For the past month or so, I've been dabbling with Linux across my devices.
I started with my gaming PC, where I run Bazzite (KDE version, no Gaming Mode). I'm still dual-booting because a few games just won't run on Linux yet, either because my save game is still on the Windows install (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth), because of anti-cheat (Battlefield 6), or because I have completely modded the game (Skyrim).
I'm also running an RTX 4090 in that machine. Nvidia on Linux is still spotty at best. But I haven't booted Windows in a while, so I might just nuke the install once I finish FFVII and figure out how to port my modded games over.
Running Bazzite on this machine was my first real Linux desktop experience in a long while. I naturally have Linux running on the Steam Deck and on the ROG Ally, but it's been at least 20 years since I last had any version running on a PC: back then I dual-booted Ubuntu and Linux Mint on my old gaming PC, after my Windows install died twice in a month and I became fed up.
That didn't last long. I later bought a plastic MacBook, which was my first step into the Apple Walled Garden of which I've been a part of ever since.
But Linux has come a long way. Not shocking after 20 years, but still nice to see. (Then again, Windows still sucks 20 years in.)
Running Bazzite on the gaming PC made me curious enough to install Linux on something I actually work on. My only laptop for a long while has been a MacBook Pro (14", M1 Max, 64GB of memory), which, while it does run Linux thanks to Asahi Linux, is still only running macOS for now.
But ASUS sent me a review loaner for the next three months: the ROG Flow Z13, a tablet/laptop combo. Think Microsoft Surface with a Strix Halo APU (AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, what a stupid name), which is a beast of a chip. My loaner only has 32GB of memory, but this thing exists with up to 128GB of RAM, and you could easily give 90GB of that only to the GPU. It's a bit insane.
The first distro (don't call it distro) I installed was Bazzite. A day later, I was on CachyOS. As much as I love Bazzite, the immutability is a tad annoying. And while CachyOS is Arch-based, and Arch is not beginner-friendly, I know enough about computers to feel at home with it.
But for the first two weeks of owning the Z13, I was still carrying my MacBook Pro to work. (I do BYOD, because otherwise I would have to use Windows 11, which there's no way that's happening.)
Most of my work is in the browser; the rest is Excel, Obsidian, and Teams. I still didn't dare main Linux at work, though.
That changed fast. One Friday, I only brought the Z13, as I was leaving for vacation right from work. And I didn't want to carry two devices, so I picked the Z13, and had a full workday without any hiccups.
So after a lot of research, I bought a laptop.
I'm genuinely surprised by the Flow Z13's performance, but there are three issues I have with it that wouldn't make it viable as my main work device:
- The battery life isn't great when you give it some performance, at least on Linux. This is definitely a solvable issue, but the device is simply too new.
- I prefer a laptop to a tablet/laptop hybrid for work. This is mostly a me-thing, though.
- It's not mine, I don't get to keep it, which is the main reason.
So I got a Zenbook S14 from late 2024. It's been awesome.
I'm still using the Flow and will write a review soon. But I might reinstall Bazzite with the Gaming Mode enabled. I feel this device would gain a lot from that mode, and I am seriously wondering if I could find a controller grip that fits this monster of a device. It's totally unreasonable to even try, but hey, like I love to say: this website is called overkill.wtf for a reason (emphasis on the wtf this time around).
As for the S14, I'm typing these words on it right now, running CachyOS again. While I don't plan to game on it, as it runs an Intel 258V which is not really meant for gaming anyway, I feel comfortable with CachyOS. Honestly, I could probably get a similar experience with running Arch Linux directly, but I need to get shit done, and not spend a week installing most of the things I can get with CachyOS out of the box.
And I don't care about the bloat.
I'm still running KDE and have it dialed in. But I do keep glancing over at Niri, as I like the idea of a scrolling tile manager. But so far, I can't run Niri without messing up my KDE install. So for now, KDE has to keep working, at least until I'm able to completely rebuild everything I need in Niri.
I need this thing to work, so experiments are weekend-only. (I might try CachyOS with the built-in Niri version on the Flow Z13 before running Bazzite on it. And if something breaks, we YOLO.)
I plan to write more about how I dialed in CachyOS on this machine in a later piece, but so far, everything has been working (except for my Stream Deck+ Wave XLR dock, but this is on Elgato). I am relying a tad more on browser versions for different software that I used to run locally on my Mac (Outlook, Office 365, etc.), but everything I need for work is working.
One more device runs Linux, and it's yet again Bazzite, but this time with the Gaming Mode enabled. That's my living room PC, the Playnix. This time around, I run GNOME, and... well, I don't like it. Thankfully, I never really boot into desktop mode, but I should have installed KDE instead.
Despite "only" running a 5600 CPU and a 9060 XT GPU, it's currently the device I game on the most. It's just that convenient to use, so I end up using this more than my beefy gaming PC (9800X3D, RTX 4090), despite both being attached to my 4K120 TV. It also makes me wish for a high-end AMD (or Intel?) GPU.
So, Linux. One month in, I'm fully embracing it as much as I can. At this point, I'm even considering running Fedora on my MacBook via Asahi Linux, just because I can.
And now that I'm fully into this new lifestyle, I'm actually wondering if an Android (also technically Linux?) device is next? Especially since Android and Linux like each other more than iOS and Linux. Though I'm not completely sure what device I'd pick here: the current thinking is a Google Pixel 10 (non-pro).
Though a foldable might be nice, too? But that is for future-me to figure out.
In the next part of this series, I’ll write about my first month running Linux full time, the apps I use, and the problems I encountered.