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PayPalValve'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 through 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.
pleasereadthemanual Nov 4
That'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 Nov 4
Edit: ProtonPlus has already add support for it. *Yey!*
Last edited by Vortex_Acherontic on 4 November 2024 at 1:03 pm UTC
That'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 Nov 4
(Nothing worse than forced hardware upgrades, imo.)
Caldathras Nov 4
Kepler and earlier don't support Vulkan 1.3Yep. 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).
*Happy GT 730M noises*🤗
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).
That's cool, but i'm wondering how much 'older' does a gpu need to be to not support Vulkan 1.3?
Older Intel iGPUs (4th gen and older) are effected. Sure you can't play the latest AAA games on the anyways, but I use one for a TV Streaming PC and recently notice that Proton version 8/9 don't work on it for indie games that run fine.
I hope this special Proton build will be added to Proton-Up-qt soon.
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