I'm new to both but just picked up a 3080 with 32gb ram. Would you recommend I clear my windows to install Linux? And games like arc raiders etc will still work?
I would recommend it yes, the biggest pain point of switching OSes for me is getting your data out on an external drive, I'm not good with backups so it always takes a while for me to find my files and make sure I'm not erasing valuable documents or non cloud savefiles. If you have a new SSD you can keep the old one as a backup.
To check for game compatibility, you should check :
- Steam store page for Steam Deck compatibility, be aware that sometimes a bad rating only means the in-game text is too small to read on small screens or that gamepad support is poor, also I've played multiple "not supported" games that ran just fine.
- ProtonDB, community rating, separate comments for Steam Deck and PC, troubleshooting for Nvidia/AMD specific issues, etc. -> This includes Valve's Steam Deck compatibility score
https://www.protondb.com/app/1808500?device=pc
- Be aware that the Steam Client is only officially supported on Ubuntu, though you might be fine with other distros as well. Don't use the open source "nouveau" GPU driver, use the proprietary Nvidia drivers, also I've had GPU hiccups during the transition from X.org to Wayland that might be related to NVIDIA, but now it's fine.
Look up protondb for game compatibility. Arc raiders is marked as running perfectly fine, but plenty of multiplayer games with invasive client side anti cheats such as Fortnite or Genjin Impact do not run. If you depend on such games it's best not to switch, any privacy concern you may have with Windows is gone with those games running literal rootkits on your PC anyway.
I've been running Linux for gaming for well over 15 years and have not missed much in the last 5 or so. There's way too many games out there to play that do run on Linux even if unemployed and have the time to dedicate it as your sole hobby.
I would buy a second hard drive and replace your current and install Linux on that. That way you can swap them back without issue. If you feel satisfied and ready to wipe windows, and have open slots, you can add the original drive back to your motherboard and mount it in pretty seamlessly (or entirely seamlessly with LVM).
I wouldn't try to dual boot, mainly from past experience. Linux is very fine with it, but Windows can aggressively try to repair itself and break other things, or end up broken itself.
Arc Raiders runs great. ProtonDB is the right thing to check to find out if any given game is gonna run on Linux. Fortunately, the success of the Steam Deck has more and more devs playing ball.
You could just buy another SSD and install Linux on that. Then, you have your Windows drive left untouched and pristine so you can swap back if you want, or you can pull data over as needed.
Prepare for some potential headaches, do some research and see what kind of problems you might encounter. And before blaming Linux watch this short clip[0].
Dual boot. I have never not had a need to boot into Windows on occasion. Daily driving Linux is very pleasant but personally, having the fallback for multiplayer games or modding tools and stuff has always been worth it.
