84 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
84 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
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title = 'Why SteamOS is NOT a great desktop Operating System'
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date = 2026-03-28T14:33:37+01:00
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lastmod = 2026-03-28T14:33:37+01:00
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draft = false
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author = 'Janis Hutz'
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tags = [ 'Linux' ]
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categories = [ 'Rants' ]
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series = []
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series_weight = 1
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featuredImage = "/posts/2025/02/why-steamos-is-not-a-good-desktop-os/cover.jpg"
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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
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and a more general beginner guide [here](/series/linux-beginner-guide/), albeit some information in there may be a bit outdated,
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for example, I would now recommend CachyOS over EndeavourOS.
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# What is SteamOS?
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SteamOS is an immutable Linux Distribution based on Arch. Immutable means that you cannot edit certain files, mostly system files and the like.
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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.
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It however does feature a full Plasma 6 Desktop, so using it as a desktop operating system is theoretically possible.
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The immutability of the system is also not that big of an issue with most of the important software being available as flatpaks.
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# Why this blogpost then?
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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.
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What these people however fail to realize is that SteamOS has a few fundamental flaws that make it unsuitable to daily use.
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Additionally, you can achieve anywhere from worse to higher levels of reliability from a normal distribution, where the reliability usually is about comparable.
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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,
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but picking Pop!_OS as your distribution on anything really but System76 hardware is just asking for disaster to happen.
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Additionally all the "Gaming distros" don't generally offer a real benefit over the standard distributions,
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maybe apart from in a handheld or media PC where you want to have a controller interface.
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However, it Bazzite and some other "gamer distros" are doing a fairly good job in the stability department as well,
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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.
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This leads to some packages from the upstream distro being pulled in that don't work well with the modified packages the distro ships.
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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
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(which by the way is not hard if you read the documentation properly), you also can't maintain it properly.
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## Where does this leave us then?
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If you are a beginner looking to switch to Linux, you can do it before SteamOS is released.
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Pick a normal distribution you like, maybe with the help of my article.
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A common misconception is that a normal Linux distribution is not suited to gaming.
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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
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to an up-to-date gaming-optimized distribution. The difference shrinks even more if you compare them against something like Arch or CachyOS.
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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.
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And installing Steam on any normal distribution is about as easy as downloading an App on your phone.
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**So in short**, what you are giving up on with not going with SteamOS or a gaming distro is basically just these two things:
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- Pre-Installed gaming-software (that you can easily install within a few minutes, which is still faster than on Windows)
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- Optimizations (that may actually sometimes hurt performance or stability)
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However, in turn you get all of these (and more):
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- If you run into an issue, there is likely more documentation out there
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- You are also less likely to run into issues with non-gaming related things
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- You get a pleasant desktop experience (as that is the main goal of the distro)
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- Still very good performance
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- Often pre-installed office suites, mail clients, etc (if you wanted that)
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- ... many more
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## Recommendations
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See my new [distro recommendations post](../selecting-a-linux-distro/)
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# Conclusion
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While SteamOS gives you the benefit of being pre-configured with some performance gains,
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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.
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On a side note:
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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/).
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This post aims to be more factual / toned down and also clarifies some things mentioned in the old post.
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