Considering Linux-Only for New Gaming Rig

[Dole4011]

I'm planning to build my own computer in a month or two. It'd mostly be used for WoW, though possibly some other games down the road. I'd also need to be able to run Vent.

From what I've seen, quite a few Linux users do that by running Wine or by just dual-booting.

I'm new to Linux, but the idea of not having to run Windows is appealing. I'm not incredibly computer savvy, but I wouldn't qualify as a novice either.

Realistically, I think that running Windows would just be easier. That's why I've stayed with it this far. I hate the idea of a patch screwing me up, running into weird glitches with no simple fixes, decreased performance, etc. I imagine that for most stuff like that, there are fixes, but they would not always be readily available (and I don't see myself debugging without fixes others suggest). If I'm missing raids because I'm trying to figure out how to get my system operating properly again, it's not worth it to me.

So, this is a calculated risk, but I'm not sure of how much of a risk it is. For those who go the Wine route, how often is it a problem for you? How much extra maintenance is it? Do you dread patches? Do you have quality of life issues that plague or pester you?

A couple of other things to keep in mind:
-Before I'd go the dual boot route, I'd just as soon run Windows only.
-I will have my older computer as a back-up if I run into a complication.

A secondary uncertainty is, if I choose to go with Linux, which distro I should go with. I figure the most widely used would mean an easier time finding for solutions to problems I encounter. Any solid reasons to pick one over the other: Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, etc? [I realize you can do trial runs in a browser or virtual machine or whatever else, but I'm not sure just test-driving it will inform me as well as educated reviews.]

Suggestions?

TL;DR-Linux noob wondering if avoiding Windows is a bad idea. If not, which distro?

I searched this topic earlier but didn't find what I was looking for. Sorry if this is a beaten dead horse.

[n0cturnal]

I would stay away from Linux as a gaming platform for now, it isn't worth the hassle. Linux is fun to play around with and even use for every day work, but gaming is still not as good as in Windows.

I would advise you to try it out on your current computer before you plan to go over to it full time on a new computer.

[The Cat]

I hate the idea of a patch screwing me up, running into weird glitches with no simple fixes, decreased performance, etc. I imagine that for most stuff like that, there are fixes, but they would not always be readily available (and I don't see myself debugging without fixes others suggest). If I'm missing raids because I'm trying to figure out how to get my system operating properly again, it's not worth it to me.

It doesn't sound like Linux is for you. At least not as the primary OS.

[Cyanotical]

there are many things linux does better than windows, but initial ease of use is not one of them, there are about 4 ways to install a program, and a several for launching a program, Wine is a gamble, it may work, it may not

but, there is one thing that holds true for all versions of linux: if you are not comfortable with command line then you are not ready for linux

Ventrilo is not a problem, there is a vent client called Mangler, its actually better than the windows vent client

WoW runs in wine, and if that is the only game you play, Linux wouldn't be bad, but looking at steam, right now there are not many games ported to linux yet, i have 6/107 available on linux

the biggest thing with linux is how tenacious and patient are you? if you are willing to spend a few hours to get something working, once you get used to it, hours drop down to minutes, but its still never as easy as double clicking an executable in windows

also, for gaming, Ubuntu 12.04 or 12.10 with the default Unity UI, gnome3 and KDE cause some games to crash

[Deleted]

i hate linux soo much, everytime you enter a linux forum with a question, they just piss you off but at the end, you never receive an answer to your question. whatever you ask, they call you a newb... i'll have tux for dinner!

[cp1]

Ubuntu has a lot of good support, so I'd recommend that. But I wouldn't recommend using linux as your primary gaming OS. You should take your old computer and put Ubuntu on that and turn it in to a server / try out some projects on it.

[Cyanotical]

i hate linux soo much, everytime you enter a linux forum with a question, they just piss you off but at the end, you never receive an answer to your question. whatever you ask, they call you a newb... i'll have tux for dinner!

i would say part of this is because its often the same set of questions, the Arch community is notorious for what you described, but they also have the best documentation of any operating system

think about it, if you get asked the same five questions all day, and you have not only documented it, but posted stickies and shown that it only takes 5 seconds of googling to find the answer, you would be pretty annoyed if someone kept asking the same questions over and over

[n0cturnal]

i would say part of this is because its often the same set of questions, the Arch community is notorious for what you described, but they also have the best documentation of any operating system

think about it, if you get asked the same five questions all day, and you have not only documented it, but posted stickies and shown that it only takes 5 seconds of googling to find the answer, you would be pretty annoyed if someone kept asking the same questions over and over

This goes for a lot of computer hardware/software communities, if you could've found the answer of your question with a few moments of googling you better not ask it.