Win 10’s end of life is coming in Oct. 2025. This will affect lots of gamers including those who still play/enjoy D3 and other Blizzard games. Now is the time to prepare. Some of you, like me, have hardware that does not meet the requirements for Windows 11, thus moving to Win 11 with FULL support is NOT an option. Technically I have more than 1 PC, but my original Ryzen 7 1700x PC does not meet Windows 11’s requirements. Yes its stupid. Even on my 5800x PC, which meets the Win 11’s requirements, I will not be installing Windows 11.
So what can you do if you have hardware that does not meet Win 11’s requirements for FULL SUPPORT?
- Upgrade to newer hardware that meets Win 11’s requirements aka shell out those dollars.
- Stay on Win 10 and pray that Microsoft doesn’t cripple the OS like it did with Windows XP (in a single update on my very old PC, XP went from recognizing the 16GB RAM that is in the PC, to ONLY recognizing 2GB RAM regardless of the physical amount installed).
- Switch to Linux.
- Switch to a Mac
I don’t really consider option #4 as a legit option because Macs aren’t really focused with gaming in mind. Yes one can game on a Mac and there is some fancy external graphics card hardware for Macs. However, generally speaking there is very limited gaming support on the Mac platform
Option #3 is what I did many years ago. I game Linux and have no issues. For those who play games with anti-cheat software you might have problems with those games on Linux or could face a ban of your game account for those games if you attempt to run those anti-cheat enabled games on Linux. For most of everything else, Linux works great, and in some cases there is higher FPS performance on Linux compared to Windows for some Windows native games.
IF ANYONE IS CONSIDERING A SWITCH TO LINUX:
- You are NOT alone.
- Yes you can play D3, D2, D2R, D4, War3, SC-BW, SC-2, WoW, and a ton of other games on Linux without fear of bans.
- No Blizzard will not help you with your Linux install (this is where the Linux community comes in)
- There is a vast and rapidly growing Linux community
- You must accept that moving to Linux in some ways is like moving to a foreign country (lots of new stuff to learn, explore, experience)
- Before you attempt to do anything you should prepare starting with a backup of your data
- Be willing to read and google search. Spending 5-15 mins reading could save you dozens of hours of headache/frustration
There are lots of resources. Below are a few to get one started:
- Newbie Linux user/Newbie Linux Gamer guide ==>
https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/189rian/newbies_looking_for_distro_advice_andor_gaming/ - I generally recommend newbies pick Linux Mint or Pop_OS as their first distro, and advise them to avoid raw Ubuntu. Mint and Pop are more polished than raw Ubuntu and are better IMO than Kubuntu and KDE Neon (if you don’t know what these are, don’t worry)
- Dedicate Linux Gaming subreddit ==>
https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/new/ - Dedicated Linux Newbie subreddit ==>
https://www.reddit.com/r/linux4noobs/new/
The above is plenty of sources. I’m going to recommend that newbies dual boot Windows and Linux, if space allows, to ease the transition. There is plenty things to consider and choices to make. For now start with backing up your data, and go through the newbie guide linked above. The guide will help you plan your move to Linux. For many of you, you’ve got questions. I have answers, and for the answers I can’t provide, there is someone in the community that can. I’ve advised and helped a few hundred gamers make their move to Linux.
As of right now it would be best to use the link to the dedicated linux newbie subreddit to pose your questions. I don’t mind responses here, but again to get tailored and detailed info. that addresses your situation and goals, its best to use the link above and create a new thread. Don’t worry about asking questions like:
- I’m looking to switch to Linux… need guidance
- How do I switch to Linux
- Which Linux should I switch to
There is a steady stream of those threads on the dedicated linux newbie subreddit EVERYDAY. Questions are posed and answers are given.
For those who like Windows 10/11 and prefer Windows, keep on enjoying your platform of choice. The Linux gamers aren’t exiting the planet. We play the same games are part of the same player communities.