I'm trying to move away from Microsoft after losing access to my account and getting little useful support. I mainly use my PC for video editing in DaVinci Resolve and gaming through Steam, especially Overwatch. I'm considering switching to Linux and would like a distribution that offers reliable NVIDIA drivers, good gaming support, and a relatively painless Resolve installation. I've read about using Distrobox to run Resolve in a container so distribution updates are less likely to break it. Would that be a good approach with an NVIDIA GPU? My processor is AMD, while my graphics card is NVIDIA.
5 Answers
For a conservative workstation choice, Ubuntu or Rocky Linux are the most obvious options because Resolve officially supports them. For a gaming-first machine, Bazzite is likely more convenient. Steam games generally work well through Proton, but check Overwatch’s current Linux compatibility and anti-cheat requirements before wiping Windows. Keeping a Windows dual-boot or separate drive initially is a sensible fallback for games or editing projects that do not work properly on Linux.
Bazzite is worth a serious look if gaming is the priority. It has current drivers, a gaming-focused setup, and includes convenient `ujust` tools. There’s an option such as `ujust install-resolve` that installs DaVinci Resolve in a container, and Bazzite also supports Distrobox directly. That can make the Resolve setup much easier than doing everything manually on a traditional distribution.
Check Resolve’s Linux limitations before committing. Free Resolve on Linux has codec restrictions, and H.264 or H.265 workflows may require the Studio edition or extra transcoding. Some camera formats may import without audio, and certain features that work on Windows may be unavailable. Your NVIDIA GPU and AMD CPU combination is fine, but the exact GPU model and your footage codecs matter more than the processor brand.
Fedora, Bazzite, Nobara, Pop!_OS, and CachyOS can all be good choices for NVIDIA gaming, but Resolve support is not equally smooth on all of them. Fedora is a solid general-purpose option, while Bazzite is more convenient if gaming comes first. Make sure you install the proper proprietary NVIDIA driver rather than relying on the basic open-source driver for your card.
CachyOS performs well for gaming, but Resolve installation can be frustrating for a newcomer. I also ran into codec and startup issues, so I’d choose an Ubuntu-based system or Bazzite if Resolve is important.
Ubuntu is probably the safest starting point for DaVinci Resolve because it is one of the officially supported bases and has plenty of documentation. NVIDIA drivers are generally well supported there too. Once everything is working, you can experiment with Fedora, Bazzite, or another distribution, but Ubuntu may involve fewer surprises while you’re learning Linux.
I’d second Bazzite. Installing Resolve there is noticeably simpler than on many other distributions, and the container approach helps keep the base system stable.