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+title = 'Why SteamOS is NOT a great desktop Operating System'
+date = 2026-03-28T14:33:37+01:00
+lastmod = 2026-03-28T14:33:37+01:00
+draft = false
+author = 'Janis Hutz'
+tags = [ 'Linux' ]
+categories = [ 'Rants' ]
+series = []
+series_weight = 1
+featuredImage = "/posts/2025/02/why-steamos-is-not-a-good-desktop-os/cover.jpg"
+++
+
+If you are looking to get into Linux and are looking for advice on which distro to choose, I have a few recommendations [below](#recommendations) in here
+and a more general beginner guide [here](/series/linux-beginner-guide/), albeit some information in there may be a bit outdated,
+for example, I would now recommend CachyOS over EndeavourOS.
+
+
+# What is SteamOS?
+SteamOS is an immutable Linux Distribution based on Arch. Immutable means that you cannot edit certain files, mostly system files and the like.
+
+It is the operating system that has been designed to run on the Steam Deck and now also the Steam Machine, thus primarily as being a console operating system.
+It however does feature a full Plasma 6 Desktop, so using it as a desktop operating system is theoretically possible.
+The immutability of the system is also not that big of an issue with most of the important software being available as flatpaks.
+
+
+# Why this blogpost then?
+Many people are begging Valve to release SteamOS as a standalone distro that you can install on your own hardware, not just a select few.
+What these people however fail to realize is that SteamOS has a few fundamental flaws that make it unsuitable to daily use.
+Additionally, you can achieve anywhere from worse to higher levels of reliability from a normal distribution, where the reliability usually is about comparable.
+
+Some members of the Tech community tend to misrepresent the state of stability on Linux. Don't get me wrong, it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination,
+but picking Pop!_OS as your distribution on anything really but System76 hardware is just asking for disaster to happen.
+
+Additionally all the "Gaming distros" don't generally offer a real benefit over the standard distributions,
+maybe apart from in a handheld or media PC where you want to have a controller interface.
+
+However, it Bazzite and some other "gamer distros" are doing a fairly good job in the stability department as well,
+but many of them tend to break more due to all the changes that have been applies, with sometimes lacklustre testing or improper package mirror maintenance.
+This leads to some packages from the upstream distro being pulled in that don't work well with the modified packages the distro ships.
+
+This is why I always advocate sticking as close to upstream as possible, i.e. going for vanilla Arch instead of Manjaro, etc, because if you can't install Arch yourself
+(which by the way is not hard if you read the documentation properly), you also can't maintain it properly.
+
+
+## Where does this leave us then?
+If you are a beginner looking to switch to Linux, you can do it before SteamOS is released.
+Pick a normal distribution you like, maybe with the help of my article.
+
+A common misconception is that a normal Linux distribution is not suited to gaming.
+This is not in fact correct and you will in most games see a difference of *at most* 3% from a fairly outdated version of Ubuntu or Debian
+to an up-to-date gaming-optimized distribution. The difference shrinks even more if you compare them against something like Arch or CachyOS.
+
+And you also have to keep in mind that many Games nowadays run faster on Linux than they do on Windows, regardless of what distribution you pick.
+And installing Steam on any normal distribution is about as easy as downloading an App on your phone.
+
+**So in short**, what you are giving up on with not going with SteamOS or a gaming distro is basically just these two things:
+- Pre-Installed gaming-software (that you can easily install within a few minutes, which is still faster than on Windows)
+- Optimizations (that may actually sometimes hurt performance or stability)
+
+However, in turn you get all of these (and more):
+- If you run into an issue, there is likely more documentation out there
+- You are also less likely to run into issues with non-gaming related things
+- You get a pleasant desktop experience (as that is the main goal of the distro)
+- Still very good performance
+- Often pre-installed office suites, mail clients, etc (if you wanted that)
+- ... many more
+
+
+## Recommendations
+See my new [distro recommendations post](../selecting-a-linux-distro/)
+
+
+# Conclusion
+While SteamOS gives you the benefit of being pre-configured with some performance gains,
+it nowhere near justifies the wait (and thus being at Micro$lop's mercy), nor the sacrifices in day-to-day usability you will have to make.
+
+
+
+On a side note:
+You may have read my old post on this topic, which is still available [here](/posts/2025/02/why-steamos-is-not-a-good-desktop-os/).
+
+This post aims to be more factual / toned down and also clarifies some things mentioned in the old post.