Not OP, but I have to keep one Windows PC around. My favorite mod for my favorite 20 year old 4x game will not run on Linux, even though the game itself will.
The rest of my PCs are running either Mint or Xubuntu.
Proton not virtual machine. Virtual machine emulate hardware for os to run like on pc. That also cause performance loss, but for 20 yo game probably not important.
I can add that in my experience, switching to Linux tends to have a positive impact on performance and keep the laptop usable for longer, I highly recommend you try it with your current laptop.
I’ve got an old desktop with a Core I7 with a 3 digit model number and 12GB of DDR3 RAM, it’s running Mint Cinnamon. I’ve got a Lenovo x86 tablet thing with 8GB of RAM and a Pentium processor, it’s currently running Fedora GNOME. I’ve run Ubuntu MATE on a Pi 4 as a desktop PC for about a year.
Most distros of Linux will run very well on a machine that ever ran Windows 7 acceptably. Prior to that, you start running into the “we’re discontinuing 32-bit support” problem.
Im running cosmic desktop on arch, its actually very good! I have enabled automatic tiling of windows and its just super convenient. Like a tiling window manager but with all the stuff most people want built-in (top bar, notifications, screenshots, screen sharing etc).
You cant customize it as much as a real tiling window manager but if all you want is for your windows to tile, its awesome.
I’m waiting for actual fire to start in my laptop before switching. I’ve had to do so many tricks to keep Win 7 going that I’m invested in keeping this thing going as long as possible. Plus all my porn is on it.
I will be switching to Linux once my laptop is obsolete!!! I will only be getting Linux stuff from there on in!!! :-)
You’re going to immediately wonder why you waited so long.
Why wait? Linux Mint will run the shit out of your laptop right now.
Not OP, but I have to keep one Windows PC around. My favorite mod for my favorite 20 year old 4x game will not run on Linux, even though the game itself will.
The rest of my PCs are running either Mint or Xubuntu.
Qemu vm not option? Try virt-manager or similar. If 20 year old game performance impact probably not bad.
You think that will work even if Proton doesn’t?
Proton not virtual machine. Virtual machine emulate hardware for os to run like on pc. That also cause performance loss, but for 20 yo game probably not important.
I can add that in my experience, switching to Linux tends to have a positive impact on performance and keep the laptop usable for longer, I highly recommend you try it with your current laptop.
I’ve got machines that are obsolete for even Windows 10 that run Linux just fine. The best time to start is now.
what desktop environment do you run there? I guess that machine does not have much ram, so it must be something memory efficient
I’ve got an old desktop with a Core I7 with a 3 digit model number and 12GB of DDR3 RAM, it’s running Mint Cinnamon. I’ve got a Lenovo x86 tablet thing with 8GB of RAM and a Pentium processor, it’s currently running Fedora GNOME. I’ve run Ubuntu MATE on a Pi 4 as a desktop PC for about a year.
Most distros of Linux will run very well on a machine that ever ran Windows 7 acceptably. Prior to that, you start running into the “we’re discontinuing 32-bit support” problem.
Try Pop OS Cosmic (Like MacOS) and Linux Mint Cinnamon (Like Windows) they are both amazing. They are both customizable to look however you want too
Im running cosmic desktop on arch, its actually very good! I have enabled automatic tiling of windows and its just super convenient. Like a tiling window manager but with all the stuff most people want built-in (top bar, notifications, screenshots, screen sharing etc).
You cant customize it as much as a real tiling window manager but if all you want is for your windows to tile, its awesome.
If you have a drive where you can back up your stuff before installing a new OS, there’s no need to wait.
I’m waiting for actual fire to start in my laptop before switching. I’ve had to do so many tricks to keep Win 7 going that I’m invested in keeping this thing going as long as possible. Plus all my porn is on it.