SteamOS seems to destroy Windows 11 on gaming performance and battery life, as well as usability

The first direct and natively supported comparison between identical Windows 11 and SteamOS gaming hardware is here. And it's pretty much a bloodbath for Microsoft.

[Terry_B]

"And it's pretty much a bloodbath for Microsoft."

OOOKAY! ..Interesting choice of words for that topic lol

[ocelot07]

Maybe a bit extreme lol. But it's really interesting. Seen one or two videos of Forza Horizon 5. One of the testers used a low end Rx 6500 xt GPU. Using windows FH5 got a average of 62fps fairly respectable. But the same setup using Steam OS using the same settings FH5 got a average of 94fps. Thats a massive gain.

[ZycoFox]

Racing games are pretty much always easy to run though. Look at the more demanding ones, 5-13fps gain, not bad but if you already have a decent PC to begin with those gains are small. For a handheld though I guess any boost is a decent boost.

[MastaMold]

Yup I would also say that the last time a Windows operating system was good was Windows XP

[Software_Lover]

Its an O.S. built SPECIFICALLY for gaming. Am I missing something???

[Inverno]

It has basic Linux in it, and you can stuff it with the Linux equivalent of all the apps your casual PC user uses on Windows. The Steam portion of it basically acts like Steam Bug Picture mode which it loads up automatically to that for a more console like experience. It isn't JUST made for gaming.

[crazyCoconuts]

And anyone that has tried to extend the life of PCs knows the best way to improve the performance is to replace Windows with Linux

[Amplitude]

@crazyCoconuts:
I dunno, man. I switched to Pop OS exclusively about two weeks ago and when it comes to games i've gotta say i'm a bit disappointed. I had to stop playing A Plague Tale Requiem because i was getting a fluctuating 15-20fps. On Windows I was around 45fps, letting me lock down a perfect 30. With RT. Even Ghost of Tsushima, which i had running at a perfectly locked 60 in Windows, chugged with Proton on the same settings. I had to turn on DLSS Frame Gen to achieve anything even slightly playable (while still looking nice). I really don't like the look of frame gen, not gonna lie. Had to stop playing that as well.

Even RPCS3, which one would assume would run better in Linux, is noticeably worse. Siren Blood Curse chugs like crazy in the split screen segments when it otherwise never did. Plus HDR just isn't possible. I'll say the mandatory UE4 shader compilation step does solve the stutters that otherwise destroy Windows games, though. That's one plus. Needs some work, though. Maybe native Linux games are better.

Still worth it to get away from Microsoft tracking my every move and throwing ads at me every chance they can. Plus it looks CLEAN as hell. Likely never going back to Windows.

[crazyCoconuts]

@amp, yeah totally agree. While Linux as an OS is clearly leaner and faster, as long as we're relying on compatibility layers for games, things can get squirrelly on a case by case basis. Publishers need more Linux gamers to justify a separate build target, so it's kinda a chicken and egg problem right now

[badz149]

@Sorftware_Lover

Aren't you forgetting the fact that almost all games are "made for Windows"?

[crazyCoconuts]

It would be a long road, but that could change. At least a start would be ensuring all games run under proton. Eventually moving away from DirectX. That's probably wishful thinking though

[Petebloodyonion]

Should we be surprised?
Steam OS is built solely for gaming, whereas Windows 11 is packed with numerous security features and various overall processes.

[Inverno]

I switched to Mint couple months back and it was the best decision I made. Turns out my laptop isn't a complete POS, Windows is. Windows has been a complete headache since I got my laptops a few years back and Linux fixes all those problems. I don't even game on my laptop, I just use it for basic stuff and I cannot recommend switching enough.

[badz149]

having the same problems right now with no way back. I have been refusing W11 upgrades all this times with my PC and laptop at home - both Ryzens. but suddenly last week, both of them started to have stability issues for no reason.

the PC with RX6600XT connected to a TV keep crashing and losing display, where I had to keep reinstalling the Radeon software after each reset but no matter what I did, I couldn't get the HDMI audio working anymore despite it has been working fine all this time. the laptop was even worst, it abruptly crashed while I was using MS word and listening to music on YT and then never able to recover again. the Asus recovery, startup repair, restore point, reset windows...nothing worked!

for the PC, I said "F it" and proceeded to W11 upgrade. didn't take long and would you look at that, the Radeon software and HDMI audio working fine from the first boot. this made me think, do MS and AMD have some deal in the back, forcing users to upgrade by purposely messing up their drivers? on the other hand, my laptop was beyond saving, so I fresh installed Windows using USB. thing was, I forgot the USB installer I used was for Win11 not Win10 as I helped a friend build a PC last couple of months and he wanted W11. and yeah my laptop works now.

BUT these don't feel like upgrades at all! they both work but they are noticeably SLOWER than they were when I was on W10! like WTF MS?? it's official that W11 is a bloated, unoptimized mess of an OS that is hiding its flaws behind fast hardware!

[CantThinkOfAUsername]

By any chance, did you update Windows 10 recently? The May 13th update, dubbed 'The last security update for Windows 10,' is bricking a lot of Windows 10 PCs (including mine) to force people to upgrade to Windows 11.

[badz149]

@CantThinkOfUsername

yeah...I think I might have installed it without knowing. I remember reading about it but it completely skipped my mind at the time. shaddy as hell!

[babadivad]

I really don't like Windows 11. If you use an external HDD, it will literally stall out Windows Explorer everytime you open it. It will freeze your PC until the external drive wakes up and spins up.

It does this even when you aren't trying to access anything on the drive. It's so freaking annoying.

Windows 10 didn't have this issue and Windows 8.1 was even better. Windows has been getting progressively slower for a while.

They need to get the Windows 8.1 team to speed this thing up. It has nice features, but it has bogged down the OS.

Features shouldn't use resources unless they are requested.

[blacktiger]

All corporations under same investors do that, release virus, broken drivers. That's why I hate Windows update cause they fk up on purpose

[gamerz]

If this is news to you then: Welcome to reality.

Windows is about to lose their default gaming platform status for good. Their only hope at this point is to lean into the incompatible translation points like anti-cheat solutions, kernel level access, etc. But that ship has mostly sailed at this point. Hopefully.

[Phoenix029]

Took xbox a long time to realise that steam os is its biggest competitor. Wonder how good the new Xbox OS will be and if they can incorporate quick resume somehow as that coupled with a proper steam like standby could be a big win as long as they can get closer in performance.

[anast]

Maybe more games will be actually verified, not just advertised as so.

[UltimateOwnage]

Been feeling like this was inevitable for a while. MS provides services now. Even Windows is a bloated service. SteamOS is gaming focussed, trim like Windows XP used to be, customizable and provides the basic desktop OS features any gamer will need. The only tiny hangup that will hopefully go away as the user base grows is support from the few remaining anti-cheat services, and then it’s golden. Very excited for where Valve is taking gaming.

[NotoriousWhiz]

Let the corporate drones keep their Windows. Let the games be made for SteamOS.

[Reaper22_]

Clickbait article.

[blacktiger]

I have dual boot, windows is only good for anti cheat otherwise Microsoft and their cronies that they keep would fail.