I've recently switched to Linux Mint on my new PC, and I'm regretting it due to severe gaming issues. A lot of games run poorly, consistently stuttering and dropping FPS. The sound also glitches, and ultimately, the game freezes. I've faced this with several titles including Total Warhammer 3, Helldivers 2, Darktide, and FFXIV. I'm using Linux Mint with a Ryzen 5 5600G CPU and a NVIDIA 3060 graphics card. My specs show I have 8GB of RAM, which might be concerning. Has anyone experienced similar issues, and if so, how did you resolve them?
5 Answers
It sounds like your setup might be running low on memory, especially while gaming. When games start swapping to disk, you'll definitely see performance hiccups. I'd recommend checking what kind of storage you're using—SSD would be ideal. You could also try enabling zRAM to help manage memory better. It compresses memory to make more available, which might improve your gaming experience. You can find instructions on how to set that up if you're interested.
Your kernel version seems a bit outdated for your hardware. The NVIDIA RTX 3060 might not work well with it, and switching to a more gaming-friendly distribution like Nobara could make a big difference. It’s designed with gaming in mind and might alleviate some of these issues right away.
You have 8GB of RAM, which isn't a lot for gaming. Check if you have swap space set up by running `swapon` in the terminal. Having swap can let your system run more smoothly, but be cautious, as running out of both RAM and swap can slow everything down. If you have a small swap file (like 2GB), you might consider increasing it. You can add a larger swap file with a few commands in the terminal, and set it up to load on boot.
Yes, you can disable it first with `sudo swapoff /swapfile`, then follow the commands to create a larger swap file. Good luck!
Your system specs are good, but it seems like you're hitting RAM limits. Consider upgrading your RAM if possible. Also, check if you're using the correct NVIDIA drivers; sometimes the default drivers can hinder performance, especially for gaming. Make sure to install the latest drivers to get the best performance out of your GPU.
Make sure your NVIDIA GPU is actually being used instead of the integrated graphics. Use a tool like nvtop while running a game to check GPU usage. Sometimes the system can default to the integrated graphics which can mess with performance.
I checked using swapon, and it shows I have a 2GB swap file already being used. How can I turn it off and increase its size? Can I just use the commands you mentioned?