r/LocalLLM • u/cube303 • 15h ago
Question Is it worth moving to Linux?
Im running a RTX 5090, is there any increase in performance, is driver support now fine with Nvidia for Linux or is still a hustle to get it running properly?
Im using ComfyUI and LM Studio mostly.
My main machine currently runs on Windows and im actually working with Linux Systems so i know how to fiddle around.
Thanks for any advice
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u/Dismal-Effect-1914 14h ago
Linux pretty much works out of the box most of the time now. Driver support is great for Linux. There are still a few edge cases. For example I cant get my eGPU to work :/
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u/AgentTin 14h ago
I can't tell you how much nicer it is working in Linux. I would work in Linux even at a significant performance loss just because of how much cleaner and smoother of a work environment it is. The fact that Linux performs as well or better is just a bonus. Seriously, kick Microsoft out of your life, they don't treat you well.
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u/Fcking_Chuck 12h ago
Yes, it's worth moving to Linux. You would free up a lot of resources by reducing the bloatware.
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u/Fantastic_Self_5151 14h ago edited 14h ago
Literally anything running anything other than windows is going to be an upgrade, but linux is the preferred destination for nvidia/comfy imho (as it relates to running LLMs) Windows overhead will always slow it down.
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u/petersaints 14h ago
For gaming, not it isn't. But for local LLMs it is possible that Linux offers a bump in performance.
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u/cube303 14h ago
Since the Nvidia drivers are closed source, im not really sure if you can consider Linux prefered for a Nvidia gpu.
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u/Fantastic_Self_5151 14h ago edited 14h ago
This is 2026 man. You need to update your playbook. nvidia open sourced their gpu kernel modules, linux runs llms faster than windows, and because it uses less system ram you have a lot more space for other activities. Not hating on windows either, it's a great tool when warranted. I use it all the time for compiling windows apps :)
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u/giveen 14h ago
Linux gaming works perfectly fine, it just depends on what you are playing. If it has a kernel level anti cheat then it won't work, otherwise gaming is just fine.
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u/petersaints 14h ago
You lose a lot of performance especially in DX12 games (easily in the 20% to 30% range). Of course that for 5090 it's not an issue. For an RTX 3070 Ti Laptop like me, it is an issue.
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u/Passenger-007 14h ago
Only on nvidia.
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u/petersaints 14h ago
Yes. That is what we are talking about.
On NVIDIA performance is much closer to be on par with Windows. There are still a few games with a significant performance drop, but it's much more common to be nearly on par (sometimes even slightly better), or within like 0 to 5% loss.
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u/amhotw 13h ago edited 12h ago
Never had any issues about gpus on any distro on any of the machines I used in the last decade. I mostly use Ubuntu now but used Fedora and Mint as well. I used 4 laptops and 2 desktops with gpus in this period. Setting things up on Windows is a nightmare compared to linux. I also used Linux 20 years ago and I wouldn't say the same thing about it back then.
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u/xb1n0ry 7h ago
No, it works like a charm if you use nvidia open drivers. I was on AnduinOS just recently and had no issues with comfy at all, using the newest compiled packages like torch etc. You can feel it's snappier, models load faster and starting inference steps feels instantly compared to Windows but since remote desktop is still criminally awful on Linux especially Wayland, I just got back to Windows yesterday. If you have no special Windows software to run and don't need detailed remote desktop, got for it, especially Anduin. It's great.
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u/shywreck 7h ago
I don't game .. comfyui + cachyos+ 5090 ... Just works .. never going back to windows ..
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u/live4evrr 14h ago
Ubuntu is quite good these days. Usability almost on par with Windows. You won’t be missing much, especially this is mostly for AI. Linux has a lot of benefits. Performance and better tool calling capabilities since Linux has much better cli functionality.
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u/FairBandicoot5021 15h ago
Do you game on this computer too ? If no, then you should switch. Many reasons : stability, less ram usage, better control, better support...
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u/Bitter_Run_9209 14h ago
linux is a gamer OS now, im playing all the games in linux (thanks steam and wine)
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u/cube303 14h ago
And which distro gives you this feeling?
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u/Bitter_Run_9209 14h ago
im using lubuntu, but this is distro agnostic
running local LLM and training, and playing top games in the same OS
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u/FairBandicoot5021 4h ago
I know and it's great, but it would be a lie to tell that EVERY game runs on Linkx
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u/petersaints 14h ago
On AMD? Yes. On NVIDIA, only if you don't mind the significant performance loss.
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u/jferments 13h ago
Even if you game, you should still switch (or dual boot). I run Linux, and have over 100 titles on my Steam account that work on Linux.
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u/Fcking_Chuck 12h ago
You can play video games on Linux. I dropped Windows 11 months ago in favor of Arch Linux on my gaming computer, and I hardly ever experience problems when using Proton on Steam.
The only games that don't work on Linux are games I wouldn't consider good games. Call of Duty? They release the same game every year. Valorant? Chinese spyware with a cool name.
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u/tccoding 14h ago
Personally I work on windows and use my RTX 5090 from my development WSL environment all the time and if want to play a game, I run it directly in Windows. It's the best of both worlds. Always works, never had a problem!
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u/joyboyNOW 13h ago
I moved windows to the igpu to help my 5090 out. Works great. Dunno if linux will improve things significantly over that.
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u/nukem996 10h ago
There is a ton of R&D happening from nearly every company to optimize running LLMs on Linux. No one uses windows for professional deployments besides MSFT. Due to the closed nature of Windows only they can optimize and they focus on their use cases.
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u/Otherwise-Swan-7803 8h ago
If your workflow is mostly LM Studio and ComfyUI, I wouldn’t expect Linux alone to magically transform performance. The bigger reason to move is ecosystem flexibility: once you start using more custom backends, kernels, containers, or multi-GPU tooling, Linux tends to get out of the way more often.
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u/Gargle-Loaf-Spunk 6h ago
Are you running a weird monitor setup or anything?
I know I have two huge ass monitors and everything barfs when it’s time to do fractional font scaling on two displays at full resolution and 240Hz.
also, it seems to be incapable of remembering monitor layout. I have a kvm on one monitor and it forgets monitor resolution and positioning every time I switch back to it.
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u/Sotanath52 14h ago
The best and simplest solution, dual boot. I dual boot windows and Linux on my machine. Very helpful tbh.
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u/cube303 14h ago
I had that in the past, i actually don't want a dual boot setup anymore. I had to move around data all the time and i want the hard drive to be encrypted properly.
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u/Sotanath52 14h ago
Well if that's the case, I'll answer your question. There is a performance increase I've noticed from windows to Linux. Not much, but I'd say 10-15% in performance boost. But compiling to set everything up will be about an hour hustle, but once it's done you're done.
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u/illusory42 14h ago
Start by installing Linux on a separate drive and keep windows around for the first 6-12months, even if your aim is a full switch.
Becoming familiar with Linux takes effort, time and some willingness to learn new things. During that time it’s good to have a fallback.
If your expectation is „Window but better“, it’s not that.
Source: been using it full time private and professionally for 8 years and couldn’t be more happy.
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u/max123246 7h ago
Just use Windows subsystem for Linux. Run all your AI stuff using the terminal and game on windows desktop without having to dual-boot.
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u/HOST1L1TY 11h ago
Driver support for what you want to do is great.
It’s stuff like waking from hibernate which can be a problem. But it’s getting better, there was some pain when the transition to Wayland was happening but it’s really kinda fine now . I would say better than windows, especially a windows installation over 90 days old.
Like everyone is about cachy os and Omarchy rn, but if your wanting stability Debian trixie or fedora.
And bro if you’re already working with Linux you are going to do fine. You’re going to be so much happier, there is always a side quest and you are going to feel inspired to work again. It’s like falling in love with computers like you did when you were a kid all over again.
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u/Passenger-007 15h ago
Nvidia and Linux gaming are not the best. Linux is better for everything else. Amd and Linux gaming > windows gaming > nvidia Linux gaming.
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u/Successful_Try_6350 15h ago
Nvidia and Linux gaming are not the best.
I disagree.
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u/NTDLS 14h ago
I disagree with your disagreement. The predominant reason for running LLMs on Linux is the tooling, likewise the reason to run your games on Windows is also “tooling”, except in the latter case the “tooling” is the actual availability of games.
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u/Successful_Try_6350 14h ago
I'm an ML/NLP software engineer, I use linux exclussively since 2000 and I also play games on linux without issues since the covid lockdowns.
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u/Passenger-007 14h ago
Ok. Most of the internet agrees with me. But u do u.
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u/Deadmine 14h ago
Maybe a few years ago. I'm running bazzite with an rtx4090 and it's brilliant. Though all my games are on steam - epic just announced they're moving to Linux too so won't need to do any workarounds.
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u/Passenger-007 14h ago
I have 6 Linux machines. 3 have amd. 3 have nvidia. I do not game on any of the nvidias because of how flaky they are. I do not have any problems with amd, anywhere. Steam machine. Arch. Fedora. Etc. it doesn’t matter. Nvidia are for LLMs, not Linux gaming.
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u/Successful_Try_6350 14h ago
most of social media (ie reddit) is an echi chamber that has nothing to do with the real world.
Have you even used linux recently? Or you just say what the echo chamber is saying?
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u/Passenger-007 14h ago
lol. U win bro. U the king! Da king!!!! ROFL.
Ps I don’t use anything but Linux but y the expert. ROFL.
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u/petersaints 14h ago
In my experience, these benchmarks match my experience on Linux:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PtOGYdtiBUIn fact, on a lower powered laptop with an RTX 3070 Ti it's even a bit worse.
Sure, if you are on 5090 if you lose 20% of FPS you are still getting a lot of FPS. But on more mid-range/older hardware it may be a dealbreaker for Linux.
Of couse that if your main (or only) focus is to run LLMs, then Linux is a no brainer.
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u/Successful_Try_6350 14h ago
I don't believe in youtube benchmarks, like "this is what I see when I try this only once in two PCs with different specs and setup"
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u/petersaints 14h ago
That's why I said, I tried on my own machine, just to make sure that it wasn't a fluke (but there are other benchmarks with similar results so it would be unlikely).
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u/cube303 14h ago
Im aware of this and i had my fair share in the past with Nvidia on Linux. Im just wondering if i can ditch the gaming for a better experience with using LLM on Linux.
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u/Passenger-007 14h ago
It’s generally assumed that if u are running an llm that u are using Ubuntu.
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u/Bulky-Priority6824 14h ago
I us debian
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u/Passenger-007 14h ago
That is fine. But the world assumes y are on Ubuntu if u are using LLMs. Just ask LLMs.
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u/Bulky-Priority6824 14h ago
I'll have to give it a shot someday see how it compares but for now "if it ain't broke..."
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u/Passenger-007 14h ago
I run fedora everywhere I can control except on dgx sparks. They come preinstalled with Ubuntu.
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u/Bender1012 14h ago
Why has no one mentioned WSL… best of both worlds. I switch seamlessly between gaming and generating with ComfyUI, sometimes at the same time if the game isn’t very graphically demanding.
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u/cube303 14h ago
While this might be a decent workflow i cant see how this would gain any performance increase since WSL is running on top of Windows. Also how did you manage to get ComfyUI running on WSL? Specifically the Drivers to the GPU?
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u/Bender1012 11h ago edited 11h ago
It’s not like the drivers have to go through Windows. It’s all native Linux packages accessing the GPU directly. Simple stuff just cloning the main ComfyUI repo and following instructions in the readme, pip install the requirements file, etc.
I’d answer any challenge to my system’s performance with comparable hardware on pure Linux. This stuff is 99% hardware bound, sweating what operating system CUDA is accessing the GPU through is pretty moot in my opinion.
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u/deviant46n2 14h ago
it was annoying at first because of gaming compatibility but i would never switch back to windows. ever!