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Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

arstechnica.com

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Re: Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

#141

Post by graynk »

umbra07 wrote: post #27
thewebguyd wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly enough, I've had games that had both a native Linux port and Windows version, and the Windows version through Proton ran better than the native Linux version. This ended up being true for Civ5, Civ6 and Cities Skylines (1). With those admittedly limited examples though, I don't experience the same ranking in performance, but I attribute that to my non-gaming hardware vs. any problem with Linux or Proton…

> Anyway, just my anecdotal experience. Those with dedicated gaming rigs will be more than fine with Linux, but those of us on underpowered hardware still seem better off with Windows, unfortunately. On the other hand, Linux (or more accurately, the Linux desktop ecosystem) doesn't support a lot of high-end PC gaming features well: HDR, Nvidia GPUs, VR, etc.

It's getting there though. I own a high-end PC with nvidia GPU and I play VR on my Linux setup via ALVR (I own Quest 3) It's not straightforward and full of workarounds I have to do, but once you're in the game it works great

Re: Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

#142

Post by graynk »

benley wrote: post #42
dcl wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't support NVIDIA GPU's!? Is this a display or gaming specific thing? All the ML people are using NVIDIA GPU's on Linux.

There are indeed nvidia drivers for Linux and they're reasonably good for gaming, but the feature set sometimes lags far behind windows. There is no DLSS 3 for Linux, for instance. (as of a few months ago anyway - I haven't checked recently)

There is though. I'm playing Hitman 3 with all RTX options enabled, DLSS and frame generation

Re: Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

#143

Post by rf15 »

flohofwoe wrote: post #131

Tbf, this mainly seems to compare shitty/outdated 3rd-party Windows drivers against a vertically integrated system where Valve has complete control over both the hardware and software. E.g. the difference between the Lenovo and Asus Win11 drivers is sometimes bigger than the difference of the faster Windows driver to Linux. It's also not all that surprising though, there's a lot of very smart people working on Proton…

afaik the Steam Deck is by no means "vertically integrated" as e.g. Apple Products are. This is really more a quality thing on the side of Proton.

Re: Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

#144

Post by scheeseman486 »

dottjt wrote: post #111

The main pain point I have with SteamOS is game compatibility, in particular with older games (90s/2000s). Maybe 60% of games work and it's such a headache trying to get it working, if it can be fixed at all. Modern games however tend to work really well.

I've actually found the opposite in my experience, though I would assume it's very much case-by-case. A recent example was Hyperbowl, a turn of the century game that broke on every version of Windows post-XP. Works fine on Linux with recent Proton and dgvoodoo2, though.

There's also DOSBox (which is quite capable at running win9x now, with Voodoo emulation) and 86box to fill those compatibility gaps too.

Re: Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

#145

Post by fybe »

sitkack wrote: post #22

Given that Windows games run faster via Proton on SteamOS, developers should prioritize targeting SteamOS APIs—not Windows. This ensures compatibility with Windows while maximizing performance. Game engines like Unity and Unreal must adopt SteamOS as the primary target, with CI systems rigorously testing both platforms. SteamOS, not Windows, should be the baseline for optimization. Does Valve run a SteamOS CI/CD farm…

Not sure Epic, who owns Unreal engine would be happy with optimizing for SteamOS and its API's after the whole debacle with Epic Store vs Steam.

Re: Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

#146

Post by scheeseman486 »

zrobotics wrote: post #121
jitl wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft is partnering with Asus to make the ROG Xbox Ally, which will run a stripped down Windows 11 that boots straight into the "Xbox" app, and you can switch to "desktop mode" much like how SteamOS / Steam Deck works. At least on Deck, it only boots the KDE desktop environment up when you switch to desktop mode so you aren't wasting resources on a windowing system you'll never see. It sounds like Microsoft is pl…

What's the advantage for a consumer here though? I honestly don't get the selling point of why I would want Win11 specifically on a handheld. The desktop UI sucks with a touchscreen, so having a windows vs a Linux desktop on the hardware doesn't seem like a difference. I get why MS wants to try to compete here, but I just don't get what they could possibly offer. I don't believe Win11 can be stripped down enough to c…

The person you're responding to wasn't entirely accurate, as it's not just a regular desktop session with the Xbox app set to auto launch. Early reports (admittedly from Microsoft PR) say the gamepad-centric window manager they're shipping on the Xbox ROG, a replacement for explorer.exe, shaves off 2GB of memory usage specifically because they're disabling desktop-centric services during the session. They do seem to be addressing a lot of your points.

The selling point is compatibility with anti-cheat and Game Pass. These aren't targeted for me, I'm not big into competitive shooters, I prefer a la carte and I main Linux, but I can imagine it would be for a lot of people.

Re: Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

#147

Post by windward »

cassianoleal wrote: post #133
preisschild wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On the other hand, Linux (or more accurately, the Linux desktop ecosystem) doesn't support a lot of high-end PC gaming features well: HDR, Nvidia GPUs, VR, etc. > HDR Already supported > Nvidia GPUs You have it the wrong way around. NVIDIA had issues supporting Linux, not Linux supporting NVIDIA. AMD drivers work fine, so its not a linux specific issue. > VR SteamVR works though?

> > HDR > Already supported Is it though? I confess I haven’t tried in a few weeks but until last time I did, to get HDR in games you had to start a session with `gamescope` rather than a DE, and still had to set a bunch of flags - and in some ways have a very subpar experience with problems with mouse movements and other issues I can’t recall. I exclusively game on Linux and I find the experience far superior than d…

It works on the Deck.

Re: Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

#148

Post by windward »

arvinsim wrote: post #82
lenerdenator wrote: post #75

When SteamOS and Ganoo/L00nockz become first-class gaming citizens, that's when I'm building a gaming PC for the first time since 2012. I'm a Mac guy now mainly because of my job and I like UNIX-y stuff now, but of course, gaming is even more lacking than Linux. We're so close. Once AAA releases and GPU drivers get there, it's over the cliff, and I could see that being in the next five years.

I have always wanted Windows to move to Unix so that I can have the best of both worlds(software development and video games). Glad that we are close to that reality.

You'd also need a sane filesystem.

Re: Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

#149

Post by easyThrowaway »

dottjt wrote: post #111

The main pain point I have with SteamOS is game compatibility, in particular with older games (90s/2000s). Maybe 60% of games work and it's such a headache trying to get it working, if it can be fixed at all. Modern games however tend to work really well.

Can't say that Windows 11 compatibility on this regard is any way better. Anything pre Dx-9 is somewhat broken one way or another.

I've recently found about Dreamm[1] by AAron Giles (a well known emulator developer) which is basically a very lightweight os-indipendent reimplementation of some windows and directx calls specifically for some Lucasarts games written during that time period, It would be nice to see a similar project expanding in such direction without having to reinvent Wine and/or Proton.

https://dreamm.aarongiles.com

Re: Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds

#150

Post by msgodel »

eviks wrote: post #99
spartanatreyu wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's little point benchmarking a debloated windows 11 since: 1. There is no standard debloated windows 11 to compare against since Microsoft adds more bloat each month. 2. Users aren't going to be running a debloated windows 11 anyway

2. Many are if this makes their game playable and there is an easy way to debloat

It's usually easier to just install Linux from what I've seen.
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