Hello all, I Just joined the forum. Need advice on Linux O/Ss

[dagmann]

I would like to install 'ubuntu' along side Windows 7 Prof 64 bit.
I would like to be able to play Battlefield 4.
Ah, you ask why, well I am bored, retired and would like to mess around.

So which 'O/S' should I use for gaming and are there some installation instructions to follow?

Current computer specs: i7-4790k, 32 GB G.Skill Sniper 1866 memory, GTX 1080ti SC, Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2 motherboard.
Also I might build a new rig which means I will most likely have to use Windows 10.

[Autodave]

Well, I always like new rigs, but your specs are quite good and you really shouldn't have much problem with gaming. And, you certainly will not have problems with Ubuntu.

You will almost certainly use Windows for gaming since most of the major games are Windows or Mac. You may be able to run Steam and then run Battlefield 4 in that, but I have no idea how well it would work.

I have one game that I play and I have Win10 for that. That is the ONLY thing that I use Windows for. It is the ONLY program installed in Win10. I use Ubuntu (Xubuntu) for everything else.

Oldfred will probably wander in this thread soon and give you all sorts of info on how to install Ubuntu alongside Windows.

[Autodave]

I did a quick search for running BF4 on Steam and it doesn't look real promising. It does seem possible, but there are a lot of things that must be done in order to get it to work. Hopefully, I am wrong about that and someone else with knowledge about the game will jump in, but if it were me, I would just use Windows for that and use Ubuntu for everything else.

BTW: welcome to the forums!

[dagmann]

Thanks for the replies Autodave.
I purchased BF4 through Origin.
So I guess running BF4 on Ubuntu is not looking good.

I do have some games from Steam such as Insurgency and Squad.
I would have to download them from Steam and install them.

I thought that it would be fun experiencing another O/S.

[CatKiller]

I did a quick search for running BF4 on Steam and it doesn't look real promising.

EA don't sell their games through Steam. They have their own client: Origin. You can run it through Wine, as well as using Lutris to help out, but that's not as straightforward as simply firing up Steam and hitting play.

[CatKiller]

I thought that it would be fun experiencing another O/S.

I've been gaming every day for the past thirty-something years, and I haven't used Windows for the last 14. Games that run through Steam are generally pretty straightforward; the problem areas are generally DRM, anti-cheat, and games that are flaky on Windows too.

Wine is the software that allows Windows software to run on Linux. Setting it up can be a hassle, which is why front-ends like Lutris and Steam's Proton exist.

Since you've got a Windows licence too, you can use Linux for the games that you're interested in making work on Linux and switch to Windows for the others. At least until Windows 7 hits its final End of Life at the beginning of next year.

[Frogs Hair]

Win 7 is EOL January 13, 2020 and If you aren't upgrading to Win 10 you have some time to experiment with games and Linux in general. I dual boot with Win 10 for reasons that include gaming.There is some software I can't run in wine or crossover. My computers were upgraded to Win 10 during the free upgrade period and then I reinstalled windows 7 until this summer. I then installed a much better version of Win 10 free of charge due to my device data being stored on the MS servers.

[oldfred]

That is an UEFI system, but most Windows 7 installs were/are BIOS with MBR partitioning.
You can only have Windows in BIOS mode on MBR(msdos) or UEFI with gpt partitioning. And then if on same drive Ubuntu must be installed in same boot mode and should be in same boot mode even if on another drive.
But since UEFI system, you may want to upgrade to Windows 10 and install in UEFI boot mode.
For both Windows & Ubuntu how you boot install media UEFI or BIOS is then how it installs.
Post this from Ubuntu live installer in live mode & its terminal:
sudo parted -l

If interested in UEFI, many links in the link in my signature.

GPT Advantages (older 2010 but still valid) see post#2 by srs5694:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1457901
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php...antages_of_GPT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified...ware_Interface
http://askubuntu.com/questions/62947...br-why-not-mbr
UEFI Advantages
http://askubuntu.com/questions/64730.../647604#647604
http://askubuntu.com/questions/44696...y-vs-uefi-help

[dagmann]

As of right now, to simplify this experience, I plan to use a formatted Samsung 500GB SSD drive for the Ubuntu installation, and no other drives except of course an HP DVD.
I would like to install and use the Firefox browser.

I downloaded the following software files. I hope that they are correct.
PowerISO7-x64, NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-430.40, ubuntu-18.04.3-desktop-amd64

I found on Youtube some videos on how to install Ubuntu from a USB drive. I'll give that a try.

I appreciate everyones input. I'll be back!

[Autodave]

Do not do it that way. Burn the ubuntu.iso file to a USB stick or DVD and install on the 500G SSD drive. Once installed, go to Settings -> Additional Drivers and make sure that the most current Nvidia driver is installed.

You want to install 99.9% of your software through the repositories: not downloaded from some site. Please remember: Linux is NOT Windows! It is very different from what you are used to.