So for a while now, I've been contemplating a partition of my HD, some general clean up and now, perhaps, booting two OSes. I've always been a bit scared of this, but on the forums in recent days there's been some chatter about Wine and it seems like it's the be all end all for getting a game up and running on a non-Windows system. I consider myself to have an "okay" level of computer knowledge but I'm totally ignorant when it comes to Linux and Wine. So this is my "clearing house" thread that might finally get me off the ledge and ready to take the plunge...

The first is this: Which Linux distro? I'm looking for (in no particular order) something stable, safe, "popular" (supported), "easy" (I'd prefer a decent UI) and also minimalist - no bloatware and little junk. Walk me through this and treat me like an idiot - because chances are I have no clue what you're talking about LOL.

Also, looking for a safe source for download of said distro. I'm very paranoid about where I pull files on the internet and especially if I'm going to have this thing running my system, I want to know I pulled it from a legit, well used and reputable source.

Now for Wine. See above on where to download this and how to use it - is this a legit, safe program / wrapper? Where can I get it and what do I need to know regarding how to use it? From what I've read over the last few days, it can be used to run a metric ton of Windows games in Linux, assuing the game isn't DX10+ - is this basically true? Go easy on the links please, unless it's for a location to safely download the thing (I prefer the "main" source) and again, walk me through the first steps of what I'd need to know if I choose to go this route!

So, sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for all the tips and pointers! Have at it! Let's see if I can build up the nerve to do this thing!

Distro: Mint, all the way http://www.linuxmint.com
Wine: http://www.winehq.org

You might also want to look into one of the Wine frontends like PlayOnLinux (http://www.playonlinux.com) or the commercial version of Wine, Crossover (http://www.codeweavers.com). They can make it much easier to use Wine effectively.

I second this.

I highly recommend PlayOnLinux. It already has automated install scripts for many GOG games that work very well.

It can be tricky and involve a lot of trial and error to get games working that someone hasn't already figured out, but there is a lot of help available via the Wine Application Database.

You should probably go with a popular mainstream desktop distro like Ubuntu or Mint. Stuff is built and tested on them, so it minimizes hassles and when in need, help is easier to find. Lighter variants like Xubuntu may also be worth a look.

As for hardware, I think nvidia is still the best supported graphics hardware for gaming, but only with the proprietary driver that the distro probably won't install by default. This may sound like an odd piece of advice, but don't get the proprietary driver from nvidia.com. The distro probably has it already packaged up for you in a way that takes care of the its specific complexities and that persists over updates. Look for how to enable that and use it instead, even nvidia suggests you do.

The upstream wine is at www.winehq.com, but you might want to try a downstream one like PlayOnLinux instead. It has an easy interface for managing different versions of wine, some with specific patches that help with some games. It also makes it easy to install games in their own compartments so they don't break each other. Crossover is similar but costs money.

Compatibility is rather good with older games, although you often need to tweak them a bit, install third party components and such. Check AppDb for other peoples' experiences and the occasional hint. Note that the results are often somewhat dated and the situation may have improved.

What OS are you running now?

Some good stuff, thanks!

Question about these tweaks and third party components and such. I mentioned earlier I'm a bit paranoid about downloading files from the internet (I know, probably a mentality from 10 years ago - now all the virii and malware is loaded in ad banners and more stealthy means I'm sure LOL).

What's the best way to ensure that what I'm downloading to get these games running is safe and clean? Keeping my OS up to date and my protection active? I haven't gotten into the modding scene much, nor do I often download third party stuff because I feel like this can be the "Wild West" as far as file safety goes. Is that AppDB a legit source of safe files / scripts / etc etc etc? Win 7 64 bit. I like it and it's served me well. But I think it's about time I learned to use a new OS and start playing around with getting stuff up and running again. Also, some of Microsoft's recent decisions and direction make me think my next gaming rig won't be running Windows. I want to be ready in advance if this is so, rather than just being thrown into the fire to figure it out from scratch.

PlayOnLinux itself supplies all the Wine versions and optional components you should need to get the vast majority of things going. Rarely you might need to download an old dll file from an online archive. Wine also runs things in it's own little sandbox so the risk of it harming the rest of your system is remote.

Mint and all Ubuntu based distros use a package management system that basically keeps your system up to date for you, as long as you at least occasionally connect to the internet. Other than zero day vulnerabilities, you don't really have to worry about much security-wise on Linux. I'm not saying Linux is malware and virus proof, but the way Linux is designed, you would have to take some monumentally stupid and relatively complicated steps, while ignoring multiple warnings about what you are doing, just to get to the point where malware could even run on a Linux system and even then, it is not likely to do more than thrash your user profile directories.

Most software distributors latch on to the built in package system and provide their own software repositories or add their products to the official repositories so that you can always be certain that what you are getting comes from a trusted source and is malware free. Wine and PlayOnLinux do both.

If you're concerned about where you are downloading software from:

Install your programs from the distribution's package manager (apt-get for Debian/Ubuntu/Mint). The packages obtained are digitally signed by the developers, so a trojan shoudn't creep in. If the signatures do not match, you will get an error message. In this case, you should wait rather than override the signature check.

Excellent thanks this is great for me to hear.

Honest opinion - if I do switch over to using Linux predominantly (in the realm of gaming and general day-to-day computer play / browsing / nonsense) am I going to be disappointed? Will I constantly fumble about and wish I could just do "X" like I used to on Windows? Or, if I'm willing to put in a bit of time and effort will it be a pretty seamless transition?

Doubly awesome to hear, thanks! I appreciate the long write up explaining it too.

It's a matter of personal preference. If you are concerned you might not like it, burn a live CD (runs the OS directly off the CD without installing) or install the OS in a virtual machine. Try for a little while to see if you like it before committing.

LOL thanks for this ;)

I don't recall running across malicious advice on AppDb. There's an official script by the name of winetricks that is often cited, it can perform certain named tweaks and handle installing some components, most of which I think are downloaded straight from microsoft.

It's possible that PlayOnLinux and such have their own mechanisms for these - I don't really use it myself though I sometimes pull wine binaries from there - but their game specific install helpers if you use them and they work probably readily perform the necessary tweaks.