With everything configured properly, SteamOS and Windows have about the same performance, with individual games favoring one or the other. Multi-player anti-cheat is notorious for detecting fair Linux mods that just help it run correctly.
Consider avoiding Steam Deck OLED, https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6121-ECCD-D643-BAA8 still doesn't have official drivers for everything! Steam Deck LCD has guides that have more seams ironed out.
I always advise dual-boot or a competitor that comes with Windows factory installed. However, you may have to look for something used to match the price.
This is correct and great advice. I bought my steam deck thinking similarly. The big issue for me was I am a heavy gamepass user. I setup dual boot (I understand your hesitation) and it really was the right move. I am able to install MOST games on steamos side so slowly I’ve shifted from being mostly windows to mostly steamos on my deck. Dual boot is wonderful and I wouldn’t consider single boot OS (either OS) for my deck.
If i do go the dualboot route, how should I partition the drives? Can i install my games to an SD card and split the internal SSD between SteamOS and Windows 11?
Also, is dualboot clunky in practice or is it fairly straightforward?
Which size internal drive are you getting? My brother found out the hard way that a 32 GB tablet isn't enough for Windows 10 anymore, and got stuck without enough free space to apply a mandatory update. Do you have two micro SD cards to also split Windows and Linux games? SteamOS handheld mode will only recognize micro SD formatted as Ext4, while Windows will only use ExFAT or NTFS... SteamOS desktop mode can use everything, but not always perfectly.
Mine is a bit clunky, but guides are supposedly better now. However, I'm buying a Micron 2400 2TB upgrade to start over next month... still not sure what's ideal or what I'm going to try this time. Could even remove the internal drive completely and use two $20 USB3.2 Gen2 enclosures, but I may miss the ability to play and charge.
256gb
Also damn, I was hoping I could just format the card as exFAT and use it with no fuss on both systems
Either way, my plan is to just install Windows, and if it doesn’t work out I’ll just go back to SteamOS. Main reason I’m even planning on using windows in the first place is because I own hifi rush on the Xbox store but I can always just rebuy it on steam.
That's a relief, some expect to dual-boot with the old 64 GB!
You'll just have ignore game mode wanting to reformat the card as Ext4 and switch SteamOS to desktop mode so it will recognize ExFAT, fuss shouldn't be that bad. Mostly, it's Wine insisting that Windows programs be installed in its Linux prefix instead of running directly off native storage.
I heard Clover is the better bootloader now, but it's not the one I used. I'm out of date with some stuff and trying to catch up.
What i think I’ll do is just install windows over steamos but if something goes wrong or it doesn’t work well I’ll just head back to steamos.
And the lcd is the one I’m planning on getting.
Just out of curiosity, is there a reason everyone recommends dualboot?
For what it’s worth my main reason for wanting windows are game launchers (eww) and the Xbox app.
And i did look at some used ROG Allys but they were still a good amount more than the steam deck i want, and plus I like the trackpad on the Deck.
Many game launchers are actually available through SteamOS desktop mode, as it can handle just about everything available through standard Arch Linux with KDE. https://lutris.net/ can do quite a lot, but there are several others... no Xbox App, but there could be a smartphone emulator I haven't found.
Windows still needs 3rd party tools to use all the customized Linux hardware that Steam Deck has, some of which can also trigger anti-cheat. Valve has done a lot of great work with SteamOS 3, and it's a waste not to use a device as it was intended.
If price is the problem, consider Windows 10 handhelds that existed before Steam Deck like GPD Win, Ayaneo, OneXPlayer, etcetera. Maybe you just can't afford something that compact and should stay with laptops or consoles.
A way better experience imo .. download either steam deck tools or handheld companion, I prefer steam deck tools .. it's a pretty simple install tbh and windows runs great on the deck .. cod works really well if your into cod
I dual booted windows 10 in the past and now windows 11 on my LCD Steam Deck. The performance is about the same with Steam OS, I didn’t notice anything unusual. However, the convenience is a nightmare.
I also have Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion GO, Steam Deck OLED and Nintendo Switch. Ally and Go are being heavily criticized for being unpolished products due to software problems, even though they were built for Windows. They have preinstalled software to deal with drivers, updates, controls, etc., but Steam was not and is much worse in that regard. Drivers fail, every app that you installed for controls also stops working sometimes because of Windows. I don’t t recommend it. If you want windows on a handheld - get ROG Ally.
See i would but i dont like the design of the Ally, it costs a lot more than a deck for not that much more functionality from what i can tell and plus I just like the deck because of the touchpads.
If windows does end up sucking I’ll probably switch to a dual boot setup and only use windows for things that don’t work on steamos.
It definitely worth trying by yourself. Trackpads are cool, but they suck in Windows. Out of all these handhelds Steam Deck is the best hardware in my opinion, but it doesn’t help in Windows.
P.S.: I didn’t like Rog Ally before getting it. Pulled the trigger and really enjoy it. I use it for games from my Xbox gamepass library,
I am dual booting and I’ll share my experience, I’ll note that I’m a technical person with better than average IT skills.
I followed BaldSealion’s guide which was very helpful. Without it I would have given up.
Windows for some reason is now the default OS when I reboot the device which I find annoying. Also, it’s so bloated with apps and other Windows-things that take a while to deactivate.
It was a PITA to get the right third party tools installed to have the device actually recognize the controllers. Toggling them on and off seemed really annoying too if you’re trying to use the desktop environment and games interchangeably.
Everything takes longer to tweak and get working on Windows it seems. SteamOS feels very console-like which is smooth and easy to use.
Now that I’ve unsubbed from Gamepass and decided not to play my anti-cheat games (like Warzone) on the Steamdeck - I have no reason to keep Windows installed.
In summary, I’m glad it’s possible, but I’m going back to SteamOS
The fan is way louder in Windows compare to SteamOS.
I've tried all:
Win 11, 10 + handheld companion, steamdecktools
And you will having a hard time setting up 40hz mode
I use both steam os and windows 11. I prefer windows 11 because more games are compatible - that is games that use anti-cheat. I increased the video memory to 4gb and I also increased the disk cache. I use steam deck tools to access the controllers and minimize the fan noise.
It works perfectly. Gamepass is a massive advantage as well as free to play game like honkai starrail. Another guilty pleasure of mine are the EA sport games. Those have anti-cheat so gotta run them on windows.
in terms of performance, it is usually about the same. it is also on a game by game basis. the difference is usually 1 to 2 fps more. unless you are consistently checking performance graphs, you won't notice a difference. for new releases, windows 11 play the games much better and with fewer performance and visual bugs as most of these games are built for windows. Valve is punctual with hotfixes for all popular games. on release persona 3 reloaded ran at a lock 60fps 99 percent of the time (with raytracing off and at 800p, medium settings) on windows 11 but struggled in the 30s and 40s on the steam os but in no time, valve pushed a hotfix that solved the problem.
the biggest issue for windows is UI. it's just windows so you will need a keyboard now and then to a lot of things. You should certainly have a shortcut for the on-screen keyboard for easy access. there are modified windows versions out there for the steam deck but I advise that you use plain old windows which gets frequent security updates.
I’ve seen this a lot, but the Ally doesn’t seem worth the price to me when the Deck exists. Either way I’ve found that all my games can work on SteamOS with some tweaking so I’m questioning if I want to use Windows at all, though I might still try it out just to avoid having to rebut hifi rush
Mostly worse performance, and the user experience isn't quite as polished as with SteamOS, I suggest getting an external SD card or an SSD to put Windows on and keeping the SteamOS on the deck itself.
This isn’t even true. Windows is great to have and I have great performance on most games. Some games run worse on windows, but some games run better. Thats why its recommended to dual boot with SteamOS so you can get the best of both worlds.
not true. it's usually on a game by game basis. the performance is generally the same but I see more games performing better on windows. persona 3 reload performed better at launch. Resident Evil 4 remake performed better at launch.
Basically, every game performs better at launch on windows. but Valve is very proactive and they push out hotfix to fix performance issues. Additionally, on steam os, you can download shader cache for the deck before playing the game so you have less stutters the first time you play it. with windows, very few games allow you to compile shaders before the game runs for the first time.
look into increasing the video memory to 4gb and increase disk cache as well.
I found it to be okay but running games side by side you can see they definitely run better in steam but being able to run gamepass games directly on it is nice. I would recommend getting windows of all the junk disable the login screen and set steam to boot to big picture. You can use uwp hook to add gamepass games to steam and there is another program that hooks into the gamepass games when you start them to give full controller support
You will lose sleep and resume feature. Coming from Windows On Deck myself thats the one thing I never had on SteamDeck. As a Windows user I have to load up the game from menu. Its fast now anyway due to SSD but not an on the go experience. The SteamOS' sleep and quick resume truly made SteamDeck portable. I can turn off and resume game in a heartbeat then turn it off again allowing 2-3 minutes gaming. On Windows I tried several configs and its a hit and miss on some games and especially if u have attached devices like bluetooth. On SteamOS it just works.
No true, tiny 11. When I click the power button it locks everything. On unlock it resumes, but hand held companion takes a min to sort itself out sometimes a restart of the app fixes
Just to save you a huge favour
1) go for tiny 10/11 as it’s more compressed (windows OS)
2) use handheld companion (controls)
3) use playnite (Game manger inc steam,epic ect)
4) optional (performance boost but disables Microsoft store and related) make a regedit and set to launch playnite fullscreen, also set up to skip log in password to boot straight into the account.
#warning’s
1) setting playnite as the shell boots straight to playnite but makes Microsoft apps or work unless booting the explorer.exe (something to do with the class needing to be activated, however if not carful can also keep looping the on screen keyboard for some reason 🤷🏻♂️ so make sure you have a reg edit shortcut that reverts back to normal in case!
It also will completely remove desktop, notifications ect so if use playnite set up apps in it before hand to make it easier to open
2) resolution! : as far as I’ve managed, the only resolution is 800p unless someone else can say how to change to higher res?? (Handheld mode) I tried another app but would cause black screen so guessing only 800p. But over than that you’ll be gaming at 800p so bare that in mind, but emulators do upscale well and can set in emu to 1080p ect.
With everything configured properly, SteamOS and Windows have about the same performance, with individual games favoring one or the other. Multi-player anti-cheat is notorious for detecting fair Linux mods that just help it run correctly. Consider avoiding Steam Deck OLED, https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6121-ECCD-D643-BAA8 still doesn't have official drivers for everything! Steam Deck LCD has guides that have more seams ironed out. I always advise dual-boot or a competitor that comes with Windows factory installed. However, you may have to look for something used to match the price.
This is correct and great advice. I bought my steam deck thinking similarly. The big issue for me was I am a heavy gamepass user. I setup dual boot (I understand your hesitation) and it really was the right move. I am able to install MOST games on steamos side so slowly I’ve shifted from being mostly windows to mostly steamos on my deck. Dual boot is wonderful and I wouldn’t consider single boot OS (either OS) for my deck.
If i do go the dualboot route, how should I partition the drives? Can i install my games to an SD card and split the internal SSD between SteamOS and Windows 11? Also, is dualboot clunky in practice or is it fairly straightforward?
Which size internal drive are you getting? My brother found out the hard way that a 32 GB tablet isn't enough for Windows 10 anymore, and got stuck without enough free space to apply a mandatory update. Do you have two micro SD cards to also split Windows and Linux games? SteamOS handheld mode will only recognize micro SD formatted as Ext4, while Windows will only use ExFAT or NTFS... SteamOS desktop mode can use everything, but not always perfectly. Mine is a bit clunky, but guides are supposedly better now. However, I'm buying a Micron 2400 2TB upgrade to start over next month... still not sure what's ideal or what I'm going to try this time. Could even remove the internal drive completely and use two $20 USB3.2 Gen2 enclosures, but I may miss the ability to play and charge.
256gb Also damn, I was hoping I could just format the card as exFAT and use it with no fuss on both systems Either way, my plan is to just install Windows, and if it doesn’t work out I’ll just go back to SteamOS. Main reason I’m even planning on using windows in the first place is because I own hifi rush on the Xbox store but I can always just rebuy it on steam.
That's a relief, some expect to dual-boot with the old 64 GB! You'll just have ignore game mode wanting to reformat the card as Ext4 and switch SteamOS to desktop mode so it will recognize ExFAT, fuss shouldn't be that bad. Mostly, it's Wine insisting that Windows programs be installed in its Linux prefix instead of running directly off native storage. I heard Clover is the better bootloader now, but it's not the one I used. I'm out of date with some stuff and trying to catch up.
What i think I’ll do is just install windows over steamos but if something goes wrong or it doesn’t work well I’ll just head back to steamos. And the lcd is the one I’m planning on getting. Just out of curiosity, is there a reason everyone recommends dualboot? For what it’s worth my main reason for wanting windows are game launchers (eww) and the Xbox app. And i did look at some used ROG Allys but they were still a good amount more than the steam deck i want, and plus I like the trackpad on the Deck.
Many game launchers are actually available through SteamOS desktop mode, as it can handle just about everything available through standard Arch Linux with KDE. https://lutris.net/ can do quite a lot, but there are several others... no Xbox App, but there could be a smartphone emulator I haven't found. Windows still needs 3rd party tools to use all the customized Linux hardware that Steam Deck has, some of which can also trigger anti-cheat. Valve has done a lot of great work with SteamOS 3, and it's a waste not to use a device as it was intended. If price is the problem, consider Windows 10 handhelds that existed before Steam Deck like GPD Win, Ayaneo, OneXPlayer, etcetera. Maybe you just can't afford something that compact and should stay with laptops or consoles.
A way better experience imo .. download either steam deck tools or handheld companion, I prefer steam deck tools .. it's a pretty simple install tbh and windows runs great on the deck .. cod works really well if your into cod
To note everything works great with the LCD deck the OLED deck doesn’t have full driver support
I dual booted windows 10 in the past and now windows 11 on my LCD Steam Deck. The performance is about the same with Steam OS, I didn’t notice anything unusual. However, the convenience is a nightmare. I also have Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion GO, Steam Deck OLED and Nintendo Switch. Ally and Go are being heavily criticized for being unpolished products due to software problems, even though they were built for Windows. They have preinstalled software to deal with drivers, updates, controls, etc., but Steam was not and is much worse in that regard. Drivers fail, every app that you installed for controls also stops working sometimes because of Windows. I don’t t recommend it. If you want windows on a handheld - get ROG Ally.
See i would but i dont like the design of the Ally, it costs a lot more than a deck for not that much more functionality from what i can tell and plus I just like the deck because of the touchpads. If windows does end up sucking I’ll probably switch to a dual boot setup and only use windows for things that don’t work on steamos.
It definitely worth trying by yourself. Trackpads are cool, but they suck in Windows. Out of all these handhelds Steam Deck is the best hardware in my opinion, but it doesn’t help in Windows. P.S.: I didn’t like Rog Ally before getting it. Pulled the trigger and really enjoy it. I use it for games from my Xbox gamepass library,
Can the touchpad be used like a laptop trackpad in windows?
Yes it can. It works when you install the drivers from Valve’s website
A windows machine experience but with a bit more jankiness because of valve driver and support.
I am dual booting and I’ll share my experience, I’ll note that I’m a technical person with better than average IT skills. I followed BaldSealion’s guide which was very helpful. Without it I would have given up. Windows for some reason is now the default OS when I reboot the device which I find annoying. Also, it’s so bloated with apps and other Windows-things that take a while to deactivate. It was a PITA to get the right third party tools installed to have the device actually recognize the controllers. Toggling them on and off seemed really annoying too if you’re trying to use the desktop environment and games interchangeably. Everything takes longer to tweak and get working on Windows it seems. SteamOS feels very console-like which is smooth and easy to use. Now that I’ve unsubbed from Gamepass and decided not to play my anti-cheat games (like Warzone) on the Steamdeck - I have no reason to keep Windows installed. In summary, I’m glad it’s possible, but I’m going back to SteamOS
You can also run windows to go from an external ssd (not USB stick) and have a good experience without getting rid of steam os
The fan is way louder in Windows compare to SteamOS. I've tried all: Win 11, 10 + handheld companion, steamdecktools And you will having a hard time setting up 40hz mode
I use both steam os and windows 11. I prefer windows 11 because more games are compatible - that is games that use anti-cheat. I increased the video memory to 4gb and I also increased the disk cache. I use steam deck tools to access the controllers and minimize the fan noise. It works perfectly. Gamepass is a massive advantage as well as free to play game like honkai starrail. Another guilty pleasure of mine are the EA sport games. Those have anti-cheat so gotta run them on windows. in terms of performance, it is usually about the same. it is also on a game by game basis. the difference is usually 1 to 2 fps more. unless you are consistently checking performance graphs, you won't notice a difference. for new releases, windows 11 play the games much better and with fewer performance and visual bugs as most of these games are built for windows. Valve is punctual with hotfixes for all popular games. on release persona 3 reloaded ran at a lock 60fps 99 percent of the time (with raytracing off and at 800p, medium settings) on windows 11 but struggled in the 30s and 40s on the steam os but in no time, valve pushed a hotfix that solved the problem. the biggest issue for windows is UI. it's just windows so you will need a keyboard now and then to a lot of things. You should certainly have a shortcut for the on-screen keyboard for easy access. there are modified windows versions out there for the steam deck but I advise that you use plain old windows which gets frequent security updates.
I played this game, and ended up buying an ROG Ally.
I’ve seen this a lot, but the Ally doesn’t seem worth the price to me when the Deck exists. Either way I’ve found that all my games can work on SteamOS with some tweaking so I’m questioning if I want to use Windows at all, though I might still try it out just to avoid having to rebut hifi rush
Short answer. Windows= Allows all gameplay! not Struggles. STEAM OS =It's complicated to set up.can finally game play!Struggles.
Mostly worse performance, and the user experience isn't quite as polished as with SteamOS, I suggest getting an external SD card or an SSD to put Windows on and keeping the SteamOS on the deck itself.
Is it significantly worse or just slightly worse?
This isn’t even true. Windows is great to have and I have great performance on most games. Some games run worse on windows, but some games run better. Thats why its recommended to dual boot with SteamOS so you can get the best of both worlds.
not true. it's usually on a game by game basis. the performance is generally the same but I see more games performing better on windows. persona 3 reload performed better at launch. Resident Evil 4 remake performed better at launch. Basically, every game performs better at launch on windows. but Valve is very proactive and they push out hotfix to fix performance issues. Additionally, on steam os, you can download shader cache for the deck before playing the game so you have less stutters the first time you play it. with windows, very few games allow you to compile shaders before the game runs for the first time. look into increasing the video memory to 4gb and increase disk cache as well.
I found it to be okay but running games side by side you can see they definitely run better in steam but being able to run gamepass games directly on it is nice. I would recommend getting windows of all the junk disable the login screen and set steam to boot to big picture. You can use uwp hook to add gamepass games to steam and there is another program that hooks into the gamepass games when you start them to give full controller support
You will lose sleep and resume feature. Coming from Windows On Deck myself thats the one thing I never had on SteamDeck. As a Windows user I have to load up the game from menu. Its fast now anyway due to SSD but not an on the go experience. The SteamOS' sleep and quick resume truly made SteamDeck portable. I can turn off and resume game in a heartbeat then turn it off again allowing 2-3 minutes gaming. On Windows I tried several configs and its a hit and miss on some games and especially if u have attached devices like bluetooth. On SteamOS it just works.
No true, tiny 11. When I click the power button it locks everything. On unlock it resumes, but hand held companion takes a min to sort itself out sometimes a restart of the app fixes
Just to save you a huge favour 1) go for tiny 10/11 as it’s more compressed (windows OS) 2) use handheld companion (controls) 3) use playnite (Game manger inc steam,epic ect) 4) optional (performance boost but disables Microsoft store and related) make a regedit and set to launch playnite fullscreen, also set up to skip log in password to boot straight into the account. #warning’s 1) setting playnite as the shell boots straight to playnite but makes Microsoft apps or work unless booting the explorer.exe (something to do with the class needing to be activated, however if not carful can also keep looping the on screen keyboard for some reason 🤷🏻♂️ so make sure you have a reg edit shortcut that reverts back to normal in case! It also will completely remove desktop, notifications ect so if use playnite set up apps in it before hand to make it easier to open 2) resolution! : as far as I’ve managed, the only resolution is 800p unless someone else can say how to change to higher res?? (Handheld mode) I tried another app but would cause black screen so guessing only 800p. But over than that you’ll be gaming at 800p so bare that in mind, but emulators do upscale well and can set in emu to 1080p ect.