SteamOS
Valve's Arch-based Linux operating system for gaming, used on Steam Deck and PCs.
HN commenters like SteamOS for turning mini PCs into living room gaming machines,123 for running games better than Windows,45 and for its full desktop mode.678 The main caveats are an installer that wipes the whole drive9 and tedious graphics tuning to get games running well.10
Why people recommend it
Windows replacement · 3
Commenters replaced Windows with it on gaming machines and say games run better than on Windows.
“I love how it's much better at running games than Windows”
“Just installed Steam OS on a mini pc we use for gaming. One less windows device in the house, and the UI for desktop mode is perfectly adequate.”
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“enjoys not having had to boot into Windows to play something for quite a few years”
Desktop mode · 3
Its built-in desktop mode makes it usable as a general computer, even a daily UNIX desktop.
“It is SteamOS with desktop mode, the SteamDeck made me really miss that feature”
“I have since used a docked Steam Deck as my daily driver and everything I want just works! It's now my UNIX desktop OS of choice.”
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“Just installed Steam OS on a mini pc we use for gaming. One less windows device in the house, and the UI for desktop mode is perfectly adequate.”
Living room PCs · 3
Installed on budget mini PCs, it makes a good couch gaming device with access to the whole Steam library.
“throw Steam OS on it and it's a great living room device.”
“Just wipe windows immediately and put SteamOS on it and you're good to go”
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“Just installed Steam OS on a mini pc we use for gaming. One less windows device in the house, and the UI for desktop mode is perfectly adequate.”
Steam Deck · 2
Steam Deck owners praise the OS, and one uses a docked Deck as a daily driver.
“I love my Steamdeck. SteamOS is great.”
“I have since used a docked Steam Deck as my daily driver and everything I want just works! It's now my UNIX desktop OS of choice.”
Tinkering · 2
It allows configuration and experimentation that other consoles do not allow without jailbreaks.
“SteamOS is the best thing which happen in gaming for last year.”
“Just wipe windows immediately and put SteamOS on it and you're good to go”
Caveats and dissent
Destructive install · 1
The non-interactive installer expects to be the only OS and takes over the entire drive.
“it will clobber your entire physical volume with its new partition layout and file systems.”
Graphics tuning · 1
Picking settings so games look good without crashing is a major chore.
“SteamOS got me to migrate from a Nintendo. There's a lot that I love about it”
Slow updates · 1
One user says releases ship KDE versions about a year old.
“I'm still super excited for this release.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- SteamOS Linux 3.8 released as stable 2 mentions
- Llama.cpp on a jailbroken PS5: run any GGUF model natively on the console 1 mention
- Steam Frame starts at $1059 1 mention
- Sony Deletes 551 Movies PlayStation Owners Paid For 1 mention
- I am a person who will look at the Steam Machine and cry 1 mention
- Steam Machine 1 mention
Data: steamos.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 13
“throw Steam OS on it and it's a great living room device.”
“It is SteamOS with desktop mode, the SteamDeck made me really miss that feature”
“SteamOS got me to migrate from a Nintendo. There's a lot that I love about it”
“Just wipe windows immediately and put SteamOS on it and you're good to go”
“I have since used a docked Steam Deck as my daily driver and everything I want just works! It's now my UNIX desktop OS of choice.”
“it will clobber your entire physical volume with its new partition layout and file systems.”
“I'm still super excited for this release.”
“SteamOS is the best thing which happen in gaming for last year.”
“the next step would be a steamos port with DRM support”
“I love how it's much better at running games than Windows”
“Just installed Steam OS on a mini pc we use for gaming. One less windows device in the house, and the UI for desktop mode is perfectly adequate.”
“enjoys not having had to boot into Windows to play something for quite a few years”
“I love my Steamdeck. SteamOS is great.”