Subscribers asked me to test War Thunder on Linux vs Windows, and I actually did it a long time ago. It’s one of the very few games where you can genuinely say Linux performs substantially better than Windows, despite running on NVIDIA and a “not really gaming-focused” distro.
Resident Evil 2 has been tested in Linux (Pop!_OS 24.04, COSMIC/Wayland) and Windows on my dual-boot machine:
RTX 5070 Ti
Ryzen 9 5900X,
RAM 32 GB
Each operating system has its own identical 1TB SSD drive.
The game was run at 1080p using the MAX settings, VSYNC OFF, FRAME LIMIT -OFF.
Game Mode -ON
NTsync - ON
Both systems Windows and Linux were set on Max Performance power plans available via OS GUI
Linux lags behind by about 30 - 40 FPS on average in this test, despite the fact that both platforms provide excellent performance, well above 200 FPS, with exceptional overall consistency.
The 1% LOWs shows opposite picture, with Linux winning by 10–15 FPS.
Linux GPU utilization is 3–5% lower than Windows.
On the Windows end, CPU utilization clearly shows greater and steady frequencies.
On the Linux end, GPU VMem use is greater for 1 GB, which can be explained by usage of Proton (compatibility layer).
Both systems are still perfectly playable and fluid over the whole benchmark.
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Disclaimer: Why I Test with Pop!_OS + NVIDIA
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Windows gamers
The whole point of these benchmarks is to show that Linux gaming exists, works well, and isn’t nearly as complicated as many Windows users think. I’m basically trying to show a realistic migration path from Windows to Linux, not build a perfect Linux-only lab.
NVIDIA dominates the gaming GPU market.
According to the Steam Hardware Survey, NVIDIA usually sits around ~75–80% of GPUs in gaming PCs. If I test on NVIDIA, I’m covering what most gamers actually use.
Pop!_OS is one of the easiest distros for NVIDIA users.
It ships with dedicated NVIDIA ISOs, drivers are integrated, and updates are straightforward. I run tests on official Pop!_OS drivers, so the setup reflects something an average user could realistically install.
If Linux gaming works on NVIDIA, it works for most gamers.
Yes, AMD often performs better on Linux. I’m aware of that. But testing only on AMD would shrink the scope from ~80% of the market to a much smaller slice. My goal is broader relevance, not best-case scenarios.
Hey everyone, quick update on the driver situation and what’s happening next with the benchmarking rig.
If you were waiting for the Nvidia 595.59 driver, change of plans!
That version never actually made it to the Pop!_Shop-and honestly, that’s a good thing. Nvidia completely skipped past it and just launched a brand new, much more stable version: 595.71.05.
Here is the game plan and why this is great news:
This new update is a major cleanup. It fixes the nasty desktop crashes, lag spikes, and weird memory issues that the earlier 595 drivers were causing on Wayland.
Since my last round of Ntsync tests showed some promising performance gains, I’m going to install this new 595 driver as soon as it hits the system.
The goal is to see what happens when I combine the fresh bug fixes of this new driver with Ntsync. I want to see if this combination can finally push my RTX 5070 Ti to completely match Windows gaming performance.
Stay tuned!
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x with Snapdragon X Elite was tested in StarCraft 2 at 1080p with the Low settings. The game maintained an average framerate of 25-50 FPS, providing a somewhat playable experience.
Asphalt Legends has been tested in Linux (Pop!_OS 24.04, COSMIC/Wayland) and Windows on my dual-boot machine:
RTX 5070 Ti
Ryzen 9 5900X,
RAM 32 GB
Each operating system has its own identical 1TB SSD drive.
The game was run at 1080p using the Very High settings, VSYNC OFF, FRAME LIMIT -OFF.
While both platforms deliver very strong performance, well above 60 FPS, with outstanding overall consistency, Linux lags behind by roughly 70-100% FPS on average in this test. The 1% Lows have the same pattern.
This is easily one of the worst DX12-to-Vulkan translation jobs I’ve ever seen on Linux. The handling is absolutely horrendous compared to other modern titles.
Since this is a DX12 game using VKD3D, the outcome is rather predictable given that I'm currently using the NVIDIA 580 driver on Linux. Both systems are still quite playable and fluid over the whole benchmark, despite the obvious gap.
I'm still looking forward to the next NVIDIA driver 595 update for POP_OS, which should boost Linux DX12 game performance. After it lands, I'm going to rerun benchmarks on several DX12 titles, including this one.
***********************************************
Disclaimer: Why I Test with Pop!_OS + NVIDIA
***********************************************
Windows gamers
The whole point of these benchmarks is to show that Linux gaming exists, works well, and isn’t nearly as complicated as many Windows users think. I’m basically trying to show a realistic migration path from Windows to Linux, not build a perfect Linux-only lab.
NVIDIA dominates the gaming GPU market.
According to the Steam Hardware Survey, NVIDIA usually sits around ~75–80% of GPUs in gaming PCs. If I test on NVIDIA, I’m covering what most gamers actually use.
Pop!_OS is one of the easiest distros for NVIDIA users.
It ships with dedicated NVIDIA ISOs, drivers are integrated, and updates are straightforward. I run tests on official Pop!_OS drivers, so the setup reflects something an average user could realistically install.
If Linux gaming works on NVIDIA, it works for most gamers.
Yes, AMD often performs better on Linux. I’m aware of that. But testing only on AMD would shrink the scope from ~80% of the market to a much smaller slice. My goal is broader relevance, not best-case scenarios.
If you're wondering why Pop!_OS and some other stable distros are still "stuck" on the 580.159 branch while the 595 stable is out, here’s the tea.
The 595 branch is a straight-up minefield for the Blackwell architecture right now. Here are the specific issues being reported across the subs:
1. The "GPU Fallen Off the Bus" (Xid 79) Bug
The Issue: This is the big one. Under heavy load (Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2, or even Chromium hardware acceleration), the GPU literally loses connection with the PCIe bus. Your screen goes black, audio loops, and the only way out is a hard physical reset.
Affected Cards: Mostly RTX 5070 Ti and 5070.
Spotted on: Arch Linux (bleeding edge), CachyOS, and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (fresh install).
2. The "35W Power Lock" (Performance Throttling)
The Issue: A massive bug in the GSP (GPU System Processor) firmware within the 595.58 driver. The driver fails to handshake with the VBIOS on some 5070 Ti models, locking the card’s power draw to an idle-like state (around 35W–80W). You'll see 20 FPS in games where you should be getting 200.
Affected Cards: Various RTX 5070 Ti AIB models (Gigabyte and ASUS specifically mentioned).
Spotted on: Ubuntu 26.04 and Fedora 44 Rawhide.
3. Wayland "Pageflip Timeout" / Hard Freezes
The Issue: Even though 595 was supposed to "fix" Wayland, it’s causing kwin_wayland and cosmic-comp to hard freeze when waking from sleep or when VRAM gets full.
Affected Cards: Entire RTX 50-series and 40-series.
Spotted on: KDE Plasma 6.3 (Wayland) and COSMIC alpha builds.
4. Crimson Desert / DX12 Instant Crashes
The Issue: The new "Descriptor Heap" implementation in 595.58 (which is supposed to be a pro-gamer move) is actually breaking several DX12 titles through Proton. Games that worked fine on 580.159 now crash at the loading screen.
Spotted on: Ubuntu 26.04 using the "Recommended" 595 driver.
TL;DR:
If you’re on Pop!_OS with a 5070 Ti, System76 actually did you a huge favor by giving you the 580.159 "backport." It’s basically a 580-series driver that support Blackwell without all the 595 garbage bugs.
DO NOT manually install 595 from a PPA or the Nvidia .run file unless you want to spend your evening doing hard reboots. Wait for the 595.80+ fix to land in the Pop!_Shop.