to come and whisk you away into the land of linux but I'll tell you some of what he told me.

He uses Unbuntu and through it, plays "a lot" of games he says. I don't think you'll be able to play every single game in linux. I also heard of a program called WINE that can be used to run windows programs. I can't really say much more about this topic, mainly because I don't know much about linux...

[Yellowhello]

Yurimxpxman, where are yoooooooouuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!

[polobunny]

You can play most games with a Windows emulator called Cedega. It's commercial thus not free but it does the job.
Also, unless you have a clue where you are going with Linux, I don't recommend switching to it as your main OS right now. Install it on a second hard drive and get used to it before doing the switch.

Edit: My bad. I wrote emulator but I meant interpreter. Yuri would have shot me for that. :P

[Zambini]

Whenever U play games on linux, unless they are OpenGL, you will notice a degradation of performance, because it has to emulate DirectX software. So its like adding another sorting machine at the post office. It'll take longer.

I have only tried cedega and it works okay, but my laptop is crappy so ..... I dont think I coulda gotten good framerates in windows anyway.

[screwballl]

the best comparison for windows in MY opinion is Kubuntu... it is ubuntu but with the KDE desktop which is a bit easier for windows converts.

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by screwballl

the best comparison for windows in MY opinion is Kubuntu... it is ubuntu but with the KDE desktop which is a bit easier for windows converts.

I tried both briefly (Ubuntu and Kubuntu) and actually prefer the GNOME interface of Ubuntu over KDE. This is coming from a very beginner to the Linux scene and a lifelong Windows user.

[Hitman]

It really depends more on what games you're talking about. The Linux Distro is really not that important. These days all the common Distros are all pretty user friendly. Unbuntu/Kubuntu seem to be the favorites these days even though I don't like either one. I have had pretty good success with WINE to play most Windows games in Linux. KDE is more windows like, where Gnome is more MacOS like. If you're a gamer you will probably find it easier to just stick with Windows.

[yurimxpxman]

Ubuntu is definitely the best distribution (unless you're looking for a completely free system, in which case gNewSense would be the best).

As far as the games go, Wine will let you run a lot of games like Half Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, etc. But I prefer to stick with the free games, like Neverball/Neverputt, Tremulous, Foobilliard, etc.

I recommend that you install Ubuntu, and then run this to install a superior desktop environment (from a terminal - Applications > Accessories > Terminal):

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

[Carl Martin]

Why add Kubuntu desktop environment over Ubuntu rather than just installing Kubuntu?