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Gaming on NixOS ?

Hi, I am considering switching to NixOS and I was wondering what level of hassle I should expect for gaming.

I have been using linux for about 10 months so I don't know a lot yet. I am wondering if it is worth it to try gaming on Nix or if it is going to be way too much of a headache considering my limited knowledge.

I've had wildly different experiences trying gaming on different distros, and very differently from what I expected. It went from fine for a weird niche distro (antiX), to really awful for a distro supposedly "easy" and "good for gaming" (Manjaro 😑), to absolutely amazing gaming distro (Nobara), and finally to surprisingly good for a "don't try unless you are a Level 99 Tech Wizard dual-classed Zen Master you idiot" distro (Arch). So I really have no clue what to expect from Nix.

I really like Arch but my main issue is that I keep forgetting what I have already configured and how and with which settings, or I leave stuff partially configured because adhd then I forget it wasn't finished and where I was at, so using config files instead sound insanely more convenient and I've been wanting to try Nix for a while.

I'd be really glad for anyone willing to share their experience of gaming on Nix 🙂

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  • Works pretty well for me. I just have this config:

      # Sadly we can't easily install steam on a per-user basis, because installation
  # requires touching a lot of system libraries, etc.
  programs.steam = {
    enable = true;
    remotePlay.openFirewall = true; # Open ports in the firewall for Steam Remote Play
    dedicatedServer.openFirewall = true; # Open ports in the firewall for Source Dedicated Server
  };

    I'm using Sway on an Nvidia RTX 4080 Super. It's important to be on the latest driver. I'm still waiting for Sway to merge support for DRM explicit sync objects, but until then, gaming still works fine with the occasional artifacts from lack of synchronization with the kernel.

    If by chance you need a specific Nvidia driver, you can configure that like so:

      hardware.graphics.enable = true;
  hardware.nvidia = {
    package = config.boot.kernelPackages.nvidiaPackages.stable;

    # More versions readily available for downgrading.
    # package = config.boot.kernelPackages.nvidiaPackages.mkDriver {
    #   version = "535.154.05";
    #   sha256_64bit = "sha256-fpUGXKprgt6SYRDxSCemGXLrEsIA6GOinp+0eGbqqJg=";
    #   sha256_aarch64 = "sha256-G0/GiObf/BZMkzzET8HQjdIcvCSqB1uhsinro2HLK9k=";
    #   openSha256 = "sha256-wvRdHguGLxS0mR06P5Qi++pDJBCF8pJ8hr4T8O6TJIo=";
    #   settingsSha256 = "sha256-9wqoDEWY4I7weWW05F4igj1Gj9wjHsREFMztfEmqm10=";
    #   persistencedSha256 = "sha256-d0Q3Lk80JqkS1B54Mahu2yY/WocOqFFbZVBh+ToGhaE=";
    # };
    # package = config.boot.kernelPackages.nvidiaPackages.mkDriver {
    #   version = "550.40.07";
    #   sha256_64bit = "sha256-KYk2xye37v7ZW7h+uNJM/u8fNf7KyGTZjiaU03dJpK0=";
    #   sha256_aarch64 = "sha256-AV7KgRXYaQGBFl7zuRcfnTGr8rS5n13nGUIe3mJTXb4=";
    #   openSha256 = "sha256-mRUTEWVsbjq+psVe+kAT6MjyZuLkG2yRDxCMvDJRL1I=";
    #   settingsSha256 = "sha256-c30AQa4g4a1EHmaEu1yc05oqY01y+IusbBuq+P6rMCs=";
    #   persistencedSha256 = "sha256-11tLSY8uUIl4X/roNnxf5yS2PQvHvoNjnd2CB67e870=";
    # };

    modesetting.enable = true;
    nvidiaSettings = true;
  };

  # Weird that "xserver" is here when we are using Wayland. But this is required
  # to install the NVIDIA driver.
  services.xserver.videoDrivers = [ "nvidia" ];
26 comments