Games are also beginning to run better than ever on Linux distros now that many game engines used by some of the biggest names in the gaming industry – such as the powerful CryEngine.com – have native Linux support.
Gamers switching from the bloated Windows OS to Linux can also see performance increases, as their system won’t have to devote as much of its resources to background processes and instead concentrate on delivering the best gaming experience possible.
Not only is there a plethora of choice when it comes to gaming on Linux, it’s now easier than ever to get started. Although Valve’s proprietary store front has its issues – such as game DRM– it does make installing and running games an incredibly simple process.
It’s also not the only game in the Linux-verse, Good Old Games (www.gog.com) is another service that sells games for Linux. It offers a mix of classic games (that have been made compatible with modern computers), new games and has a no-DRM policy.
Hardware manufacturers have also been upping their game as well, making good strides to ensure their graphics drivers are Linux compatible, so we can fit the most powerful gaming components into our machines.
The second bit of good news is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a capable graphics card. Sure, there are some ludicrously expensive GPUs on the market, such as Nvidia’s £800 Titan X, but these are aimed at gaming enthusiasts. For entry level and mid-range cards you can get something decent for between £60-£150, depending on the level of performance that you require.
Installing a GPU
It’s clear, then, that if you want to play graphically demanding big budget games, a dedicated graphics card is a must-have on your shopping list. Graphics card are relatively straightforward to install.
All you need to do is turn off your machine and pop off the side to get to your motherboard. The graphics card slots into the primary PCIe slot – check your motherboard’s manual (or run a quick online search) if you’re not sure, though most motherboards are clearly labelled up.
Find the grille that aligns with the PCIe slot you’re going to be installing the card in, and use a screwdriver to unscrew the screws holding it in place – but make sure you keep hold of the screws. Remove the grille cover and then insert your graphics card into the PCIe slot.
Now use the screws that you kept hold of and use them to secure the graphics card in place.
When Ubuntu is loaded you should see a message pop up saying that ‘Restricted drivers are available’. Click this message and a window will open up listing a range of drivers that you can install.
A recommended driver for your system will be highlighted, but it’s worth checking some of the drivers as there will be information regarding whether the drivers are proprietary or open source.
You can also install drivers from the terminal. Open it up and type
$ sudo Ubuntu-drivers devices.
This gives you a list of possible drivers, eg for an Nvidia graphics card it could list:
driver : xserver-xorg-video-nouveau - distro free builtin
driver : nvidia-304-updates - distro non-free
driver : nvidia-331 - distro non-free recommended
If we wanted to install the latest official proprietary driver from Nvidia – which Ubuntu recommends – then we would then type:
sudo apt-get install nvidia-331 to install.
The latter option used to mean relying on thirdparty repos (egppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updatesfor the latest stable), but in an exciting and recent development Ubuntu has set up an official PPA especially for Linux gamers wanting the latest drivers. To fetch them, add and enable the PPA using:
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphicsdrivers/ppa; sudo apt-get update
To upgrade to or install the latest driver use
$ sudo apt-get install nvidia-current .
If you’re concerned about these drivers making your system bleed – most newly released Nvidia drivers can tend to have their teething problems – then we’d advise sticking to the x-swat PPA. To roll back changes made by the PPA use
$ sudo ppa-purge ppa_name .
If you have an AMD graphics card and want to install the latest official drivers then you can download and install the AMD Catalyst program which gives an easy-to-use graphical interface for installing the latest drivers.
If you have previously installed an AMD card you’ll need to remove the old drivers by opening up the terminal and type in
$ sudo aticonfig –uninstall .
Now enter
$ sudosh ./amd-driverinstaller-x86.x86_64.run into the Terminal.
Where it says ‘amd-driver-installer-x86.x86_64.run’ you’ll want to double check that it’s the most recent driver for your card on AMD’s website (http://support.amd.com). A window will open allowing you to complete the installation. A word of warning, before updating your kernel down the line, remember to remove the proprietary driver.
Game services
Now that your Linux machine is ready to play games the big question is where can you get games to play? Steam is the obvious choice as it has a huge collection with a decent mix of genres and game types.
It also features some nifty features such cross buy, so you can buy a Linux game, and if it’s compatible with Windows or Mac, you can play it on those OSes as well without having to pay for another copy.
Many games on Steam also support cloud saves for you saving your progress on one machine and switching to another and carry on playing where you left off.
To install Steam in Ubuntu you can either search for it in the Software Centeror open up the terminal and type
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install steam
to install Steam.
Once installed you will need to sign in with – or sign up for – a Steam account. After that buying, downloading and installing games through Steam is a piece of cake.
