Ok, so I tested the Valve-Index with several games for hours and my experience especially for Linux (Hardware is tested elsewhere enough) is as follows:

I played some Linux games before on the HTC Vive. Games that worked before and were quiet playable were Beatsaber, Pavlov and Arizona Sunshine, The Lab (most of the areas, and my beloved strong-bow) and of course the native Linux-builds of Croteams games like Serious Sam First Encounter and The Talos Principle.

With the Index however I found it really hard to play on Linux. The Proton/SteamVR-combination works very bad. Most of the tested games were just running smoothly when i downgraded from 90hz to 80hz and set the quality from 100% to 70%. For all games I had to set Reprojection off in SteamVR. This is also mentioned a lot in the issue-tracker of SteamVR for Linux. I am using a Nvidia GTX 1070 Windforce OC which should run the games without problems, but it seems the power gets blown into nowhere.

I tested the same games in windows and they ran in full resolution with 90hz and 100% quality like a charm. So it seems it‘s not the hardware that causes the problem here.

And now for the games. There were some highlights that ran well, but let first come to the ... yeah well... disappointments:

Arizona Sunshine which worked before now doesn't work anymore (i looked up Protondb and some fellow already pointed this out)
The Lab doesn't work anymore (doesn't start, same as Arizona, also already in Protondb)
Pavlov worked well after setting to 80hz and 70% .
Zero Caliber works on 80hz and 70% and very low settings in game (on windows i can play on high without problem) (Worked before on Vive 1 without a problem)
SuperhotVR works great at 80hz and 70% quality and maybe because the original Superhot was optimized for Linux this particular game ran also on 90hz and 100% quality like a charm (but maybe because of the style of game the gpu doesn't have that much to work)
the Unwelcomed which is a Linux native just started the VR-mode with forcing Proton and then it suddenly quit while selecting a level.
Keep talking and nobody explodes also ran on VR after forcing Proton. this worked right well on 100% after setting to 80hz.
Everspace ran after adding "-vr" to the starting options, but quit suddenly right after the start menu and the beginning of a mission. With Proton again it runs, but not well. I had to lower the graphics-quality a lot to have it smooth running.
Rise of the Tomb Raider neither work for Linux-VR. Not as Linux native and not with forced steam play. it just quits without even getting an intro or menu.
Moss started well and fastly but didn't accept any input of neither the index controllers nor the vive wands.
Beatsaber ran really well with 80hz and 100% quality. with 90hz it was a bit laggy when to many boxes came flowing towards you.

I didn't try games like Onward, because in the past the Anticheat-System kicked me out of the Menu right on start. We have to wait till EAC and BattleEye are integrated in Proton.

All in all these tests didn't run to well. A lot of games work, but with a high loss of quality. Some games worked before and now don't anymore. But there is hope that this will be solved with further Proton-developements. Maybe Valve will have a closer look on getting some VR-titles to work after they launched their Index.

Now, to not go out of this saddened:
The games from Croteam, not only optimized for Linux but also for Linux-VR work great without any quality loss.
The Sound in Serious Sam the first encounter was awesome with the Index and in The Talos Principle i got blown away by this gods voice, full and strong in my ears. I was very surprised to see the Vive Index-Controllers be well implemented in Talos. It was fun trying metalfingers and indecent gestures with these Robot-hands. These Games worked on high settings with 90hz and 100% without a hassle.

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I sure will test some linux-games this weekend. But i am not good at writing reviews. maybe i just sum it up in the comments

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Quoting: slaapliedjeThe Index seems much lighter than both the Original Vive (I had pre-ordered mine) and the Vive Pro.

I put it on a scale and its just 30g difference. But i had the impression at first too

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Got my index today. after disabling reprojection it works great. now i have to wait till proton will pass battle-eye to play onward all day long :D
had no problems with the vive,
had a lot of problems with the vive pro,
i am sooooooo glad i can play now on linux again with the valve index.

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NWIs practice to build a new game and leave the other games unfixed should also be mentioned.i will never buy from them on full price again, and this while i love Day of Infamy.. but it also is full of bugs.

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phew. i would really love to play a new freelancer-like game with multiplayer-support. But this crazy stuff like windmills in space is to much for me.

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Quoting: slaapliedjeAre you getting that screen tearing with the Vive Pro that I'm getting? That's the only reason it's not working here.

No i have no screen tearing.the vive pro and sometimes my system freezes after a little while (like 10sec)

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oh yes. i am really hyped.
what a shame you cant test it for us fellow linux-users, but maybe the linux-side of steamvr isn't yet optimized for the index. since i have the vive pro i cannot play on linux any more. the vive 1 worked very well (just one or two games didn't work well)
i am really hoping that the index will work again.

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Quoting: Xaero_VincentHas anyone tried Proton for VR titles?

Yeah, most of games are running without a flaw for me
Beat Saber, Pavlov, Moss, Arizona Sunshine, Gorn, Budget Cuts, Zero Caliber, Superhot, RecRoom and Contractors all work for me (or worked last time i played them)

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I also got my order immediately, in expectation that they will be sold out soon.

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