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Valve's work with Proton to run Windows games on Linux / Steam Deck is amazing, but they do require you have newer GPUs so some have been a bit left behind. Proton-Sarek aims to fix that.

What is it? A community built version of Proton (like GE-Proton) designed specifically for those of you who have a GPU that doesn't support newer Vulkan, or with no Vulkan support at all but still want all the latest updated from Proton to keep gaming on Linux.

As the developer explains on the GitHub page:

Because there are still users with GPUs that support Vulkan 1.1+ but not Vulkan 1.3, as well as others with non-Vulkan support. Those who can use DXVK often rely on older Proton versions, which suffer from lower compatibility and performance compared to newer builds. Meanwhile, users dependent on WineD3D frequently face poor gaming experiences. This repository provides patched versions of Proton and/or Proton-GE, offering better performance with DXVK v1.10.3 and WineD3D mainly trough the custom parameter PROTON_TWEAKS, along with other enhancements, ensuring a smoother experience for both Vulkan and non-Vulkan setups.

Seems like a nice idea for older systems. And much like GE-Proton, there's no support from Valve for this, but it's useful if you need it.

The developer recently released Sarek 9-18 and 9-17 with the base of the project updated to GE-Proton 9-17. On top of that it includes two new options:

  • PROTON_VK_SOFTWARE: Uses Lavapipe to enable CPU-based rendering for Vulkan, supporting API version 1.3.
  • PROTON_OGL_SOFTWARE: Uses LLVMpipe to enable CPU-based rendering for OpenGL, supporting API version 4.6.

See more on the GitHub page.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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9 comments

Stella about 18 hours ago
That's cool, but i'm wondering how much 'older' does a gpu need to be to not support Vulkan 1.3?
pleasereadthemanual about 18 hours ago
Quoting: StellaThat's cool, but i'm wondering how much 'older' does a gpu need to be to not support Vulkan 1.3?
Kepler and earlier don't support Vulkan 1.3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler_(microarchitecture)

These are cards from around 2014 and earlier. Maxwell cards, which started releasing in 2014, support Vulkan 1.3.

For AMD, it seems to be from GCN 3.0 and earlier; GCN 4.0+ supports Vulkan 1.3. In AMD's case, it's cards from around 2015 and earlier that are stuck on Vulkan 1.2.
Vortex_Acherontic about 17 hours ago
Yes! Hope ProtonUp-Qt or ProtonPlus add support for it soon if they haven't already. *Happy GT 730M noises*

Edit: ProtonPlus has already add support for it. *Yey!*


Last edited by Vortex_Acherontic on 4 November 2024 at 1:03 pm UTC
dubigrasu about 16 hours ago
Quoting: pleasereadthemanual
Quoting: StellaThat's cool, but i'm wondering how much 'older' does a gpu need to be to not support Vulkan 1.3?

For AMD, it seems to be from GCN 3.0 and earlier; GCN 4.0+ supports Vulkan 1.3. In AMD's case, it's cards from around 2015 and earlier that are stuck on Vulkan 1.2.

IIRC all AMD GPUs since GCN support Vulkan 1.3 through RADV.
hardpenguin about 16 hours ago
Noble endeavour
Salvatos about 14 hours ago
Supporting older systems is rarely appealing work for developers, but I have a lot of respect for those who choose to do it.
BlackBloodRum about 13 hours ago
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Nice! At the end of the day if the hardware still works and the user is happy with it then they should be able to keep using it

(Nothing worse than forced hardware upgrades, imo.)
Caldathras about 12 hours ago
Quoting: pleasereadthemanualKepler and earlier don't support Vulkan 1.3
Yep. My first "gaming" laptop, a Lenovo ThinkPad T440p, has a Kepler GPU -- the Nvidia GeForce GT 730M. Vulkan 1.3 support is incomplete, although it is pretty good with the 470 series driver (but DX11 support is better in Windows).

Quoting: Vortex_Acherontic*Happy GT 730M noises*
🤗
eldaking about 8 hours ago
Wow, this is amazing! I have wanted this for a while, for my old Phenom II X4 desktop that I'm using as a HTPC; it is certainly good enough to run some lightweight or old games, which includes most couch coop games I'd install on it, but few of them would run with Proton.

This can also help with my third gen i5 laptop, which I still use when I want to play something in bed or in the couch or traveling. That one is pretty good already, some games need the PROTON_USE_WINED3D flag to work but generally proton works (unlike the older desktop, where stuff often fails to launch or requires a lot more troubleshooting).
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