🎮 Gaming on Nobara Linux: Setup Guide

Nobara Linux is a Fedora-based distro that is pre-configured for gaming. It includes optimized drivers, patches, and gaming tools out of the box, making it one of the best choices for Linux gamers.

✅ Pre-installed Steam, Lutris, Wine/Proton
✅ Optimized for gaming performance
✅ Easy NVIDIA/AMD driver setup

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1️⃣ Setting Up Steam on Nobara

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

sudo dnf install 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 already included in Nobara, but if missing, install it with:

sudo dnf install 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 dnf install wine wine64 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 dnf install protonup-qt

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

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4️⃣ GPU Driver Setup for Nobara

NVIDIA Users

Nobara pre-installs NVIDIA drivers. If you need to manually install them:

sudo dnf install akmod-nvidia xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-cuda

Verify installation:

nvidia-smi

AMD Users

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

sudo dnf install mesa-vulkan-drivers

Verify Vulkan support with:

vulkaninfo | less

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5️⃣ Optimizing Gaming Performance on Nobara

1. Enable GameMode (Pre-installed Performance Booster)

GameMode is already included in Nobara, 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 dnf install kernel-tools
sudo cpupower frequency-set -g performance

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6️⃣ Additional Tools for Linux Gaming

MangoHud (FPS Overlay & Performance Monitor)

Install:

sudo dnf install mangohud

Run a game with MangoHud:

mangohud %command%

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

Install:

sudo dnf install 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 Nobara Good for Gaming?

✅ Pros:
✔️ Pre-configured for gaming out of the box.
✔️ Steam, Lutris, Wine, and drivers are already installed.
✔️ Optimized patches for low-latency gaming.

❌ Cons:
❌ Slightly heavier than vanilla Fedora.
❌ Less community support compared to Ubuntu-based distros.

🔥 Nobara is one of the best gaming Linux distros! Enjoy your games! 🎮