Is A Rolling Or Point Release Linux Distro Better For Gaming?

In this video I explain the difference between a rolling and point release Linux distribution, as well as giving some thoughts on which one is better when gaming on Linux.

What Are Rolling Release and Point Release Linux Distributions?

A rolling release distribution is one that you install once, and assuming that keep it up to date, you will always be running the latest versions of software, your desktop environment, kernel, drivers, and anything else that makes up your distribution.

Some examples of Linux distributions that adopt the rolling release model include Arch Linux, Endeavour OS, OpenSUSE and Manjaro.

A point release distribution may have multiple full releases within a year, and each release is supported for a set period, so once this support period ends, you are expected to update to the next version.

In the time between releases, you will only get security updates, and updates to web browsers, not applications.

Some examples of Linux distributions that adopt the point release model include, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pop OS and Fedora.

Why Use a Rolling Release Linux Distribution for Gaming?

A rolling release distributions will typically give you first access to the latest versions of drivers and kernels, two things that are especially important when gaming on Linux.

This is important as the latest drivers will often contain bug fixes, as well as updated Vulkan extensions that are required when translating from the DirectX to Vulkan using Proton, or more specifically DXVK and vkd3d-proton.

The driver situation on Linux will differ depending on your manufacturer.

Nvidia tend to have day one driver releases supporting NVENC, CUDA, DLSS and Ray Tracing across both operating systems, and despite its proprietary nature, all you need to do is install the driver that supports your hardware, reboot and you are set.

In contrast, the situation with AMD is much more complicated, as there are several drivers that are available for their hardware, however, in most cases, you would only need to concern yourself with two of them, the AMD developed AMD Pro driver, and the community developed RADV or Mesa driver.

The Mesa driver is what is primary used when gaming using AMD hardware on Linux.

A final note about Linux drivers is that there are two parts to them, the kernel modules and userspace drivers.

The kernel module is self-explanatory, it is the firmware that supports the GPU in the kernel.

When it comes to newly released AMD hardware, in some cases you will need to be running the latest available kernel, otherwise your system may not boot.

Nvidia hardware does not have that problem, as they patch in support using Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS).

The userspace driver is what interacts with the software, for AMD, you would use the RADV or Mesa drivers, and for Nvidia the userspace drivers that come as part of the overall proprietary driver installation package.

Why Use a Point Released Distribution for Gaming?

The reality is that you can get the latest drivers and kernels on any distribution, the only real difference is how you obtain these latest drivers or kernels.

For example, to install the latest Nvidia drivers on Ubuntu based distributions, you would add the Nvidia drivers PPA.

https://launchpad.net/~graphics-drivers/+archive/ubuntu/ppa

And for AMD, the equivalent drivers PPA.

https://launchpad.net/~kisak/+archive/ubuntu/kisak-mesa

For Fedora, simply add and enable the RPM Nvidia repository, and install the driver from there.

https://rpmfusion.org/Howto/NVIDIA

For installing new kernels, the process is similar.

To install the latest kernel for Ubuntu based distributions, you can use the Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer.

https://github.com/bkw777/mainline#ubuntu-mainline-kernel-installer

Alternatively, for Fedora, and Pop OS, you do not need to do anything as both distributions will update you to the latest kernel when available.

Finally, there is a huge advantage that point release distributions have over rolling release distributions, in that you are not forced to update everything on your system.

For example, if you want to install the latest available GPU driver on Arch, you have to update your entire system.

In contrast, if you have an installation of Ubuntu and you just want to update your GPU driver, simply add the driver PPA, download the new driver, install it and the rest of your system will not be touched.

Conclusion.

In conclusion, your choice of Linux distribution for gaming should not be determined by its release model, choose something you like, and then use the recommended method to get you access to the latest drivers and kernels.

#linuxgaming #drivers #kernel