- Valve has said it is “rolling out improvements to [SteamOS] so it is more compatible with desktop hardware”
- The company also made it clear that it is working closely with Nvidia for better GPU compatibility
- The goal is to make SteamOS more prevalent on DIY PCs away from the Steam Machine, and this is tempting some gamers to ditch Windows 11
Valve has emphasized how it’s improving SteamOS to allow gamers to create their own version of the Steam Machine if they wish, which is already prompting heated talk on Reddit about abandoning Windows 11.
The Verge reports that Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais (an engineer who gives frequent interviews) made it clear that the company is busy “rolling out improvements to [SteamOS] so it’s more compatible with desktop hardware” and also “works very closely with Nvidia” to ensure better compatibility with Team Green’s GPUs.
Before you get too excited, however, the caveat that Griffais attached is that Nvidia support isn’t coming anytime soon – meaning not this year – but that it’s “definitely something we’re working on in the background”.
Valve just released SteamOS 3.8, which prepared the ground for the new Steam Machine, and arrived with some important changes to ensure a better experience with Intel CPUs, as well as Nvidia GPUs (or indeed all discrete graphics cards, which will benefit from “vastly improved video memory management”).
Also important is the introduction of KDE Plasma version 6.4.3 with Wayland support, which greatly enhances desktop gaming and brings in, among other things, better support for external monitors and VRR in SteamOS.
In short, with SteamOS 3.8, Griffais notes that “you can put together your own Steam Machine using whatever PC parts you want.”
All of this paves the way for more PC gamers tired of Windows 11 and Microsoft to switch to SteamOS as an alternative operating system (especially those not running an AMD-powered system).
Despite the fact that it is still relatively early days in this effort (as mentioned regarding the work with Nvidia GPUs), some gamers are already happily declaring that they are ready to ditch Microsoft’s platform for SteamOS.
One Redditor tells us, “Decided to go all in and wipe my primary 2TB drive and install this [SteamOS]. Just got it installed and tried a few games working very well so far. I’ll make myself stick with it instead of slipping back to Windows.”
Here’s another gamer saying: “The moment SteamOS gets Nvidia support, there will be a huge mass exodus of users in the non-Windows gaming space.”
Similarly, an additional Reddit thread informs us: “I found that some of my Steam games that played fine on Windows 10 actually played much worse on Windows 11. I decided to switch back to Linux Mint and give Steam another shot after trying it a few years ago, and to my surprise, those games all worked fine now. So I’ve stuck with my Mint games, and every Steam game issue I’ve run, I’ve really run.” great job bringing gaming to Linux.”
And in the same thread, a Redditor notes, “This moment [SteamOS] becomes stable with driver[s]I jump out [of] Windows.” (Not literally).
Analysis: Steamy windows
It looks like this is causing more than a few gamers to rethink their position with Windows 11, but we definitely shouldn’t get carried away just yet. SteamOS has a long way to go as a rival to Windows 11, as it’s very much a niche proposition, but Valve is clearly pushing hard to make it a much more compelling alternative.
The good thing is that even if you don’t intend to go near the Steam Machine – and you think it’s well overpriced, as many do (thanks to the memory crunch) – the launch of the device can still benefit you, as SteamOS continues to take steps forward. As Valve notes, you can just build your own Steam Machine-like PC, or to avoid the price spikes of the RAM crisis, simply repurpose an existing rig you have (perhaps with an optional upgrade or two that you pick up at a sale).
With notable progress being made here – and some progress being made in getting anti-cheat games to run in certain cases as well, although there’s still plenty of work to be done here – we can hope that SteamOS adoption can accelerate significantly.
However, Windows 11 remains dominant for far, far in the PC gaming world, although SteamOS gaining traction could worry Microsoft in the long term and spur further efforts to make Windows 11 better for gamers – which would again be a win, albeit an indirect one.
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