EUIV: Ubuntu 12 vs. WinXP

[ardjen]

I am currently looking to cast aside WinXP and am leaning heavily towards Ubuntu instead of paying $100 for Win7.

Has anyone compared performance on EUIV between Windows and Ubuntu? Is one faster? Or should I expect the same performance?

Can you play MP between different operating systems?

Anything else I should know?

I mainly play Paradox games and Valve games...with a few others (Civ5 and CoH) occasionally thrown in.

Thanks

 

[ByteJunk]

I basically bought EUIV as soon as I realized I could play it on Linux (yes, Ubuntu here). I've had some occasional CTDs, but I've seen reports of that happening on windows as well, and they seem to have been mostly ironed out with the latest patches. Haven't really played MP, but I can't fathom why it would matter what OS you're using.

The performance seems to be very similar on either OS, and I can play fluidly despite being on a 3 year old laptop. It does depend on how well your graphics card is supported in linux though - you should be fine with nvidia (I use the proprietary drivers), your mileage may vary with other cards. I've had problems particularly with Intel integrated boards in other games (though I guess you'd expect that with an integrated board).

In any case, just try it out. It's not like you have to fork over $100 for a copy of Ubuntu

 

[gnome109]

I would say WinXp just because it can run Civ5, CoH, and EU4. Although it may be smarter to go with Windows 7.

 

[calvinhobbeslik]

Aren't all new Windows computers Windows 8 now?

 

[Dalewyn]

As far as I am aware Windows 7 itself is still available for purchase, both retail and OEM.

 

[Talar]

Did not compare to Windows since I only run it on Linux, but I would guess it's very similar. Paradox games are mainly CPU intensive. The graphics driver could have some impact. With my Nvidia card I have slightly better performance for most games in Linux with the binary driver, but not all manufacturers/cards have good drivers for Linux.

Never had a single CTD.

 

[ardjen]

As a whole is Ubuntu faster than Windows?

I have an Nvidia card that I know works with Ubuntu.

 

[PaulBill]

In general I find EUIV runs a lot better on Ubuntu than windows 7 or 8, not tried XP. On windows it seems to tax my graphics and processor. Often I find the temperatures of the graphics card and processor getting quite high, the fans sound like its trying to take off. Ubuntu the temperatures stay at a reasonable level. I've converted to using Ubuntu now for EU all the time. Since 1.3 I've never had a crash either.

 

[ByteJunk]

As a whole is Ubuntu faster than Windows?

I have an Nvidia card that I know works with Ubuntu.

I find it to be overall faster. Still, it depends on what you have running, on the graphic drivers quality, and on the game's level of optimization for the platform. Windows has a historical lead on the last two, since it's been the focus of game and drivers developers for such a long time.

Valve has mentioned they could get better performance on linux with OpenGL than they could on windows, but they did have to optimize the game first.

 

[ardjen]

Thanks for all the help. I can't seem to justify spending $100 for a Windows version when Linux can do nearly everything I need it to. Plus with SteamOS coming out, hopefully that will bring more attention from developers of games and hardware drivers.

For the Ubuntu users:
I imagine I will have to use WINE for Civ5 and CoH. How does that work with Steam? Do I have to install a separate instance of Steam under WINE? Then download the games and run them under WINE? Or can I maintain one instance of Steam?

 

[Talar]

If the games you want are available for Linux I would say go with it, there is nothing to lose. You can always get Windows later if you are not happy.. or you can use the 100$ for some additional memory or more games instead.

 

[Talar]

Seems that Civ5 can run fine:
http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=21465

And you install the windows version of the Steam client under Wine as I understand it.

Edit: It could possibly have a few issues or require some specific configuration I see now.. it's one of the games I'd like to get myself, but haven't bothered as there were no Linux version. So please make a post and let us know how it runs if you try.

 

[xyra]

i did run steam under wine with civ5. it works but is not that great.

and you have to install both, win and linux, steam clients.

 

[LarryLeica]

Is there not a linux client for Civ5 as there's a mac client whch usually seems to translate to one for linux too?

 

[PaulBill]

Apparently Civ 5 might be coming to steam at some point, but I don't know how reliable the source is.
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTQ3Nzc

 

[ardjen]

i did run steam under wine with civ5. it works but is not that great.

and you have to install both, win and linux, steam clients.

It's rated as gold on Wine.....

What issues did you experience and how did you work around them?

 

[ardjen]

Went through and installed on Ubuntu last night. It seems a bit slower, I notice some jerkiness when scrolling the map that didn't exist on Windows. Will this go away as the game gets cached?

Also what Nvidia drivers should I be using on my GT 220? 3.19? Or the post release updated?

Any other tips to improve performance? Thanks!

 

[xyra]

It's rated as gold on Wine.....

What issues did you experience and how did you work around them?

performance issues. Not the fault of wine, more of driver issues.

Regarding rivers: always use the latest if there are no problems. i'd even use the experimatal drivers if i'd still use ubuntu.

For gaming i also recommend to always stay up to date with ubuntu and don't stay at the longterm releases.

 

[ardjen]

performance issues. Not the fault of wine, more of driver issues.

Regarding rivers: always use the latest if there are no problems. i'd even use the experimatal drivers if i'd still use ubuntu.

For gaming i also recommend to always stay up to date with ubuntu and don't stay at the longterm releases.

I apologize, I wasn't clear, I was referring to EU4 being a bit choppy running natively in Linux, not Civ5 (haven't tried it yet)

Do I have to completely reinstall ubuntu to update to 13 or is just a patch?

 

[xyra]

almost all linux distributions use packages and packagemanagment for softwaredistribution.

updating ubuntu to 13.4 will be a mix of the following:

uninstalling a few packages
installing a few packages
updating a lot of packages (including updating config)

thats the same for every major linuxdistibution.
Actually you never have to reinstall a linux system if you don't want to switch the distributions. even downgrading would be possible without reinstall for expert users.

regarding EU4:
my pc is not in the spec for even beeing able to run EU4. it is a little bit sloppy but not disturbing.
There is a tool called jockey for ubuntu, this allows easy switching between the different drivers for your machine. maybe it is already installed. use it to switch to the latest driver for your card.