I'm new to Linux, having made the switch from Windows to Linux Mint, but my experience has been pretty frustrating so far. I'm not just struggling with the unfamiliarity; I'm also facing real performance problems that make it feel like I'm using a slow, outdated system. For example, while gaming, my computer frequently freezes, and I have to restart it with a hard reboot. I'm also experiencing lag and audio desync on video players, both in Steam and in browsers. Additionally, my computer won't shut down normally; it just reboots instead. I have a mid-tier machine built in 2018 that ran Windows 10 perfectly fine, so I'm at a loss. The only troubleshooting step I've taken is verifying that I have the correct GPU drivers. Can anyone suggest where I should start looking for solutions?
5 Answers
Check out the ArchWiki for their troubleshooting guide; it can be a great starting point. Just keep in mind that being specific about the issues helps others propose better solutions.
If you have an NVIDIA GPU, some models might have issues with certain driver versions. I own a 3060 and switched to the NVIDIA Open drivers because I was facing freezing problems with the proprietary ones.
What GPU are you using? For the games giving you trouble, check out ProtonDB to see if anyone has shared workarounds. Sometimes optimizing the GPU settings can really help. You might want to ensure that the applications are utilizing your GPU properly for graphics acceleration.
You might want to consider trying Cachyos. It's known for being a more user-friendly option that may help with performance issues.

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