What’s up, guys, gals, and non-binary pals? I switched from Windows 10 to Linux Mint back in December 2024, and I catalogued my experiences in these posts:

Just wanted to let you nerds know that everything has been running flawlessly. I can play any game I have, and none of my productivity is blocked. Doesn’t matter whether it’s all my ROMs I archived, my Steam games, GOG games, whatever. Linux plays them, and performance is fantastic. I don’t play any anti-cheat games as the only one I do play periodically is Overwatch, and it runs perfect.

I can without a doubt now say that I will never go back to Windows. Should have switched years ago!

Build specs (the full list is in my first post linked above):

  • CPU 9800x3d
  • GPU RX 7900 XTX

Here are some issues I still can’t solve on Linux Mint:

  • Can’t control my GPU fans
  • Can’t control my case fans
  • Can’t bind my case fans to ramp up with GPU load

I’ve tried CoreCTRL and so many other solutions I read online, and none of them work. Problem for another day! So all I’ve done for now is increase the count of intake fans I have and set it to a good speed to move plenty of air (but also set my exhaust fans higher to help counter and ensure proper positive pressure airflow. I have too many fans to get the ideal balance of neutral air flow). GPU runs with OEM fan speeds.

Edit: There’s a bug in pasting instance agnostic links, so I just added direct URLs to my instance posts.

  • gaiussabinus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    3 months ago

    I have corectrl running and controlling my GPU fans on Linux mint. I have to start it every time I boot since I haven’t added it to startup but it works (RX 6900 xt). I have it added from a separate repo that I forget where I found it but I also use mesa drivers forked by some dude in eastern Europe to get ROCm working too.

  • ninth_plane@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    3 months ago

    I’ve been gaming on Linux for years, but this post gave me the urge to install Windows XP for games.

  • metalaco@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    3 months ago

    Hi. I am so fucking tired of windows bullshit. Do you think running a GTX 3090 is feasible with the current driver landscape?

    • brendansimms@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      3 months ago

      I’m running an rtx 4070 on mint-cinnamon. Works great. I know that’s a different GPU but just sharing that nvidia drivers + mint are working just fine for me.

    • CatZoomies@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      I wouldn’t see any problems there. My server I’m currently building is running Linux Mint. I tossed in my RTX 3080 and it works flawlessly. No headache, no problems trying to configure it. Just booted it, LM detected it, and I clicked update and bam it works great. That card was originally in my Windows PC before I switched to LM and swapped the card for an AMD RX 7900 XTX.

    • Yeller_king@reddthat.comEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      If it helps, you can get pop os with Nvidia drivers pre-installed and configured. That helped me a lot.

    • CatZoomies@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      4·
      3 months ago

      Glad to hear it! Not creeping on your posts, but the other day I was browsing Lemmy and saw you’re on Linux too. How’s Pop_OS! working for you? Linux Mint has been almost 100% flawless for me.

      • The Picard Maneuver@piefed.worldEnglish
        5·
        3 months ago

        It’s been great! Way easier than I expected it to be. I know both of our distros are supposed to be good entry points for Linux. I spent some time last night figuring out how to add GNOME extensions for customization, which was fun.

        I haven’t had time to attempt any gaming on it yet since installing last weekend, but I’m looking forward to trying tonight.

        • CatZoomies@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          3·
          3 months ago

          Nice, glad you had some fun just messing around with your PC like we used to do in the good ol’ days!

          I’m excited for you to give some time for gaming! When I first installed LM, I spent the first few days just installing different games and trying them out and messing around - so refreshing. But I think I speak on behalf of Lemmy when I say we can use a little less time of you posting at least for a few hours, so you can get some decent gaming in. 😀

          • The Picard Maneuver@piefed.worldEnglish
            2·
            3 months ago

            Lol, fortunately I tend to post stuff early in the day, and my gaming time is in the evenings after getting the kids to sleep.

            A mild concern I have is that my GPU on the PC I’m using for Linux is an old 770… I probably won’t be playing anything close to current. But that’s not linux’s fault.

    • CatZoomies@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      30·
      3 months ago

      Yeah it’s so weird. I tried using that Mass Grave thing I heard about but it won’t work. Tried running it in Proton-GE, too, and nothing. I guess I’ll live with it, since it doesn’t interrupt my workflow too much. The watermark on my desktop doesn’t bother too much and eventually I lose sight of it anyway.

      • silly goose meekah@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        3 months ago

        Is that actually an overlay like unlicensed windows or is that just part of the wallpaper? I kinda want that as an actual overlay lol

        • CatZoomies@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          34·
          3 months ago

          This is the extension I installed for LM, which lets you put a custom overlay/watermark on your desktop - https://cinnamon-spices.linuxmint.com/extensions/view/82

          I created the activation notice watermark in Krita, and styled it after what it looks like on Windows 10.

          Edit: I really love this a lot and have kept it on my computer for months now. It’s just silly and makes me giggle when I get a dark wallpaper that makes the watermark really stand out.

      • CatZoomies@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        2·
        3 months ago

        Oh yeah, now that rings a bell! If I remember correctly, it was built by Linus Torvaltine.

  • Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    8·
    3 months ago

    I’m fairly ignorant about Linux and what goes on under the hood, so the majority of the text doesn’t mean anything to me.

    As someone planning to install Linux Mint who also doesn’t want to accidentally dox myself with a screenshot, could I get an explanation from someone on what is censored out and why?

    • Squiddork@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      3 months ago

      It’s mostly the account name and computer name, something like

      user@computer $

      OP might have a good reason (e.g network setup different/real name visible) or is just security/privacy conscious, but you’d be unlikely to dox yourself from a screenshot like this if you’re not a power user.

      Mint is quite a friendly distro, definitely a great first choice and one I’d recommend. However if you find it not to your liking but still want to try Linux; fedora is another good no nonsense distro that would be suitable for you.

    • Little8Lost@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      If you wanna test linux use ventoy and use some distros without installing to see your preferences

    • OboTheHobo@ttrpg.networkEnglish
      11·
      3 months ago

      Looks to me like they are just censoring any instance of their username, possibly because it contains their real name.

      Edit: also device name

      • CatZoomies@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        4·
        3 months ago

        Correct, I’m just redacting anything personal from the images that could pinpoint me. And also of course removed EXIF data from the images before uploading to my Lemmy instance (Lemmy does remove it, but I like to be extra sure).

      • fuckgod@feddit.onlineEnglish
        5·
        3 months ago

        Haven’t really touched Mint myself, other than moving my dad’s computer to it. I don’t think it shows the user or device name over by the clock. Unless that XP skin adds it, I don’t think that’s it.

        Given the “Overcast” bit, maybe it shows a zip code for the weather or something?

        Again, I’m not settled on a particular distro yet for sure, but most of my experience is with PopOS so far, and there’s nothing identifying there, so I’m not positive.

        I’ve installed Mint on 2 family member PCs, but I haven’t used it myself other than in passing.

        • CatZoomies@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          2·
          3 months ago

          Correct, you got it. I hid some particular identifiers that could pinpoint me, such as weather. The rest of the stuff exposed in the screenshot is not enough to triangulate enough information about me.

  • cyborganism@piefed.caEnglish
    2·
    3 months ago

    Yeah, I always had a dual-boot system and mostly used Win 10 as my main OS for gaming and Linux for troubleshooting and messing around. With the announcement of Win 10 reaching end-of-life this October, I started to go on my Linux side a bit more to try gaming and I was blown away. So I made the switch last fall to 100% Kubuntu 24.04 on my PC.

    I can’t believe the progress that’s been made with Steam and Proton in recent years. I’ve always been a huge Linux fan and gamin has always been the only thing blocking me from using it full time. Now I have no reason to use Windows anymore! I’m so happy!

  • NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zipEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    How old is the Linux mint kernal and and driver? Have you tried a live dvd of a more current distro just to see if those problems aren’t solved? Fedora would be a decent example, it is really current. Or an arch derivative.

    • CatZoomies@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      Not sure. I just use the embedded software updated whenever there is a new update to the kernel. I’m on latest GA kernel per fastfetch screenshot.

      Unfortunately I’m only ~9 months in as a Linux user, so not sure the best methods to get all these things working.

      Thankfully, many other persons also commented some helpful advice, so I’ll include your question as part of my research. Just gotta sit down and try troubleshooting it again when I have some spare time.

      • Tuukka R@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        1·
        3 months ago

        You can find the kernel version by writing “uname -r” in the terminal.

        In my case it prints “6.8.0-79-generic”, which would be the answer if NewNewAugustEast had asked me about how old my kernel is. Yours is probably something else than that precise version. Except that I’m running Ubuntu and Mint is also kind of Ubuntu.

        If you want, you can also paste the output of: “lsb_release -d”, NNAE might be curious to know that, as well.

        For your personal use, you can use uname -a and lsb_release -a, but I had the feeling some of the output of those would be things you wouldn’t want to say publicly but might not understand to redact.

  • AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.netEnglish
    13·
    3 months ago

    Side note, but I really like when nerds call other people nerds as a term of endearment. It has the same energy as reclaiming a slur, albeit to a much smaller degree because “nerd” isn’t a slur

    • CatZoomies@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      TY! I’ll try these again. It was Dec/Jan when I was really trying to figure it out. I remember installing lm-sensors and then trying CoreCTRL but they just won’t detect or see my GPU fans.

      • theunknownmuncher@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        3 months ago

        I doubt lm-sensors will interact with your GPU fans. It should work for case fan, though.

        You should be able to read your GPU temperature by reading from files and control fans by writing to files that are locates in /sys/class/hwmon/. There should be scripts/programs that exist to do this already, but it isn’t a very complex task, so could be scripted trivially. lm-sensors should help you identify the correct files, as well.

  • cronenthal@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    391·
    3 months ago

    I can only second that, I made the switch early this year and it’s made me love my PC again.

    I don’t think I could’ve done it “years ago” though, Proton in its current form with a user friendly distro like bazzite haven’t been around for too long.

    • CatZoomies@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      29·
      3 months ago

      “made me love my PC again.”

      I know, right?! That was the best part. It felt so liberating, as if I was transported back to the early 2000s when the OS was a tool, not an ad-infused spyware machine. The best thing is that I have control and - surprisingly - confidence. I was worried I’d only have control and over time I’d get confidence. But essentially, I had confidence day one.

      I’m still a nascent Linux user, but using this OS is so refreshing. I love my PC so much.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        4·
        3 months ago

        This is exactly how I felt when I made the switch a couple of years back. Like this is what using a personal computer was always meant to feel like, and this is what Microsoft has taken from us.

        • Tuukka R@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          3·
          3 months ago

          I started using Linux most of the time in 1998 because my parents had installed RedHat 5.2 to dual boot with Windows and I didn’t like what Microsoft was doing back then, so I decided to use Linux whenever I’m not playing games. (And then moved on to SuSe 7 in 2001, then to Debian, and later, when Ubuntu was invented, moved to Ubuntu, and when Linux Mint came around, started using that one. (wait, no, actually I moved only when I got pissed off by Unity, which was horrible in its first forms!) Starting from Debian, things were already quite easy, although configuring the graphical environment, X, was super tedious…)

          It’s a bit weird feeling reading about how people write about how bad Windows has gone, and not really having experience of it since Windows 7, that I did have for a while in between. That was probably in 2011 or so. Then I soon got a new computer and kind of forgot to install Windows on it, because things worked well enough anyway.

          In any case, already when Ubuntu came out, I already felt that every time I had to resolve my friends’ issues on their Windows computers that it was a very good thing that I was running Linux at home, because it meant there was so much less hassle! It felt like “damn, if people only knew how well this works these days, they’d never want to use Windows. And then there would be more software as well!”

    • addie@feddit.ukEnglish
      11·
      3 months ago

      I’ve used “Linux for work” and “Windows for gaming” for a long time, about twenty years now. Got fed up with Windows shitting itself on a regular basis, and made myself a new year’s resolution to try Linux-only gaming for a bit, see if it would work for me, and I never went back. That was in 2021, and it’s just been getting better and better.

      Linux Mint has always been an easy install, and putting Steam on top to get Proton is pretty trivial. A few things have made an amazing difference:

      • installing the official NVidia drivers used to be a pain in the arse. Download them, stop your display manager, blacklist Nouveau, install them from the command line, restart and hope for the best. Awful. I’ve gone fully AMD, but I understand they’re pretty much a non-issue now.

      • Proton keeps getting better and better. Seriously, they fix compatibility with about 99% of the games that were broken every year, basically everything runs now. Maybe leave off buying anything with a tech-demo engine for a week, and accept that you won’t be playing stuff with certain anti-cheat, and it’s all good.

      • DXVK gets overlooked, but it’s amazing. Basically frame-for-frame with Windows on every game, and on some it’s better as it fixes intrusive stutter by precompiling. Can’t argue with that.