Bazzite Linux vs CachyOS: Which Is Better for Gaming?

Both Bazzite Linux and CachyOS are Linux operating systems known for their gaming performance. Which is the better choice for Windows users?

Serious gamers are getting fed up with the multitude of issues in Windows 11 and are looking for Linux distros for their next gaming platform. Bazzite Linux and CachyOS are two of the most popular choices for Linux when it comes to gaming. The former is designed for gaming and has gaming-specific optimizations, while the latter claims to deliver a superior all-around performance, including gaming.

That’s why we decided to find out which is the best Linux OS for gaming out of the two, with their detailed comparison and performance benchmarks. Read on to learn more.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer’s opinions.

Bazzite Linux vs CachyOS: Detailed Gaming Performance Comparison

While Bazzite Linux and CachyOS are based on the same Linux kernel, there are some major differences between them. The former is based on the immutable version of Fedora and has some game-specific tweaks, including LatencyFleX, vkBasalt, and more. On the other hand, the latter is designed on Arch Linux and features an extensive list of optimizations and tweaks to deliver the highest possible performance.

CachyOS also uses a custom Bore scheduler instead of the regular one to squeeze even more performance out of a system. However, the only way to truly find which Linux OS is better is through actual benchmarks.

Performance Benchmarks

Here’s how Bazzite Linux and CachyOS perform in some popular games on the market:

Games	Bazzite Linux (AMD GPUs)	CachyOS (AMD GPUs)	Bazzite Linux (Nvidia GPUs)	CachyOS (Nvidia GPUs)
The Witcher 3	172 FPS	160 FPS	153 FPS	166 FPS
The Witcher 3 (RT)	80 FPS	90 FPS	86 FPS	87 FPS
Plague Tale Requiem	167 FPS	173 FPS	155 FPS	175 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077	185 FPS	194 FPS	158 FPS	167 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077 (RT)	82 FPS	105 FPS	120 FPS	123 FPS
Robocop Rogue City	109 FPS	110 FPS	86 FPS	86 FPS
Ghost of Tsushima	119 FPS	118 FPS	88 FPS	87 FPS
The Last of Us Part 2	128 FPS	131 FPS	104 FPS	96 FPS
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2	120 FPS	125 FPS	99 FPS	102 FPS
Starfield	100 FPS	100 FPS	62 FPS	62 FPS
The Elder Scrolls Oblivion	109 FPS	110 FPS	86 FPS	86 FPS
Silent Hill 2 Remake	112 FPS	114 FPS	98 FPS	98 FPS
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2	108 FPS	108 FPS	137 FPS	136 FPS

Note: The Radeon RX 9070 XT and Nvidia RTX 5080 GPUs were used for the tests above at 1080p resolution with High/Ultra Settings, unless otherwise specified. All the FPS numbers were sourced from the Ancient Gameplays channel on YouTube. For the tests, the two graphics cards were paired with a Ryzen 7 9700X CPU.

We have separated the above tests for AMD and Nvidia GPUs to provide a clear result. Here’s how Bazzite Linux and CachyOS perform on each GPU:

• AMD Radeon GPU: On average, CachyOS is 3% faster than Bazzite.
• Nvidia RTX GPU: On average, CachyOS is only 2.4% faster than Bazzite.

Therefore, CachyOS and its extensive tweaks and optimizations ultimately deliver better results on average. You will get more FPS in this operating system compared to Bazzite. This is true for AMD and Nvidia GPUs. Besides, CachyOS’s optimization is also faster in productivity and day-to-day applications, so that’s another win.

Game Compatibility Comparison

Game compatibility is similar on both Bazzite Linux and CachyOS, as they both rely on Proton and the WINE compatibility layer. However, neither OS is particularly good for many multiplayer games, as they tend to use Anti-Cheat programs that are unsupported on Linux. Therefore, many multiplayer games don’t run on Linux, but a few do. However, most single-player titles run well on both OSes.

Final Verdict on Bazzite Linux vs CachyOS

CachyOS is the better choice for gamers, as it delivers better and more consistent performance. Even professional applications will run better and faster on this OS. The only advantage that Bazzite Linux has is that it comes pre-installed with emulators to allow you to run old console games. However, you can always install them in CachyOS as well. Therefore, we recommend CachyOS to gamers.

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