News Windows on Steam Deck: Benchmarks and Impressions

[Admin]

We tested Windows on the Steam Deck, including benchmarking our game suite and figuring out how it's different form SteamOS.

Windows on Steam Deck: Benchmarks and Impressions : Read more

 

[watzupken]

My response to, “Windows is a bit rough around the edges on Steam Deck”, is that Windows is rough on any system that it runs on. Just because desktop/ laptops have ample of processing power to hide the inefficiencies of the OS, thus, we don’t see it as a big problem.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

My response to, “Windows is a bit rough around the edges on Steam Deck”, is that Windows is rough on any system that it runs on. Just because desktop/ laptops have ample of processing power to hide the inefficiencies of the OS, thus, we don’t see it as a big problem.

agreed. I have to disable most all telemetry to get my mini pc to be quiet 99% of the time, else it's ALWAYS doing unasked for diagnostics/telemetry ( I have watched it extensively in Resource Manager, I hate them so much for this cursed os)

after I am done with it it mostly behaves. I don't ever want ANYTHING off the stupid store, nor any of their bloatware apps yet it keeps getting foisted on me.

my next pc is a System76 mini or laptop running their popOS! I will run Windows only as VM from there on out should the need arise.

I use this to debloat
GitHub - Sycnex/Windows10Debloater: Script to remove Windows 10 bloatware.

Steam should make a windows vm for windows gaming and use gpu passthru for performance, that way they can control what windows runs, so they can strip it of all unessential crapola and disable updates completely. basically make it like the Xbox OS, stripped to the bone for console use only.

They can even use Windows Embedded and set up the image as a gaming console so it has ALL the required hardware but can't be used as PC--because what's the point? It's a console for games. In that way they could custom tailor a gaming OS for the VM to run.

 

[ezst036]

Windows, by contrast, doesn't have the same support, and Valve says it won't be providing it. It works, and some games even run better on it. But you'll have to jump through more hoops to make it work.

This is very strange to me. Like living in an alternate reality. Valve has, whether through just the simple/standard "we only support our stock factory settings" or a malicious anti-Microsoft viewpoint, put the shoe on the other foot.

This is not me gloating. I take no glee from this.

For years, Linux has garnered a bad reputation because "this thing" here does not work nor "that thing" over there does not work and Linux users have been forced into a corner by Microsoft and by vendors. "But but!" They don't provide support! The Linux user has been forced to say. It was never that it couldn't work, it was that the vendor didn't do the work that would help complete it's functionality.

This may be the first time a Windows user, on a significant platform, has been forced into the exact same place. This is why I take no glee from this. Yes, a Windows user can now say they "know what it feels like", but the problem or even moreso, the reality is that I wouldn't want to push a Windows user into that place I've fought so hard to get out of. I know how bad that place feels. I'm NOT wishing it on anybody.

I didn't fight to get out of that place, just to replace it with someone else. I fought to get out of that place to empty it. It should remain an empty place.

Valve says they won't be providing support, well, they should. This is not acceptable.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I wonder if it would be possible to dual boot by first installing steamOS, and then installing Windows afterwards, since Windows does support dual booting and can partition drives for tht.

 

[TerryLaze]

This may be the first time a Windows user, on a significant platform

You drunk? It's gonna take years of high volume sales before the deck becomes significant.
Also all the consoles up to now, if hacked, where able to run some sort of linux but not windows, also mac was all linux and had to be "hacked" for windows.

I wonder if it would be possible to dual boot by first installing steamOS, and then installing Windows afterwards, since Windows does support dual booting and can partition drives for tht.

Linux handles dual boot just fine and there are also stand alone boot managers that can handle it.
The thing is there is no easy fool proof method of doing it, which is why nobody will offer support for something like that.

 

[waltc3]

I don't think people who buy a Deck are actually looking for a desktop Windows experience--uh, mainly because the Steamdeck isn't a desktop--not even close, imo. From what I've read, Steam deck does support dual booting as it ships, but Valve is fairly lackluster on the drivers for Windows. I think ten years ago that 1280x800 might have been a common resolution. It's just another vehicle by which Valve can sell more games. A really niche market and the portability is what you pay for--as with laptops.

 

[excalibur1814]

If you want a nice little gaming machine, buy a Steam Deck and cross your fingers that it works with your game (even if Valve states that it will).

If you love the form factor and want to do more than game, OneXplayer or Aya Neo. Connect to a monitor or TV, done.

If you want something with a larger screen, A Surface Pro 8 with an xbox controller isn't bad at all.

There's a place for everything. However, Valve really should improve their drivers for this 'thing'. Additionally, reviewers and web pages such as this should leave the comments until it's finished. Clicks and views with ad-revenue is one thing, but the device isn't 'ready' for windows.

P.s. Don't like Windows? Then make the move already and stop bleating. You can always switch stuff off with Windows. Good luck with the un-finished Steam Deck in either OS guise.

 

[excalibur1814]

I don't think people who buy a Deck are actually looking for a desktop Windows experience--uh, mainly because the Steamdeck isn't a desktop--not even close, imo.

If you install Windows and use a keyboard and mouse with a monitor, it'll have a desktop windows experience. Same for the OneXPlayer. Why limit your view?

 

[Kockm]

This article is great but the writer is confidently incorrect about needing to have Windows for an “open” platform and stating that as a downside to the Steam Deck. Linux is literally the most open operating system that exists and Valve is not preventing you from installing other game stores or software on SteamOS. You can play all your Epic Game Store games and install other storefronts through Proton / wine. Check out Lutris, which is a launcher that has one click install scripts for thousands of games, or Heroic Launcher, which is an open source Epic Games Store launcher. Just because you aren’t familiar with SteamOS or Linux doesn’t mean it’s limiting the user.