I recently switched to Linux Mint on my older laptop from 2015, trying to run Hollow Knight—a relatively light game that performed well on Windows. However, when I attempted to run the Windows version through Steam's Proton, the performance dropped significantly. I suspect outdated graphics drivers might be the issue since the screen colors appear washed out, which also happened when I used to manually install the latest drivers on Windows.
I was under the impression that Linux Mint would automatically update drivers, but that doesn't seem to be the case. So, I'm curious if the performance issues stem from the driver situation, or if my laptop just can't handle it anymore. Here are my specs: 6 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD (with 100 GB allocated for Linux due to dual boot), an i5-6200U processor, an AMD Radeon R5 M330 with 2 GB dedicated graphics, and Intel HD 520 integrated graphics. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
4 Answers
From what you've shared, it looks like you're using a GCN 1.0 AMD graphics card. Linux Mint may not be using the right driver (`amdgpu`), which is essential for proper support in games through Proton. You might need to force it to use that driver or consider switching to a distro that automatically uses it, especially one with a newer kernel like 6.19 or later.
It's important to note that while Linux has made progress in gaming, it can still be slower because of added layers like Proton. The drivers might not be as big a culprit as the architecture Mint is based on, which can hinder gaming performance. If you're focused on gaming with Linux, you might want to try distros like Kubuntu or CachyOS, which tend to work better for that.
Actually, Hollow Knight has a native version for Linux. You might want to try that instead of using Proton—it could save you some performance issues.
You should check which Linux distribution you’re using. I found that Mint struggled on my older laptop, but switching to Ubuntu made a significant difference in performance!
CachyOS is definitely a great choice for gaming!