this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2026
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Every time I have tried to mainline Linux for my gaming rig. Although I haven't tried anything recently, IE since the Steam Deck has made large improvements. I am now waiting for SteamOS to be available for non-AMD GPUs and can be dual-booted so I can try it without also getting rid of Windows right away if it still gives me headaches. I know there are other options I could try now, but I'm fine waiting.
I have not been disappointed in Linux when used for servers, tho. Far, far more reliable than Windows when you want stability and long up times.
Long time nvidia on linux user. Use AMD.
I suspect you'll be disappointed or frustrated by SteamOS, since Valve isn't really all-in on maintaining a universal distro like other projects (and that's okay); more likely, it will always be Valve-hardware-first that just happens to work on some other hardware configurations.
IMO, you're better off jumping into whatever distro interests you rather than expecting SteamOS to fit your use case. My personal choice was CachyOS for daily use and gaming, and it's been great, but PikaOS would be one I'd consider for another build. I also run Bazzite on an older laptop for some light gaming and HTPC stuff, and that's been rock solid.
Valve said they're actively working with nvidia to support their gpus. While I'm sure valve hardware will always be the primary concern, they seem to actively pursue the goal of SteamOS being more widely compatible.
Sure, but "works with nVidia" isn't the same as "works with everything," since there's a lot of other hardware to consider, though I'd imagine the latter case would be mostly easy for an end user to work around.
That's all I'm really pointing out with that part, and if I'm wrong, then it's only good news for the rest of us.
But the benefit of SteamOS is going to be marginal at best since lots of distros are already highly capable for gaming. Waiting isn't going to bring with it some magical improvements that makes it the default choice over CachyOS, Bazzite, PikaOS, etc.
I went full Linux almost 3 years ago. Games worked very well when I first switched but it's improved significantly in performance and QoL since then. If your interested in gaming on Linux, I wouldn't wait for desktop steamOS, just get a distro and try it. I like Arch, but it's definitely not for everyone, especially if you're not into tinkering although even archinstall makes getting setup significantly easier now.
Most games are solid now on Linux thanks to Proton. Most of the time if it's Steam and it's not competitive it works out of the box. Sometimes you need some post install configuration to make it run better (more common with old games), you can usually find what you need to do in the protondb website.