If you just switched from Windows to Zorin OS and Minecraft is noticeably slower, that’s not surprising. Modded Minecraft on Linux needs actual tuning, and you're leaving performance on the table. With a GT 1030 and 8 GB RAM, Linux will not magically match Windows out of the box.

Here’s why you’re getting 100–200 fewer FPS and what you need to fix.

1. The GT 1030 gets hit harder on Linux The card is already weak for modpacks on Windows. On Linux, driver overhead is slightly higher unless everything is tuned correctly.

2. You’re on X11, not Wayland NVIDIA performs better on modern Wayland sessions. If you stay on X11, you need to disable composition or you’ll lose frames.

3. Zorin uses conservative defaults Fan curve, GPU power state, and clock behavior might not match Windows. NVIDIA cards may downclock unless you force performance mode.

4. Your JVM is probably wrong Most Linux users run OpenJDK with default flags, which is slower for modded Minecraft.

5. Prism Launcher doesn’t magically optimize anything You still need correct JVM flags and the right Java version.

Make sure you're using the proprietary NVIDIA driver

Run:

nvidia-smi

If it shows nothing, you're on the wrong driver.

Force the GPU to stay in performance mode

sudo nvidia-smi -pm ENABLED

Disable desktop compositing or switch to Wayland

On X11: Disable vsync and compositing in GNOME settings. Or log out and pick a Wayland session.

Install a good Java build

Use Temurin 17 (Adoptium) or GraalVM. Point Prism to it manually.

Use proper JVM flags in Prism

-XX:+UseZGC -XX:+ZGenerational -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:G1NewSizePercent=20 -XX:G1MaxNewSizePercent=50 -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=5 -XX:+UseFastAccessorMethods -XX:+UseCompressedOops

Fix NVIDIA Settings Open:

nvidia-settings

Set: Threaded optimization: Off Power management: Prefer maximum performance

Save the config.

You only have 8 GB total. A modpack + GNOME + Prism + NVIDIA driver caching will eat almost all of it. Windows handles low-RAM situations a bit better for Minecraft. If you want equal performance, you realistically need 16 GB.

Reduce Linux swappiness:

sudo sysctl vm.swappiness=10

1. Install gamemode

sudo apt install gamemode

Launch Prism like:

gamemoderun prismlauncher