🎮 Gaming on Garuda Linux (Dragonized): Setup Guide

Garuda Linux (Dragonized Edition) is an Arch-based gaming-focused distro that comes with pre-installed tools, performance tweaks, and a stunning KDE Plasma environment. It’s one of the best choices for gamers who want a powerful, ready-to-use system.

✅ Pre-installed Steam, Lutris, Wine/Proton
✅ Optimized for gaming performance
✅ Rolling release with the latest software

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1️⃣ Setting Up Steam on Garuda

Steam is already installed on Garuda Dragonized. If you need to reinstall or update it, use:

sudo pacman -S steam

Enabling Steam Play (Proton) for Windows Games

1. Open Steam → Go to Settings.
2. Navigate to Steam Play.
3. Check "Enable Steam Play for supported titles".
4. (Optional) Enable "Enable Steam Play for all other titles" to run all Windows games.
5. Select the latest Proton version (Proton-GE is recommended).

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2️⃣ Installing Lutris for Non-Steam Games

Lutris is pre-installed on Garuda, but if missing, install it with:

sudo pacman -S lutris

Launch Lutris from the applications menu or with:

lutris

Lutris supports Epic Games, GOG, Battle.net, Ubisoft Connect, and more.

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3️⃣ Wine & Proton for Running Windows Games

Step 1: Install Wine (If Needed)

sudo pacman -S wine winetricks

Step 2: Verify Wine Installation

wine --version

Step 3: Install Winetricks (For Additional Libraries)

winetricks

For better compatibility, install Proton-GE using ProtonUp-Qt:

sudo pacman -S protonup-qt

Run ProtonUp-Qt and install the latest Proton-GE version.

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4️⃣ GPU Driver Setup for Garuda

NVIDIA Users

Garuda pre-installs NVIDIA drivers, but if you need to install them manually:

sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils nvidia-settings

Verify installation:

nvidia-smi

AMD Users

AMD drivers are built into the Linux kernel, but install Mesa and Vulkan drivers for better performance:

sudo pacman -S mesa vulkan-radeon lib32-vulkan-radeon

Verify Vulkan support with:

vulkaninfo | less

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5️⃣ Optimizing Gaming Performance on Garuda

1. Enable GameMode (Pre-installed Performance Booster)

GameMode is included in Garuda, but verify installation:

gamemoded --version

For Steam games, go to Properties → Launch Options and add:

gamemoderun %command%

2. Enable Fsync for Lower Input Lag

Fsync improves performance in Wine/Proton games. Enable it by adding this to Steam’s Launch Options:

PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 PROTON_NO_FSYNC=0 %command%

3. Use ZRAM for Better Memory Management

ZRAM compresses RAM to improve performance. Enable it with:

sudo systemctl enable --now zram

4. Set CPU Governor to Performance Mode

Check current governor:

cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor

Set to performance mode:

sudo pacman -S cpupower
sudo cpupower frequency-set -g performance

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6️⃣ Additional Tools for Linux Gaming

MangoHud (FPS Overlay & Performance Monitor)

Install:

sudo pacman -S mangohud

Run a game with MangoHud:

mangohud %command%

vkBasalt (Reshade-like Post-Processing for Vulkan Games)

Install:

sudo pacman -S vkbasalt

Enable it for Vulkan games:

VK_ICD_FILENAMES=/usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/intel_icd.x86_64.json vkbasalt %command%

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Final Thoughts: Is Garuda Dragonized Good for Gaming?

✅ Pros:
✔️ Pre-configured for gaming out of the box.
✔️ Steam, Lutris, Wine, and drivers are already installed.
✔️ Arch-based rolling release (always up-to-date).
✔️ BTRFS filesystem with automatic snapshots for easy rollbacks.

❌ Cons:
❌ Slightly heavier than pure Arch Linux.
❌ Requires more RAM than minimalist distros.
❌ Rolling release can occasionally break things.

🔥 Garuda Dragonized is one of the best Arch-based gaming Linux distros! Enjoy your games! 🎮