I gave Arch Linux a shot earlier this year, but I ran into a lot of driver issues, especially when switching from demanding apps like Firefox and games. My entire system would freeze on X11, and Wayland was just as bad, crashing my source games completely. I'm keen to try Linux again but need to know if switching to the open-source NVIDIA drivers is worthwhile or if others have experienced similar problems that have been resolved. If Arch is the issue, I'm open to suggestions for distros that work better with NVIDIA. Also, I'm considering an AMD GPU—what would be the best fit for Linux and my i5-12400F to avoid bottlenecks? I mainly game on titles like Minecraft and some source games, so if you have any advice, that would be great! And if this isn't the right place for my questions, please direct me somewhere appropriate since I'm new to Reddit!
2 Answers
It sounds like you've had quite the experience with Arch! Many users find that NVIDIA's proprietary drivers perform best, especially after following the Arch Wiki. Consider trying a distro like Pop!_OS, which supports NVIDIA out of the box. If you stick with Arch, CachyOS might be worth looking into since it simplifies the setup. As for AMD, any card would be good, though the 7900XTX could slightly bottleneck with your CPU in certain scenarios, but for the games you play, you should be fine!
For beginners, Arch can be tricky since you do manual configurations. If you decide to go that route, let me know what hardware you have, so I can help troubleshoot. On Wayland with NVIDIA, it can work smoothly, but you might have to dive into some guides for setup—especially if you're aiming for the latest drivers!
Thanks for the tips! I’ll check out the Arch Wiki again and maybe give Pop!_OS a try if I hit more roadblocks.