PS5 Linux is a project started by Andy Nguyen, which simply lets you install a Linux distribution on the console. Underneath, the console behaves like a PC. So it’s perfectly possible to run Steam games via Proton on the console. This is what fellow videographers have tested, and the results are very interesting.
Play PC games on PS5 via Linux!
Performance remains solid!
Broadly speaking, performance remains solid across the range of games tested. We’re talking here about Black Myth: Wukong, Crimson Desert, Pragmata and Control. Broadly speaking, with Linux installed, while running through Proton, the performance delivered was 99.9% similar to that offered on the native console, which is rather encouraging. What’s more, boost mode delivers around 3% more performance. To achieve this, the CPU speed is increased from 3.2 GHz to 3.5 GHz, while the graphics unit is boosted from 2 GHz to 2.23 GHz.
A few minor concerns:
However, memory is not managed in the same way between the native console and the Linux version. In fact, the console benefits from unified memory, whereas Linux manages memory in two different pools, with a maximum VRAM allocation of 6 GB. This poses some minor problems on Crimson Desert, where rendering problems at sky level are noticeable. Pragmata, on the other hand, suffers from more pronounced stuttering.
On Black Myth: Wukong, while the game runs with high textures, there are performance drops on certain scenes. You therefore need to set them to low, which is closer to the console’s native version, where the rest of the rendering is close to the PC version.
As for Control, tests show that the console is perfectly capable of running the game at 1080p with graphics settings at low and average ray tracing, all between 50 and 60 FPS , with a few dips in the 40 FPS zone. By default, the game offers 1440p30 RT mode and 1440p60 raster mode. It would therefore have been possible to offer a 1080p60 RT mode.
A project limited to old firmware:
Unfortunately, this project is not open to all consoles, since it is only possible to install Linux on PS5s equipped with a maximum of 4.5 firmware. This seems to concern rather old consoles that haven’t been updated in a while. On the other hand, the project is an interesting one, and may be of interest to hobbyists awaiting the arrival of the new Steam Machines.
