This is epic
Hello.
I can't seem to find an explanation for my issue that had emerged recently. Before I describe it, I'll provide a bit of context:
I've been a windows user for a very long time, but due to my university studies in server administration I've been given an actual reason to start learning Linux. Before that, most I'd do with my computer was gaming. During my studies I had some help easing into the CLI but ultimately it kept being the "server thingy" that I'd interact with through SSH and VM's. However, for the past year or so, I've decided to give a try to Linux on my laptop with desktop environments. It started off with Debian, then over time I started hopping through distributions. Eventually I settled on PopOS after having a few months of struggling with breaking Arch with my incompetence. I still used Windows 10 on my desktop PC for gaming, even though I did manage to make most of the games run on my laptop.
The issue came when I decided to connect a second monitor to my desktop. I was using a 1080p 180hz monitor for a few months now without issue, but I decided to connect an old 1440x900 75hz monitor to my desktop for the dual monitor setup. That made Windows 10 have a seizure (no surprise here). My 1080p monitor defaulted to 4k resolution at 30hz while the older monitor worked fine. I spent some time trying different things to fix it. When I connected the 1080p 180hz monitor to my laptop, everything was fine. When I connected it back to the desktop, it wouldn't let me set 1920x1080 180hz resolution no matter what. Unplugging the old monitor didn't help. Reinstalling drivers didn't help.
Obviously it is an issue with windows. Gaming on linux is getting better way faster than I expected, so I'll just try using it as my daily OS for gaming.
So I do some reading and come upon Bazzite and Nobara. Both are said to be better suited for gaming, especially with all the pre-installed stuff. So I download Bazzite and start installing it.
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During the installation process, I kept both monitors connected. It displayed everything on my 1080p 180hz monitor and the installer went smoothly. After the installer was done, I restarted and was met with a black screen after BIOS screen. Weird. I disconnect the 1080p monitor and the older monitor comes to life and I see Bazzite stuff with the setup and etc. I try googling the issue but can't find anything helpful (maybe I didn't look good enough?). I try updating Nvidia drivers, since I am using RTX 3060. Nothing. Ultimately I couldn't get the 1080p monitor to work, despite being 100% sure everything is fine with the monitor and the cable.
Fine, I'll try Nobara.
Except with that one, it showed a black screen the whole time unless I disconnected the 1080p monitor. I proceeded with the installation on the old, shitty monitor. Afterwards, I tried a bunch of stuff to make the good monitor to work, but nothing worked.
After a bit of rest I decided to try PopOS - it worked last time I tried with connecting the good monitor to the laptop... Sure enough, both monitors displayed the image from the start of installation. The 1080p monitor being the main one, like intended. After the installation, everything works just fine. The 1080p runs at 180hz with no issue while the second monitor runs at 1440x900 75hz on the side. I haven't yet tried gaming, but I will later today (I am tired, only couple of hours of sleep since Wednesday).
Now, I am pretty tempted to give Windows 11 installation a try, but I am still hoping I can make a full conversion to Linux. And considering Bazzite or Nobara is SUPPOSED to be better for gaming, I am writing this down. I don't expect some magic to happen, maybe it is just complete skill issue on my end, maybe something to do with the "exotic hardware" (nothing really out of the ordinary here)... Maybe nVidia moment? Let me know what I should try, what kind of info do I have to provide.
My desktop specs:
Ryzen 5500
Asrock B550m Pro4
Msi gefore rtx 3060
4x4gb ram
Samsung 960 evo NVME 256gb
Adata 1tb HDD
Laptop specs:
Intel i5 (don't remember exact model)
Nvidia 1050 2gb
1x8gb ram
1tb Patriot SATA SSD
To close off - this is really baffling for me. Over the last 14 years of my life I've never encountered an issue like this and I feel like I've given my best effort to try to solve this with my own brain. I'm not going to pretend I'm very good at Linux, but so far simply googling stuff kept me above the water. Now with Windows spazzing out, I can't even begin to pinpoint the issue. I guess one thing I could still try is a fully clean windows 10 install after resetting bios, but I really want to make Linux work.