Linux performence in games

[gamemaster]

I was thinking switching to linux but how well do games run? Is there a noticeable diffrence?

[techieMoe]

If you can find the exact game that has both a MS Windows and a Linux version (such as Doom 3 or Neverwinter Nights), then you could compare it yourself. I think "performance" is a pretty subjective thing, since some people consider SuSE to be a slow OS, or say Doom 3 runs better on Linux or better on MS Windows. My advice, try it out.

If you're a heavy gamer, you're going to want to keep MS Windows around as a dual-boot option for a while because the vast majority of new games come out on MS Windows, and the only way you can get them to work on Linux is through emulation. Game performance will be better in MS Windows compared to an emulator or an interpreter like WINE or Cedega.

[a12ctic]

if u have an ati card, dont even bother... ur not gona get any performace (even tho i got cs working without trouble)

[onlinebacon]

Yeah, the ATI drivers suck for linux, get a good card like nvidia, and then you will be set for it

[PsypherPunk]

i have to say that any game i've played with a native Linux release tends to perform better that it's Windows counterpart. That is, i can get a better resolution/detail level on Linux for the FPS.

[genesus]

some games that I play even get better performance under wine in linux than they do on their native os, most notably: Ultima Online...I'm sure that their are others though

[d38dm8nw81k1ng]

yeah, neverwinter nights has a good performance under linux

[scientica]

i have to say that any game i've played with a native Linux release tends to perform better that it's Windows counterpart. That is, i can get a better resolution/detail level on Linux for the FPS.

I can think of the difference in mainly DirectX vs. OpenGL (at least earleir OpenGL >> DX for gfx quality and DX > OpenG for 'speed' - since I don't use windows any more I don't really know it's nowdays (or care about it for that matter - too me DX is doomed for ever because of it's sue of COM...*)), and DirectX's sound Object (iirc called DirectSound) vs. eg OpenAL. Also, FPS is not all, eg, if one makes the nvidia drivers sync to VBlank the FPS might "suck" while the "feeled FPS" is higher (ie, smother gameplay).
Also, the kernel (and I/O scheduler) can have a huge impact, I'm using -ck (Con Kolivas patchset, which uses the Staircase scheduler) and with the vanilla kernel xmms playback is a ch--o-------p-ppy experience, with ck, no interferance - not even when doing heavy I/O (at times, there is of course some skips but compared without -ck, -ck is free of skips). I've read somewhere that Doom3'd readme also recomends it's players to try -ck if they experience bad performance with d3 (note: haven't read the README-file).

* Hint: I don't like COM, my experience with it is that it's a general pain/pgflt to "communitcate" with at asm level... please, don't ever ask me to interact with COM code - I might be tempted to make pointy pointers pointless while leaving the higher objects without references...

[Curlydave]

If you have an ATI card, then your performance in Linux will be awful. Don't bother. I don't know if Nvidia cards can do this, but there's no way to get any 3D settings enabled such as AA,AF, Vsync etc.

[loft306]

ATI 9600xt & nwn rocks and any other game i want to play and yes i have hardware acceleration but i will not do another ATI card over a 9200(native support)till they get better drivers