I got tired of feeling like an ATM for Microsoft.
Every time I sat down at my gaming PC, Windows treated me like a wallet with a pulse. Microsoft 365 popups? Check. Ads in the Start menu of an OS I paid $200 for? Absolutely. Constant nagging to subscribe to OneDrive like some desperate ex who won’t accept it’s over? You bet.
My favorite was when Windows would interrupt my gaming session with a forced update, then spend 20 minutes “getting things ready” while showing me tips about features I’d never use. Thanks Microsoft, but I don’t need Cortana’s life advice—I need to finish this raid.
So in April 2024, I did the unthinkable for a lifelong Xbox gamer and Windows developer: I nuked Windows and installed Pop!_OS 22.04. I even did some distro-hopping—tried CachyOS for a bit—but eventually landed back on Pop!_OS 24.04 with the shiny new Cosmic desktop. I braced myself for pain. Maybe some games wouldn’t work. Maybe I’d regret leaving the warm embrace of the Microsoft ecosystem I’d lived in for decades.
Spoiler alert: I don’t miss it. And the reasons why might surprise you.
The Performance Surprise
Here’s what I expected when I switched to Linux gaming: maybe comparable performance if I was lucky. A few extra hoops to jump through. Proton doing its best to translate Windows games.
Here’s what I got: my games run better.
I’m not talking about marginal gains or placebo effects. I’m talking measurable, monitor-it-yourself better. My main game is Elite Dangerous, and the difference is staggering:
- RAM usage: 13+ GB on Windows, 6-7 GB on Pop!_OS
- GPU temperature: 70°C on Windows, 60°C on Linux
- Frame rates: Slightly better
- Visuals: Actually look better under Wayland
That’s not a small improvement—that’s nearly half the RAM and 10 degrees cooler under load. My GPU fans aren’t screaming at me anymore. And somehow, the game looks better than it did on Windows.
But It’s Not Just About Performance
The performance gains were great. But honestly? The best part is that my computer finally feels like mine again.
I spent months dual-booting, trying to give Windows a chance. Maybe I could keep it around for that one game with anti-cheat issues, or some legacy tool I thought I needed. Then Windows Update struck. Twice. Both times, updates corrupted Windows so badly it required a clean reinstall. Both times, my Linux partition (CachyOS at the time) booted just fine, completely unaffected by Microsoft’s incompetence.
After the second time, I was done. I wiped Windows, reclaimed the partition, and gave the space back to Linux where it belonged.
And suddenly, all these annoyances I’d just accepted as “normal” were gone:
No more forced updates. I update when I want to update. Not when Microsoft decides to interrupt my evening because it’s patch Tuesday.
No more telemetry. Windows is constantly phoning home, sending data about everything you do. Linux? Silent. It’s my computer, not Microsoft’s data collection endpoint.
No more bloatware. Candy Crush, Xbox Game Bar I didn’t ask for, Edge trying to be my browser despite me installing Brave—all gone. I install what I want. Nothing else.
No more Recall. Microsoft’s brilliant idea to screenshot everything you do and store it locally (where it definitely won’t be a security nightmare) never even got a chance to spy on me.
Windows treats you like a child who can’t be trusted with their own PC. Linux treats you like an adult who owns their hardware.
The Honest Trade-Offs
Look, I’m not going to pretend Linux gaming is perfect. There are real limitations.
Anti-cheat is still a problem. GTA V Online? Nope. Single-player works fine, but online modes that rely on kernel-level anti-cheat are a no-go. That’s why I kept Windows around for months while dual-booting - I didn’t want to give up those games.
Some games are finicky. Cities: Skylines II has been a headache to get running smoothly. Not every game is a one-click install through Steam.
Mods are hit-or-miss. Some work perfectly, some don’t work at all, and it’s not always predictable which category a mod will fall into.
Performance isn’t always better. While Elite Dangerous runs like a dream, I’ve encountered games where frame rates are slightly lower than Windows. Not dramatically worse, but measurable.
Here’s the thing though: I made a choice. I decided that owning my hardware and controlling my computing experience was worth more than access to every single game. Anti-cheat was the reason I kept Windows around as long as I did. Eventually, I decided it was time to take a stand and take my destiny back - even if it meant giving up some things.
For some people, that trade-off won’t be worth it. And that’s fine. But for me? I don’t regret it.
Why This Matters
I’ve been gaming on Linux for about 18 months now. Pop!_OS 24.04 with Cosmic is my daily driver, though I’ll admit I’m a bit of a distro hopper - I like to tinker. But I always come back to Pop!_OS because it just works.
Would I recommend Linux gaming to everyone? No. If you’re deep into competitive multiplayer with kernel-level anti-cheat, you’re going to have a bad time. But if you’re primarily a single-player gamer, or you play games that don’t require invasive anti-cheat? Absolutely give it a shot.
Here’s what gets me: Microsoft had everything. Dominant OS. Loyal user base. Developer ecosystem. And they squandered it by nickel-and-diming their customers at every turn. They turned Windows into a platform for selling subscriptions and harvesting data instead of, you know, being a good operating system. They forgot that people actually bought Windows and treated them like free users who should be grateful for the privilege of more ads.
I’m not going to tell you that Linux is perfect. It’s not. But after 18 months, I can tell you this: I’m not going back. My computer is mine again. My games run better. And I don’t feel like an ATM anymore.
Sometimes taking a stand means giving up a few things. For me, it was worth it.
