Up until April 2026 I was running Windows 10 and for many years I understood that my gaming was limited to 1080p with mid settings.
Over the years, I added RAM to get to 24 GB, and added a 750W Power Supply and a Radeon RX 5700 XT. The GPU cost me $150 CAD (used), and was about the best GPU I could add without too seriously outclassing the rest of the hardware.
Intel i7 970 (1st Gen, ~2010)
Gigabyte X58A-UD3R Rev 2
24 GB DDR3 RAM
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
I had no idea what to expect when running Zorin OS. And for gaming, my expectations were low (I had no idea what to expect).
To my great surprise gaming on my old PC with Zorin has been really good. Yes concessions have to be made for newer games (Same for when I was on Windows). But in the end I find that I can play and enjoy my games to the point where I'm not thinking about graphics or performance. I'm just playing.
To be fair, I'm not playing the most demanding games.
The newest game I'm playing is Gothic Remake (Unreal Engine 5).
I turned all graphics setting to low, then I bumped up textures and view distance to medium and the game runs well and looks good. I'm about 12 hours in.
Another game I play a lot of is Conan Exiles Enhanced (also UE5).
The original Conan Exiles is from 2018 and UE5 Enhanced version is from 2026. I play it on max settings and while not perfect, it's really good.
The rebooted (Survivor trilogy) for Tomb Raider running so perfect at max settings.
Same with Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered.
Both Plaque Tale 1 & 2 and the Witcher 3, Robocop Rogue City and Metro are running really well.
Smaller Indie games are no trouble and run perfectly.
So far the only two games that have given me problems are Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection and Ultima IX Ascension.
Uncharted won't launch and Ultima just doesn't control right.
All in I am really happy with gaming on Zorin.
It makes me wonder, how could gaming be better on Distros like Steam OS or Bassite. I don't think the games I play would run better on them. Thoughts?
Proton is amazing.