I only know a little about Linux because I only used it on university computers. I would now like to install Linux on my old laptop in case I need it for my bachelor thesis (stop home study).
Actually I should just use a low spec distro like Lubuntu, Zorin OS Lite or Linux Lite (I find all of them the most beautiful at first glance, I prefer something for beginners / Windows users).
But now I was wondering if there's also a low spec distro that would be good for gaming. Obviously I can't play the most blatant games with the laptop, but typical esports titles like LoL and CSGO are possibly feasible for the laptop in terms of hardware.
Do you have any idea which of the named ones could do that most likely, or do you know a better variant?
Otherwise, I would also find experience reports on the mentioned ones very nice, especially if you are a Windows user yourself.
So personally I use Manjaro in the XFCE version, which is pretty economical. You shouldn't expect miracles, however; So if the laptop is slow, it makes little difference in terms of performance which OS you put on it. In terms of user-friendliness, Manjaro is very good and it was very easy for me to switch from Windows 8. And if you don't have an Nvidia graphics card, it is also very stable.
LOL had the plan to install a kernel driver based anticheat, I don't know if they rejected it, but as soon as they install something like that, the game will unfortunately no longer be playable on Linux (without VM).
In itself, the desktop used makes the biggest difference in performance and the rest is of secondary importance, Ubuntu would probably be best supported by game manufacturers.
I haven't tried it myself because I've been using Arch + i3wm for a while, but I think Zorin OS looks like a good choice!
PopOS… Is an OS based on Ubuntu, but not from Cannonical, but from System76 and, like Ubuntu, comes with the Gnome desktop and good driver support. The native GPU support is also said to have been expanded and Nvidia GPUs should therefore also be able to run…
So would be my recommendation.
So at Valorant it was used, at LoL this is definitely not (yet) the case, I don't really see any reason because there are hardly any hackers.
I don't have the laptop right here, but I think it had an Nvidia… The laptop once packed LoL without problems, maybe an SSD is worth it and then it should work, so I didn't mean the OS should save it, gamble was definitely a thing of the past.
I've seen Manjaro once, I'll read something about him, thank you.
Have seen this very often at gaming distros, is it also for low spec? Otherwise I'll read myself into it, thank you.
Since I don't know exactly what you mean by low-spec, because almost every Linux distro is trimmed to lightweight, I can't tell you much about it here… But if Ubuntu (PopOS, because it is based on Ubuntu) too runs well on 16-21 year old computers with HDD instead of SSD, then it must mean something.
Exactly, Valorant has that and there have been plans or at least posts that strongly suggest that LoL should take over this system.
Example: https://na.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/news/dev/dev-null-anti-cheat-kernel-driver/
Disclaimer: This post is kinda tech-heavy and concerns anti-cheat tooling
that won't be exclusive to League of Legends. Other games (like Project A)
will be protected by the referenced upgrade before LoL is.
I also remember some threads in the LoL forum, as I said, I don't know if there were any updates. In any case, there have been updates in the past that have broken LoL for some time on Linux, unfortunately Riot Games is simply not interested in the community that plays the game via Wine: /
Depending on the spec, GNOME is certainly not suitable for the lower range. : /
How powerful / weak is the PC?
So I recommend Xfce, Mate or LXQt as a surface. Tendency towards Xfce.
So distribution is probably best for Ubuntu-based gaming because most things are tested for Ubuntu and you can find most of the manuals for them. Linux Mint 20.1 Xfce should therefore offer itself.
But I'll be honest: I don't use Linux to play Windows games. You're pretty much on your own because manufacturers aren't interested in it - especially LoL… CS: Go could still work quite well on Steam? I don't know for sure. Take a look at https://appdb.winehq.org/ to see what works and how well with Wine.
Apart from Windows computer games, Linux is highly recommended.
Office works wonderfully: LibreOffice, OnlyOffice. Sometimes even better compatibility than MS Office with itself…
Updates come for the whole system with a click + password.
You don't have to spend hours looking for virus-infected installers, but install applications using the appropriate package manager (usually even graphically without a console).
and much more.
But you always have to ask yourself: What do you want to use it for? If it is mainly Windows games, then I advise against Linux with a heavy heart.
In principle, Nvidia also works with Linux, but from time to time you may have funny problems because the driver is not open source and Nvidia doesn't try too hard.
The laptop is definitely going in the direction of 8-10 years. Playing games should also be just for fun, because Linux is not that good for gaming, I just wanted to experience how annoying it is.
I've found a lot of interest in the aesthetics of Zorin, I think I'll take the Lite version, which also uses Xfce.
I can't recommend Zorin. You are directly with a distribution from a commercial provider.
The design can be changed relatively freely for each surface. I change the design regularly. Just have a look here
https://www.xfce-look.org/browse/ord/rating/
