I would consider leaving windows behind for a Steam OS.

Originally posted by WE'RE GONNA LOSE:

Steam OS

When is Steam OS going to be an official replacement for windows? I’m so done with windows having so much updates and other things going on with it that it makes gaming less fun.

When it's ready to handle Nvidia.

You can run Linux right now. You don't have to wait for Valve's locked down Linux distribution for handhelds to be released for desktop PCs. You can run Steam on any Linux.

Originally posted by WE'RE GONNA LOSE:

When is Steam OS going to be an official replacement for windows? I’m so done with windows having so much updates and other things going on with it that it makes gaming less fun.

It's not. Linux droneboys have been saying that Windows' days are numbered for 20 years now. Ain't gonna happen any time soon.

I'm already on Debian with Win 10 still tucked away for the few apps that don't work with Wine or Proton (haven't touched Windows in quite some time, though). I've been having some issues with Plasma, but I could switch that out if needed, and still is nothing compared to the product of "Microsoft knows best" that I had to wade through back then.

Steam OS, on the other hand, might present similar issues; My impression of MS with Windows is that they like DRM and pushing updates. My impression of Valve with Steam is that they also like DRM and pushing updates. I smell potential for overlap.

Literally the only problem is Nvidia. The majority of PC players have an NVIDIA card so Valve won't do a full release until that's ready. I wound up up switching from NVIDIA+Intel to Full AMD and my Bazzite Deck install works amazing.

Originally posted by Aftonstjarna:

Literally the only problem is Nvidia. The majority of PC players have an NVIDIA card so Valve won't do a full release until that's ready. I wound up up switching from NVIDIA+Intel to Full AMD and my Bazzite Deck install works amazing.

Their latest driver-related situation played a huge role in me switching over to AMD graphics when it came time to update my card (which was before I switched to Linux). IDK who all shares that sentiment, however.

I've always used AMD CPUs on my main machine, though. Did help big time when it came time to update my CPU on my previous machine. Turned out my cheap early ryzen board just needed a firmware update to run 3rd gen ryzen (it was "refurbished" to run 2nd gen when I got it).

Originally posted by WE'RE GONNA LOSE:

When is Steam OS going to be an official replacement for windows?

Never, because that's not what it's for.
SteamOS is a Linux distro meant for AMD based PC handhelds and HTPCs. It's intention is to provide you with a console-like interface you can navigate with a controller.

If you want a Windows replacement for your desktop or laptop, just install any other more desktop-oriented Linux distro. It will work with Steam and your games just as well as SteamOS would.

Originally posted by Haruspex:

Originally posted by WE'RE GONNA LOSE:

When is Steam OS going to be an official replacement for windows?

Never, because that's not what it's for.
SteamOS is a Linux distro meant for AMD based PC handhelds and HTPCs. It's intention is to provide you with a console-like interface you can navigate with a controller.

If you want a Windows replacement for your desktop or laptop, just install any other more desktop-oriented Linux distro. It will work with Steam and your games just as well as SteamOS would.

Valve intends for it to eventually release desktop wide. Outside the dedicated gamescope session you can switch back and forth with the full KDE Plasma DE.

Originally posted by Aftonstjarna:

Valve intends for it to eventually release desktop wide. Outside the dedicated gamescope session you can switch back and forth with the full KDE Plasma DE.

This is true, and you can switch to the KDE desktop environment, but it's still sub-optimal for desktop use. There are much better distros for your desktop/laptop, unless you intend to use it kind of like a console for gaming alone.

I’ve been waiting for over a decade. I think at this point, Valve will release it when it’s ready.

Remember, they announced this back with Windows 8, and that was the point when many people started looking elsewhere. But Microsoft decided to reverse course with Windows 10, offering it for free.

That was a big deal back then, and yeah, since then, Microsoft has tried making the Start Menu worse ever since Windows 10 launched.

At this point, come October, I will be upgrading to a Mac Mini. I think it’s crazy how it can run Resident Evil 4 Remake, but here we are.

Windows users are finally jumping ship enough to make headlines.

whenever valve decides to i guess, but it will be coming.

if steamOS 3 could play 100% of games and without fiddling with proton versions... i would drop microshaft windows in a heart beat.

have a nice day

I use OpenSuse Tumbleweed. Wouldn't recommend to a complete beginner but it's great.

Never had issues with WIndows getting in the way of gaming. But I have recently tried Bazzite on my Desktop and found that my performance in games were 10 to 20% less in performance, some games needed extra tweeking (including using command line) to even get running decently, getting Brave browser installed on Bazzite was a pain in the rear end again needing command line, and I can't even use my VPN because bazzite, which is Fedora 42, isn't backward compatible with software made for Fedora 32. Also I'm missing features for my headset so the sound quality and virtual surround sound is either non existent in most games and bad quality in the rest.

So I find Linux reduces my gaming fun, plus is a headache to run other things I want to run not related to gaming.

So I guess either Valve make things work with Nvidia or AMD needs to up their game to match or surpass Nvidia. Looks like til then its a waiting game.

Thank you all for the awesome knowledge