Is Garuda Linux good for a Windows user?

Garuda Community
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Hello, I am thinking about downloading this system, but I need to know a few things.

  1. will the system be compatible with any EXE file? (For example, with a game from GameJolt or an old program.

  2. is the frame rate difference in games better?

  3. can I play games (from steam for example) that do not have Linux support.

  4. does this system have some kind of anti-virus? If not, which one do you recommend, I am worried about my security.

  5. what features does this system have that Windows 10 does not?

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Yes garuda is a great choice. You might face some difficulties using this since you have not used any linux before.

  1. You can use your windows programs with the help of Wine
  2. Frame rates depends on a lot of things. Some games perform same or slightly better than windows some slightly worse. It really depends on the game you are playing
  3. Yes you can play most of your steam games on Linux with the help of Proton. You can check the the list of games that are playable on Linux on ProtonDB
  4. No it does not have any anti-virus. Just don’t download anything suspicious and run it as root user or sudo.
  5. Try it yourself for a few days then you will understand what features it has and what does not.
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Welcome :slight_smile:

You upgrade and update your complete system and all apps with one command in terminal.

upd

in max. 5 min. :slight_smile:

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Yes, there are tools like wine and proton to help with that. But do not expect a faultless 100% smooth experience with them. Exe files were meant to be run on windows afterall.

For me it was a yes. Sometime down the line I started booting with linux-clear (kernel that’s designed to run better on intel hardware) kernel instead of the default linux-zen which further improved this ~10-15fps.

Though I play only CS:go, nfs most wanted black edition and gta 5 so your mileage might vary.

Yes, as I mentioned through proton support for me proton v 6.8 works you might to go with trial and error and figure out which proton version works out for you.

Though I must say windows games run much better with wine rather than proton.

Linux community does have some anti-virus programs that no one uses. Honestly why would they? A code base that’s being monitored by over a 100 mil devs every hour and giant corps all around the world what are the chances that someone will be able to find a vulnerability and exploit it before it’s patched.

Just have your firewall setup and use something like hblock and setup your DNS server (all can be done with garuda assistant GUI) and you are golden. You can read more on garuda wiki post install steps.

  1. Linux is not going to needlessly hog your system resources. Windows on idle consumes around 5-6 gb ram literally doing nothing. Opening more than 2 apps means your os dies. Yeah that’s not happening here.

  2. The updates as mentioned by sgs, one command for that.

  3. Extremely customizable and not just the skin level you can have different kernels, different bootloaders, different initramfs generators. You can make your os as eye candy and performance oriented you want.

  4. Extremely secure. Really any server worth their salt is running linux.

Disadvantages, not really disadvantages but well,

  1. Not all windows games work on linux afterall they were meant for windows. Look at protondb website for understanding compatibility rating by community. Plus a few games and studios actively block things like wine.
  2. You need to look at open source alternatives to some windows software like ms office suite. Eg, wps office.
  3. You need to be able to use internet and search and read. You are using a bleeding edge distro so yes there are going to be issues sometimes that you need to solve using internet as a friend. Being a help vampire doesn’t work with any community.
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No spyware included. :wink:

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I just wanted to comment here because I saw at least one very ambitious/optomistic answer.

  1. It will not work with .exe out of the box. There are some work arounds to get them to work, but because you’re trying to run Toyota parts in a Ford. . . there’s a very good chance it won’t “just work.” Results will vary.

  2. This will depend on the game itself and their how linux compatible it is, and your GPU. Nvidia still has lot of issues, even with basic things. If you’re on AMD, you will likely have very similar experiences to Windows.

  3. So far- I have been able to play the majority of games from my steam account on my linux computer.

  4. Oddly enough if we revert back to question 1 - most virus are .exe based and since they won’t work outside of Windows, you’re already a huge step ahead. That is not to say that there aren’t virus out there, but there’s probably thousands of them for Windows for one on Linux. If you’re worried about security, there’s without question no better thing you can do that to get off of Windows and Android. If you remove those from your life, you will be far more secure than 99% of everyone else you interact with in daily life, without anti-virus.

  5. It’s your system - it can do whatever you want it to do. It’ll be fast and secure. It has no planned obsolescence so Lenovo or Windows can’t sell you something in 5 years. There’s people very happily running 10+ year old computers that feel as fast as a new Windows computer. There’s no telemetry* (minor caveats if you opt into certain analytics mostly by Ubuntu). You have people around you that also value privacy and security. You have control over updates. You are in control of your hardware. You won’t have something you already paid for trying to sell you on buying cloud space, or have advertisements for something you searched for on amazon popping up in your applications menu. Everything you touch won’t automatically open a software center asking you to pay $5.99 for something.

Good morning, would you still like that new nvme drive you looked at yeasterday? It’s on SALE NOW at Amazon today only!

You don’t need an account (although there are ways around using windows with a windows account) for them to never endingly record your movements, buying history, porn habits. Imagine in 35 years your insurance company declines you health coverage because Windows telemetry told them you averaged 7.3 hours per day sitting at your computer and you Amazon buying history showed you bought little debbie snack cakes twice a week for 9 years and now your heart is about to explode?

Linux is good for everyone.

The key is you can’t just look at it as a Windows replacement. You’re using Linux. Linux is not a 1 for 1 replacement. It’s like learning a new language. If you just ask how to run “this windows program on linux” - you’re gonna have a bad time. I would just suggest staying in Windowsland. It’s up to you if it’s worth it or not. But if you’re expecting the same experience, then answer is no, it won’t be.

As noted above - to see how well games you want to play or tips to get them working on linux - Check this out here: https://www.protondb.com/

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As you probably already know, there are thousands of linux distributions out there. Garuda linux is based on archlinux which is so called bleeding-edge distribution, meaning, it’s very much up to date in terms of software that it supports, however, archlinux is not user friendly in terms of installation (unless you use archfi or something else).
Garuda allows even most beginner user to have archlinux system by having simple graphical installer and desktop environment options during installer which saves a lot of time but also keeps many users unaware of what’s actually going on in the belly of the beast (terminal, manpages, wiki).
My point here is that having it all graphical, modern and cool is amazing and I appreciate it a lot (since I i’ve been using Linux for many years) but I’m still big believer that in order to have good linux experience one must learn more than just clicking on icons and checking right things.
As for the gaming on linux I think @fbodymechanic gave the best answer here.
Also remember - command line is your friend and even just knowing basics will make you feel like you actually own this OS. Plus Garuda community has very advanced users and devs as you probably can tell already.

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