Dead Men Walking

dMw Chit Chat => The Beer Bar => Technology Section => Topic started by: suicidal_monkey on August 09, 2005, 05:39:43 PM

Title: linux
Post by: suicidal_monkey on August 09, 2005, 05:39:43 PM
I've been thinking about switching to linux to give it a go and the one thing that has always stalled me is that I still need windows for games. I believe that (some) distributions and/or emulators are now pretty good at running windows games at good framerates without too much effort?

on my system I need whatever I can get for BF2 and Source under XPpro, and last I heard there was still a noticeable drop in performance/framerates when using linux. My other concern is that my motherboard is a pretty random one on the scale of things albeit with a standard nvidia chipset (Sparkle don't seem to support it at all!) and I have a slightly off-the-beaten-track DVB card although that is less of a worry as I don't watch a lot of tv...

Sparkle nForce2 400
Athlon XP2400+ (133 MHz fsb)
1Gb DDR @133 or @166MHz (512 PC2700, 512 PC3200)
120Gb WDC 7200rpm 8mb
NEC 3500 DVD-RW
Powercolor AIW 9800pro 128mb
SB Audigy2
Avermedia DVB-T 701

Anyone got any recommendations on distros to watch which are good for running games, particularly BF2, Source, CZ, etc, but which also don't have a steep learning curve? Ideally I'd like a distro I will almost understand as soon as it's up and running ;) Or should I wait until I build a new up to date pc before attempting the switch? :rolleyes:
Title: linux
Post by: DarkAngel on August 09, 2005, 07:06:38 PM
Stick with XP dont go down the linux road....
Title: linux
Post by: Anonymous on August 09, 2005, 07:08:28 PM
QuoteOriginally posted by DarkAngel@Aug 9 2005, 06:06 PM
Stick with XP dont go down the linux road....
[post=91140]Quoted post[/post]
[/b]
Doggers? Got another one for you ;)
Title: linux
Post by: Apoc on August 09, 2005, 10:48:32 PM
Lil bro (who only uses the command line for Linux) :huh:

Says to pick the distribution you like, then get winex from
http://www.transgaming.com/ (http://www.transgaming.com/)

Apparently you will see a bigger performance hit of you use Directx as your renderer instead of OpenGL in the games and while it might be good to do just for a nosey he reckons you'll switch back to XP very quickly.
Title: linux
Post by: Rabbi Bob on August 09, 2005, 11:24:04 PM
If you go down that route, check out the CVS of Cedega.
Title: linux
Post by: DogMeat on August 10, 2005, 12:31:37 AM
QuoteOriginally posted by DarkAngel@Aug 9 2005, 07:06 PM
Stick with XP dont go down the linux road....
[post=91140]Quoted post[/post]
[/b]

Pay no attention to Mr Ebay.  XP is a pile of outdated carp that is only popular in the same sense that the common cold can be called popular.  And for much the same reasons.

Cedega:

"It all depends on a number of factors, one of which is, how much futzing are you prepared to do to make a Windows game run on Linux? If you're a seasoned Linux user, an afternoon spent twiddling .conf file can be fine entertainment. If you just want a "click-and-go" gaming experience, however, Cedega may not be for you."

Find out more here... (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1628432,00.asp)