Making Fedora 43 Work With Steam (RTX 5090 + 9950X3D)

In March, 2026 I may or may not have built a high-end PC, and gone all-in on Fedora 43 as my only OS.

"I'm going all in on Linux with cutting edge-hardware! What could possibly go wrong?"

1244 hours of troubleshooting later, I managed to get everything working. I'll save the AI-related issues in another post, but for now...

Here is everything needed to get it working for gaming, from fresh install to launching steam games on a 5K ultrawide.

The Hardware

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
• GPU: ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 32GB OC
• RAM: Kingston FURY Renegade 64GB DDR5-6000 CL38
• Motherboard: X870E Aorus Elite
• PSU: Phanteks AMP GH 1200W Platinum
• Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360
• Case: Fractal Torrent
• Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 4TB (LUKS encrypted)
• Monitor: Dell U4025QW 40" ultrawide (5120x2160 @ 120Hz)

Step 1: Install Fedora 43

I installed Fedora 43 Workstation from USB with full-disk LUKS encryption. Boots into GNOME on Wayland using the default nouveau/nova_core open source driver.

Step 2: System Update and RPM Fusion

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
sudo reboot

The --refresh flag forces dnf to download fresh repo metadata. On a fresh install the cache can be stale, causing dnf upgrade to find nothing when updates actually exist.

After reboot, enable RPM Fusion (provides NVIDIA drivers and Steam):

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

Step 3: NVIDIA Driver (Open Kernel Module)

This is the most important step. RTX 5000 series (Blackwell) GPUs require NVIDIA's open kernel modules. The standard closed/proprietary module does not work. This is a deliberate NVIDIA decision for all Blackwell and newer architectures.

sudo dnf install akmod-nvidia-open

Wait 5 minutes for the kernel module to build. Verify:

modinfo -F version nvidia

Should return 580.126.18 or newer.

Configure modeset and fbdev

echo "options nvidia-drm modeset=1 fbdev=1" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia.conf
sudo grubby --update-kernel=ALL --args='nvidia-drm.modeset=1 nvidia-drm.fbdev=1'

LUKS Encryption: Force Early Module Loading

If your root partition is LUKS encrypted, the NVIDIA modules must be loaded in the initramfs before the encrypted root is unlocked. Without this, the boot-to-desktop transition fails with a black screen.

echo -e "force_drivers+=\" nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm \"" | sudo tee /etc/dracut.conf.d/nvidia.conf
sudo dracut --force
sudo reboot

If your drive is not encrypted, skip the dracut config but still run sudo dracut --force.

Verify

nvidia-smi
echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

nvidia-smi should show the RTX 5090. $XDG_SESSION_TYPE should say wayland.

If You Get a Black Screen

Reboot, mash Esc for the GRUB menu, select the Fedora entry, press e, navigate to the end of the linux line, add nomodeset, press Ctrl+X. This bypasses the NVIDIA driver so you can troubleshoot.

Common causes:

• Installed akmod-nvidia instead of akmod-nvidia-open. Fix: sudo dnf swap akmod-nvidia akmod-nvidia-open
• Missing dracut config for LUKS. Fix: add the force_drivers line above.
• Missing modeset kernel args. Fix: add the grubby args above.

After any fix, run sudo dracut --force before rebooting.

Step 4: BIOS Settings

Access BIOS by pressing DEL during boot. Enable these two settings:

• EXPO (XMP for AMD): Without it, DDR5-6000 defaults to 4800MT/s. Significant free performance.
• X3D Turbo Mode: Optimizes the 9950X3D's CCD routing for gaming workloads.

Step 5: Steam and Proton

sudo dnf install steam

After launching Steam, go to Settings > Compatibility > "Enable Steam Play for all other titles" and select the latest Proton version.

If Steam shows a "bwrap crashed" notification on first launch, ignore it. Harmless sandboxing warning.

Step 6: Multimedia Codecs

Some Proton games need gstreamer for cutscenes and video playback:

sudo dnf install gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free gstreamer1-plugins-ugly gstreamer1-plugins-good-extras ffmpeg

Step 7: CS2 on Fedora

CS2 works through Proton with VAC anti-cheat fully supported. Install through Steam normally.

Recommended launch options:

-novid -vulkan

FACEIT anti-cheat does not work on Linux. If you need it, put Windows on a separate NVMe rather than dual-booting from the same drive.

Gamescope for Ultrawide Displays

For ultrawide monitors, use gamescope to manage the display session. Set this as CS2's launch options in Steam:

gamescope -w 5120 -h 2160 -r 120 -f --force-grab-cursor -- %command%

Adjust -w, -h, and -r to your monitor's native resolution and refresh rate.

--force-grab-cursor fixes a mouse capture bug where in-game mouse movement stops working. Without it, the mouse works in menus but not in gameplay.

Do not use --grab (does not exist) or -e (can prevent CS2 from launching). On NVIDIA + Wayland, letting CS2 run in X11 inside gamescope (the default) produces less stuttering than Xwayland without gamescope.

Key Takeaways

Use akmod-nvidia-open, not akmod-nvidia. Every guide for older NVIDIA cards says akmod-nvidia. For Blackwell (RTX 5000 series), that is wrong and will give you a black screen.

LUKS encryption requires initramfs changes. If you encrypted your drive, the NVIDIA modules must be force-loaded in dracut.

Learn the nomodeset escape hatch. Knowing how to edit the GRUB entry and add nomodeset will save you whenever driver changes go wrong.

Fedora 43 is a capable gaming OS. Steam, Proton, CS2 with VAC, Wayland, and a 5090 all work together. Not as turnkey as Bazzite or Nobara, but a solid general-purpose workstation that also games.