I'm thinking about making the switch to Linux Mint on my Zephyrus G15 2021 model with an RTX3070 dedicated GPU. My main concerns are whether it can manage switching between the integrated and dedicated GPU effectively, power consumption, and driver support. Has anyone here made a similar switch, and is it worth it, or should I stick with Windows 10?
3 Answers
Grab a cheap USB stick; you can find 32GB ones for around $5-10. You’ll want to make sure it’s USB 3.0 for speed. Also, since your laptop has both integrated and dedicated GPUs, you can use the command 'DRI_PRIME=1 %command%' in Steam to make sure Linux runs games on your dedicated GPU. Setting up a dual boot could be a smooth way to transition to Linux while keeping Windows around if you need more time to adapt! Good luck!
You might want to try running Mint from a live USB for a couple of days to see how everything works for you before fully committing. It’s a great way to test it out without making any permanent changes!
Unfortunately, I don’t have a USB drive to boot from right now.
I recently switched from Windows 11 and primarily use my laptop for gaming. Honestly, the gaming support on Linux is way better than I expected! Steam's Proton makes playing games really easy. I can't confirm the exact power usage since I'm on desktop, but I’d reckon that Linux might use less power overall. As for drivers, I have the same RTX3070 and I'm using the latest proprietary drivers - games run smoothly for me, although I’m on Kubuntu, not Mint. Hope this helps!
I’ll definitely look into dual booting. I've heard mixed results about Mint recognizing my DGPU.