Would you build a SteamOS gaming PC?

It's something I've been toying with. Building a SteamOS gaming PC rather than going down the traditional Windows route. How well do games run on SteamOS, will games be compatible with the Linux-based OS and more importantly, is it worth it to deviate from Windows to SteamOS?

some of the reviews i have seen on the web says the performance is not as great as windows.

i think windows is still the best gaming platform, until steam os evolves with the vulkan api, great amd gpu driver support, and a increased game library, i dont think i will be building a steam os or linux based pc as my main gaming platform anytime soon.

No, and I really wonder why anyone else would?

You're basically limiting yourself for no reason.

I only have one PC in my house, so I need the functionality of Windows on that PC. Plus it doesn't seem like there's any reason to use SteamOS.

If it made some sense for me to get a PC to use under a TV for only controller gaming, and SteamOS showed gains over Windows, then I might make one.

i will be getting mine back up and running next weekend. new SSD in the post ^_^. well itll be ubuntu running steam rather than steamOS. the rest of the hardware is still old though so i wont be playing anything cutting edge.

i will be honest though....there is not 1 single practical reason to do it currently. when it comes to gaming windows is better in absolutely every way. linux could become brilliant (in many other areas it excels. it generally runs faster, is pretty bullet proof and uses less resources) but it needs more support. to get more support it needs more people playing games on linux.

there are more games coming for it and loads of games on it (my linux backlog alone could keep me going for years) but it does lack the big AAA titles like creed and COD and doesnt look like itll get support from the likes of R* or bethesda any time soon.

so the only reason to do it is out of curiosity (sure it costs nothing so why not?) or as a matter of principal. but if all you want to do is play games and not worry about if game X will run on the OS then stick with windows.

Nope. I held out for the Steam Machines and SteamOS hoping for some edge versus building my own ITX build with Windows 10. I found almost zero good reasons to go with the Steam Machine. Maybe one day they'll make them more appealing. On the other hand I'm extremely satisfied with my Windows 10, mini-ITX build. It's amazing how easy it is to throw together a miniature PC that fits into the home theater and is a beast for gaming.

I don't see a whole lot of reason to bother with SteamOS. Windows is still the most widely-used OS out there, so PC games will always be made compatible with it. And I'll always want Windows compatibility for older games anyway, so at best I'll probably do the same thing with SteamOS that I do with older generations of Windows: run it on a virtual machine on the off-chance I need that specific operating system for something. SteamOS makes sense for something like a mini-PC-thing to hook up to your television, but at that point it's just sort of meeting console comfort and PC gaming halfway and will really only cater to a specific kind of consumer--maybe that'll carve a market out for itself, but it's not going to really compete with either Windows PC gaming or console gaming.

this +1

There is no benefit to using Steam OS instead of Windows, but there are several features you would miss out on.

Worse performance and fewer games...much fewer if you include older games. SteamOS is basically a waste, I get Valve's intent but developer support isn't moving fast enough to offer a competitive list of titles and the performance?...not sure why exactly, Linux has potential but it may have to do with both GPU driver support and DX vs OpenGL and how developers emphasize their support for the API's

I could easily create a multi-boot setup with Steam OS, but I am yet to find a compelling reason to try it. I am happy with my Win 10 PC.

Not with steam os. I built a gaming pc in the living room that boots right into a program called Big Box. It's part of Launchbox. That way it goes right into big box and everything is controlled by the gamepad. And I'm not limited to steam games. I got dos, snes, game ube, ps2, etc. steam os is very limiting for my tastes. But yeah, having a pc that acts like a console from bootup is great. If i wanna get out of game mode i just exit the program and I'm back to a normal pc. I got the idea from steam machines then decided to make it better lol.

i can see it being used as an HTPC, but as others have said, it's a really niche situation. The linux OS could help if you were streaming or storing videos on your HTPC, and the steamOS would be an addition to that.

other than that, i don't see a reason. windows is just better with steam right now.

About equal choice to building a linux/mac gaming PC, inferior to windows

no cause linux sucks

Currently no.. The SteamOS has less games, and worse performance than Windows.. Til that changes, there is no reason not to just use a htpc gaming machine with windows and just use the steam big picture mode..

I don't see the point, not yet.

Windows is what I know, and what I am comfortable with. That's worth the 90 dollars or so every 5-10 years. SteamOS looks promising but right now is really limited. I wish them the best of luck; the more competition there is, the better.

Actually you can get Windows to boot directly to Big Screen mode faster than SteamOS and if you wanted, without ever seeing the desktop. One method I did by using NTlite and Winreducer which I created for the purpose of just gaming only ala console. I had Windows 10 install size down to just over 4 gigs in size which saved a lot of room on an SSD for games, the desktop only appeared for about 2 seconds before Steam booted vs default install where it may take closer to 10 seconds at times.

The second method I did was of course just make Steam big screen mode the default shell instead of Explorer and I used 3rd party portable apps for browser, file explorer..etc and made shortcuts in Steam for them. If I needed the desktop, I had to open task manager or Run command and launch explorer....either method worked out pretty good but since I manage a lot of mods at times, trainers or other tasks, I ended up just leaving Windows alone because I'll have to change everything again once I get my Oculus Rift.

Sure

No, I don't see any reason to limit myself like that. It's not worth it to limit myself just to have a PC that behaves like a console. Especially when I don't even want my PC to behave like a console.

I don't like building fixer uppers.

I dual boot just to show support but since most of my games are Windows I of course spend most of my time on Windows.

Screw the Steam Systems. PC all the way.

No. I need Windows for a whole lot of different applications other than gaming, so SteamOS is not even an option.

I don't see it being better for gaming either, except for the fact that it's free.

I have a spare SSD which is only 120GB but going to try and put steam OS on it. All I need now is a flash USB drive which I will be getting soon.

What else works on steam OS can origin Uplay etc work?. Or is it just steam it self?. As some games on steam need Uplay open as well. I bought watch dogs on steam but need Uplay open at the same time on windows so how would that work?.

I use my PC for more than mere gaming, I need windows, besides steamOS still has some catching up to do.

@skipper847: GOG support steam OS also (well linux, you will have to buy games using a web browser. using it with steamOS may be a bit more of a faff.).

sadly Uplay and origin are not offically supported (or is that a good thing? :P). there may be ways to get them working through WINE but i havent looked into it at all.

Do as this guy says Think about it if you get a virus SteamOS and linux is there to back you up and you can change windows files when needed. I am going to go with the Steam Machine route myself and get windows I can get a GTX 970 i7 CPU for only $890 with DDR4 even though I heard DDR 4 isn't worth it. I'm gonna explain a few things.

1. Even though Linux is better with customization Windows has the most developers but thats also a disadvantage since more people know windows that makes it more vulnerable for maliciousness.

2. You can use Linux desktop but you need to know Terminal, I believe it's called, to get to it.

3. More games on windows than any other platforms Including free ones.

4. win 10 costs 99 SteamOS is free... Don't like windows 10 the key can work for any older version of windows Prior... I learned that from wikipedia. :)

5. Inserted a flash drive, jump drive, google drive, The "SuperMegaGigaTera Drive", USB drive/devices Windows.... Installing... ready to use... even for generics. Linux(SteamOS)... Depends on a few things... I bet now it's mostly just plug in and it works but do you get full functionality who knows.

That generally sums up the important parts :) :| Did I typed SuperMegaGigaTera Drive... Clearly that was a typo. Meant TB Portable HDDs :)

everytime i accidently put steam in big picture mode i frantically try to find the button to go back to normal. its bad.

nah, I got Steam Link.

It is awesome, too, highly recommend it.

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