Hi folks!
I was using PopOS regularly a few years ago, and it was working great. Good performance, and I was actually noticing a lot of my gaming was running smoother too. I ended up going back to Windows because I could not play VALORANT, Destiny, or HUNT: Showdown on the platform. While I don’t play VALORANT anymore, I don’t think that the other games have support on Linux either.
The other reason was Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and DaVinci Resolve. I need to do some video editing, and general live streaming too, and I never really dabbled with that on Linux.
I guess my question is for those who game / content create - has Linux been viable for you? Or do you often find yourself dual booting anyway to get the latest updates, driver support, anti-cheat support, plugins etc.
anti-cheat isn’t an issue per se, as long as game developers decide to add the required files to their games (eg what Apex: Legends devs did a year or so ago, around the time the Steam Deck launched, to ensure proper Proton compatibility), but in short - yes, many online games will still require you to dual boot anyways, unfortunately.
i’m no content creator, so i can’t recommend good alternatives to the apps you mentioned, however OBS works flawlessly on most Linux distros, so you should have zero issues with live streaming.
oh and i would say driver support is usually better on the Linux side, although I think Debian based distros (like PopOS) might lag a bit behind compared to other distros? this might be outdated knowledge though, so take that with a pinch of salt
I game on Pop. I left windows on dual boot just in case, but I have only logged into Windows 2 times in 18 months and that was just to run updates because I realized I hadn’t logged in.
Since the Steamdeck came out, TONS more games work on linux.
Davinci Resolve works on Pop as well. You are kinda screwed with Lightroom and PS though.
As a “gamer” I’ve found that while gaming on Linux has become a lot easier over the years there is still a lot that needs to be worked on and while for some people it might be good enough, personally for now I’ll still be dual booting.