Gnome gets Nvidia performance boost, offering 'smoother window animations and general desktop fluidity' for Linux gamers

Gnome looking into the camera
(Image credit: FutureLab)

Nvidia GPUs don't always play nicely with Linux. Well, with recent driver issues, they don't always play nicely with Windows either, but it's been a bit of a pain for those swapping over for some time. If you are among those with an Nvidia GPU who use Gnome, things should be about to get much smoother.

For the unaware, Gnome is an open-source desktop environment for Linux, and the default interface seen in the likes of Ubuntu. Named 'Tokyo', after the Gnome Asia summit in 2025, Gnome 50 has just been unveiled, and it comes with a whole host of new features—but the most important for gamers will be better Nvidia GPU support (via Phoronix).

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We've switched to Linux—should you? - YouTube We've switched to Linux—should you? - YouTube
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Google recently added official Chrome support for Linux on Arm, and Opera GX has recently announced a version for Linux. Today, actually.

It wasn't all smooth sailing in some of our team's swap to Linux, with our Jacob Fox running into a major problem at Gamescom that was eventually saved with a Windows USB. But Linux has plenty of upsides that aren't just "well, I don't want to use Windows". It's free, fast, and highly customizable, which might explain why a lot of developers like it so much.

Gnome 50 adds better VRR support, strong color management, HDR screen sharing, improved remote desktop, and a whole host of other features. And the best part of it all is that there are no unneeded AI features or new subscriptions.

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James Bentley
Hardware writer

James is a more recent PC gaming convert, often admiring graphics cards, cases, and motherboards from afar. It was not until 2019, after just finishing a degree in law and media, that they decided to throw out the last few years of education, build their PC, and start writing about gaming instead. In that time, he has covered the latest doodads, contraptions, and gismos, and loved every second of it. Hey, it’s better than writing case briefs.

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