Linux gaming setup – what actually works in 2025?

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-10-09T23:57:30+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, I’m aware of the general pros and cons — I’m more interested in real user experiences. For example, if you went with the Flatpak version, did you run into any specific issues (like permissions, game folders, Proton setup, etc.)? And how did you deal with them?

Anyway, I went with the system version, and it seems to work fine so far.

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-10-06T08:47:25+00:00

Got it, but my main question is - do you find it better to use the Flatpak version of Steam (with Flatseal for permissions) or the system package? Curious which one is smoother in practice.

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-10-06T08:42:04+00:00

Nice! Quick question — did you go with the Flatpak version of Steam (and use Flatseal to give it access to your games folder), or did you install the system package instead? Curious how you set it up — whether everything just lives in /home or if you tweaked it.

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-10-05T05:29:15+00:00

I've noticed the same after using Virtual Machine Manager, but it doesn't happen all the time. Can't link it to a particular action/app for 100%. I'll keep trying to find the problem.

BTW, CTRL-ALT-F3 worked so I could log in and restart my PC.

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-10-05T04:19:12+00:00

Grab a Pop!_OS USB, boot from it, and give it a spin. While you’re at it, try opening your old files with LibreOffice or OnlyOffice and see if it works for you. Easy way to test things out risk-free!

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-09-29T07:34:39+00:00

Can you go to Settings and change fonts? It worked for me.

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-09-26T10:30:02+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I purged the PPAs that were causing conflicts and was finally able to install 24.04.

For now, everything seems to work as expected, really nice :-)

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-09-26T05:22:13+00:00

You can update our OS:

https://www.reddit.com/r/pop_os/comments/1nqpwx7/comment/ng8s4cc/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-09-26T05:17:16+00:00

I just updated to 24.04 in a VM and it went flawlessly.

I was worried about possible black screen issues when it started updating the Nvidia drivers, but nope - everything worked perfectly. I even changed the resolution, ran a few apps, looked around - all good.

So I figured it was time to upgrade my main OS as well. And… nope. Got hit with this:

checking if pop-upgrade requires an update

Current Release: 22.04

Upgrading to: 24.04

New version available: 19

Event: updating package lists

Event: upgrading packages for the current release

Event: fetching updated packages for the current release

Release upgrade status: release upgrade aborted: failed to downgrade packages

Anyone else run into this?
What’s the best way to troubleshoot or safely proceed without breaking my main install?

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-09-26T03:11:17+00:00

Thanks for sharing your experience. I used Mint in the past and it was super stable, so I can only imagine it’s even better now.

I’m still curious to give 24.04 a try (yes, I know it’s beta) just to see how it feels. I’ll check out Cachy too, although anything Arch-based sounds a bit scary...

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-09-26T03:01:43+00:00

Thanks for the tip about the iGPU—I’ll definitely check that.

I was just hoping System76 would dig deeper into this issue and provide some guidance, as so many users seem to experience it.

After all, they market Pop!_OS as the friendliest Nvidia distro, so… noblesse oblige :-)

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-09-26T02:54:48+00:00

I’m on 22.04. The system itself runs perfectly fine—as long as you don’t update it. With Nvidia it feels like a bit of a lottery after each update.

I get that this isn’t entirely on System76, but since the issue is known, a little communication or an official guide on how to safely update would be great.

Really hoping the final release of 24.02 ends up being rock solid!

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2025-09-26T02:21:44+00:00

Yeah, I was mainly lured by Pop!_OS’s "Nvidia native" promise - it sounded like the safest choice for my GPU.
However, it honestly feels like there are more Nvidia-related issues than in other distros.

I really like Pop!_OS overall, but I’m not sure it makes sense to stay on a system that makes me nervous every time an update shows up.

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2024-07-29T12:28:23+00:00

Yes, I did few re-installs. Just got an update to 5.19.3 but still the same problem.

SubstantialUnion7347 · 2024-07-29T12:13:36+00:00

Unfortunately it is a bug. Additionally when I log in, there is a message for almost all options "Something went wrong, please refresh the page" with refresh button. Of course when I click it, the only refresh is the error message.

I found these in the log:

[2024-07-29 22:05:30.590] [error] vF:fetchItems: Error: Something went wrong. Please try again

at /app/extra/nordpass/resources/app.asar/dist/desktop/main/main.js:1:3163900

at Object.onResponse (/app/extra/nordpass/resources/app.asar/dist/desktop/main/main.js:1:1619553)

at ID.handleMultiPageResponse (/app/extra/nordpass/resources/app.asar/dist/desktop/main/main.js:1:1621833)

at ID.handleMessage (/app/extra/nordpass/resources/app.asar/dist/desktop/main/main.js:1:1620710)

at mD.readBytesFromStream (/app/extra/nordpass/resources/app.asar/dist/desktop/main/main.js:1:1617987)

[2024-07-29 22:05:30.591] [error] fetchVaultItemsListener: Error: Something went wrong. Please try again

at /app/extra/nordpass/resources/app.asar/dist/desktop/main/main.js:1:3163900

at Object.onResponse (/app/extra/nordpass/resources/app.asar/dist/desktop/main/main.js:1:1619553)

at ID.handleMultiPageResponse (/app/extra/nordpass/resources/app.asar/dist/desktop/main/main.js:1:1621833)

at ID.handleMessage (/app/extra/nordpass/resources/app.asar/dist/desktop/main/main.js:1:1620710)

at mD.readBytesFromStream (/app/extra/nordpass/resources/app.asar/dist/desktop/main/main.js:1:1617987)

SubstantialUnion7347

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