Like many others who were excited to get their hands on a Steam Machine, but not too thrilled about the price, I decided to build my own. Fortunately I had some NVMe storage lying around, managing to get the build to just under £1100.

CPU - Ryzen 5 7600X

GPU - AMD PowerColor 9060 XT 16GB

RAM - Kingston Fury Beast 2x8GB

Motherboard - ASRock B650I Lightning Mini ITX

PSU - Corsair SF750

Case - Fractal Ridge

I've only managed to build the PC, update the BIOS and install SteamOS so far, so I can't tell you how it actually performs yet. What I do want to know, as a complete newbie to SteamOS, what are the immediate things I should be doing and are there any cool functions/integrations I can take advantage of?

My main PC is Windows based, and my ROG Ally is also on Windows so this is relatively new to me.

(Excuse my test bench in the pictures)

About 2 years ago I bought this third party controller and I didn't realize it was only compatible with Windows, so when I installed SteamOS on I was very upset it didn't work

It is probably not possible but I just want to look at my options before buying a new one

Is there a way to make it work with SteamOS?

Edit -- I am wishing to use the dongle due to latency issues as well as range/full rumble/multiple controller/etc support. This requires a driver steamos doesn't include.

Hi all

I have a windows "steamboat" set up. Eg it autologins to a shared windows account, autoloads big picture. Hooked to a nice big tv and we use it from the couch.

I have an all amd system and am a perfect candidate to swap to steam OS, but the only holdback is proper Xbox controller support. I use the official dongle so I get full functionality in windows.

I've seen that there's hacky ways to get drivers working, but they all involve breaking the immutability of the core OS, which is a great benefit of the system in my mind. And that you have to recompile after each update, which defeats a bit of the purpose of having a "console" os (eg don't worry about managing a computer)

Any thoughts?

So like the title says I’m thinking of ditching my ps5 pro and Xbox series X in favor of a pc. Problem is I’m not familiar with pc’s as I hate windows and switched to Mac about a decade ago. Also I want a console like experience. Controller not keyboard and no complicated settings. I just want to play my games not spend time tweaking graphics or whatever else pc gamers are obsessed with. Also almost my entire game library is digital on Xbox and ps5. I would greatly appreciate insights, advice and any helpful comments.
Thanks.

update:

The issue has been fixed; just log out from the CDPR launcher and reject telemetry.

I cant seen to find clear updated answers on the current state of Steam OS. Im still pretty new to pc gaming and i have enjoyed my steam deck experience and wish to carry that experience to my new PC. Is the Nvidia an issue or no? Major Cons with leaving Windows behind?

Just installed steamos and trying to set up. Which do I choose. Or how do I install my graphics drivers?

I tried to take a photo to show what I mean but it’s a bit hard to see. But at the exact same resolution, 120hz appears way less sharp than at 60. At 60, the quality is beautiful. I want to play at 120, but the quality is much worse. Is this due to lack of HDMI 2.1?

I’ve tried with and without HDR, VRR etc. In both 60 and 120, the TV says it’s the same resolution as well.

TV: Sony Bravia KD-55X9000H

PC: ASUS TUF Gaming B650M-Plus Wi-Fi CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X GPU: ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9670 XT

Downgrading from 3.9 preview to 2.8 stable does this to my desktop (missing icons, apps). If i switch back to 3.9 it's normal.

Any help would be appreciated. I tried updating back and forth between stable beta and preview and I tried x11 and wayland.

I was interested in trying out this Steam OS and finished installing about an hour ago. At the moment I’m stuck on the screen, asking for steam deck, login, and password. I’m assuming this is the same information I use to log into Steam and when I type it in, it’s saying login incorrect. Can anyone help me out? Do I need to reset my Steam password or is there something else I’m missing? I also had to click ctrl alt f4 to get past a black screen after the install restarted . Thank you for any help.

If i buy 9060XT, will my PC work well with suspend on SteamOS ?

I5-12400f

32gb ram DDR4

Asus B660 plus wifi D4

RTX 4070

I currently have 4070 but think switch to 9060XT 16gb to installs steamos so i can use steamos and suspend feature but i don't know it will work well out of the box, because i have seen some ppl report suspend does not work sometime, black screen etc

Can anyone confirm it work well so i can buy 9060XT, tks :)

Hi guys, I am planing to switch to Steam OS from Windows. I was wondering if i can still use Office programs such as Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Photoshop etc. And i have some games on my hard drive can i play that games when i switched to steam os?

DEVICE : Legion Go S Steam OS Variant Z1 Extreme 2025.

Updated from stable 3.8.16 to 3.28.28

Further,

Like a pandora box this update has been.

Terrible Frame Times for games , 16.7 ms frametime but never 16.6 ms ,

Most games are stuttering terrible you can feel it ..

My device has gone from amazing to absolutely shite after update

Even My Home Screen feels stuttery, especially on low power while it was flawless before.

VRR doesn't seem to be working in some games screen just jerks sometimes.

Updated to 3.9.2 beta something after a lot of research and it's just getting worse by each update I have never experienced any issues ever but after this 3.8.28 update suddenly it feels like something in background is stuck.

What I have tried till date since sept 25 2026

1. Updated to 3.8.28 stable issue start 25 sept 2026

2. Factory reset at 3.8.28

3. Changed UMA buffer never even touched it since buying device new in May 2026 changed UMA buffer to 8gb from Auto.

4. Nothing worked to fix the problems still inconsistent frame time tested games no fix.

5. Went back to 3.8.28 stable factory reset after update.

6. No fix issues still persist terrible microstutter making games feel stuttery

7. Went back to 3.9.2 beta and have updated everyday everything available hoping something magical to take it back to previous days.

8. most recent update I think something released on 11th October on beta channel.

9. As of today 13th October my device has fallen to a new low with stuttering on. Home Menu on Low Power as well as balanced mode.

How did things go from masterclass to such a huge pile of shut!

I am truly troubled as if I made the biggest most of my life updating in 25 Sept 2026. I have no clue what to do anymore and dying inside day by day.

PLEASE HELP IS THERE ANY SOLUTION ?

I'm looking to set up a dual-boot system on my rig (Ryzen 5 5600G, 16GB RAM, Gigabyte B550M), and I want to keep things as isolated and safe as possible.
Right now, I have Windows sitting on a 256GB NVMe drive, and I want to install a steam OS on a separate 1TB SATA SSD. I'm leaning heavily toward SteamOS.
My main concern is bootloader corruption. I've read that major Windows or SteamOS updates can sometimes wipe out or reset EFI boot entries. Since I'll be keeping the operating systems on entirely separate physical drives, does this completely mitigate the risk of my Windows Boot Manager getting bricked when an update rolls through?
If anyone has a similar separate-drive setup with SteamOS and Windows, I'd love to hear your experiences. Should I just rely on the motherboard's default boot menu to switch between them, or is it better to set up a third-party boot manager?
Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone!

I've been a console player my whole life and absolutely fell in love with my LCD Steam Deck. With the official release of SteamOS 3.8 supporting AMD PCs, I've decided to skip the official Steam Machine and build my first custom living room PC!

I have zero PC building experience, but after weeks of research, my girlfriend and I have put together a draft build. I'm looking for feedback and optimization from this awesome community.

The Draft Build

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

GPU: Sapphire Nitro+ AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 Eagle AX ATX

Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V2

RAM: Teamgroup T-Create Expert 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5

SSD: WD_Black SN850X 1TB (with Heatsink)

PSU: Corsair RM850e (2025)

Case: Fractal Design North XL (Charcoal Black)

Fans: be quiet! Silent Wings 4 120mm PWM (High Speed)

The goal is 100% stable 4K at 60fps (no drops) to match my Samsung 55" 4K 60Hz TV (Series 7 LED). Quiet, cool, console like (SteamOS only), to use mostly with the Steam Controller, but I have a foldable keyboard for emergencies.

Some demanding games I would like to play at 4K ultra settings 60fps:

Alan Wake 2, Black Myth: Wukong, Smite 2, Warframe, Dragon's Dogma 2, Hogwarts Legacy, Returnal, Remnant II, Elden Ring, and Monster Hunter: World, Witcher 3, Devil May Cry 5, Kingdom Come 2, Warframe, and the Resident Evil, Dark Souls, Metro, and Yakuza series.

Thank you all in advance! I really need help from someone with experience.

I just got my first pc

It’s a cyberpower gamer xtreme, the one from Costco last year.

32gb ddr5 6400mhz, 2tb 4.0 ssd, 5060 8gb, (ASUS?) intel b860 chipset motherboard, intel core ultra 5 225F 3.3ghz

I bought it to basically be a pc/console hybrid, leaning more on the console side. I don’t plan to stream on it, i don’t talk to anyone on discord really, I just wanted a better steam machine for less, which I got (bought this used for 660 bucks, awesome shape and great deal)

Anyway:

From what I’ve seen, steam OS is only optimized for amd.

Will steam os be better than windows 11 for my purposes?

Pros and cons?

If so, how do I go about installing steam os? Some videos say I need a flash drive, I don’t have anything like that, nor access to a separate computer/laptop.

If I install Steam os, will I need to rebuy windows if I change my mind?

I’m not tech savvy at all, I don’t even know how to open task manager lol! So please, help me out if possible. Thanks:)

Hi Im a newbie on playing steam machine/steamOs. Can anyone teach me like i’m a 12yr old? I want to play a lot of videogames but they’re all MS compatible TIA :)

I have always used windows but during past year it has been nothing but a headache and want to explore other options. SteamOs has interested me the second I heard about it and am seriously considering to try it out.

Mostly what im wondering is about compatibility with software other than games, but since its linux my mind is telling me it should be all good.

Please share your own experience, with the issues if you've had some, id love to read real user experiences before installing.

Thanks

Hey all,

I have SteamOS installed in place of Windows on my ROG Xbox Ally X. It's been super solid. However, I just updated from 3.8.1 to 3.8.16 and now my thumbsticks no longer work for controlling the mouse cursor on desktop mode. It's now essentially just touchscreen that works. Anyone else encountered this and have a fix?

How easy is it to roll back to my previous version of SteamOS? All the guides online are about the Steam Deck.

Cheers in advance!

EDIT: There is a simple fix for this as offered by u/snoopets1826 in the comments below: "Go into steam on desktop mode, go to controller, click on advanced controls, load the default controls for desktop mode and you'll be good to go again."

My cousin and me grew tired of Win11 slop and want to migrate to SteamOS.

Since I'm the more experienced of us, I'll be the test subject and try it first to see if we can handle it.

Both our PC's are Ryzen 5 3600 with XFX Radeon 4Gb graphics, so I don't think drivers will be an issue.

What's your experiences with it? What should I know before jumping to the abyss?

Try to install steam os on my pc. Everything goes great until the system asks to reboot. It then reboots into windows. How can I get it to reboot into the newly installed steam?

Hi I was just gifted a dell desktop with an Intel(R) UHD graphics 770 and I'd like to load it with SteamOS. Unfortunately I can't find anything online specific to that GPU when it comes to compatibility. I know it's not recommended because it's not AMD, but I've seen success on other Intel GPUs, so I wanted to post here for advice. Am I facing catastrophic failure if I try to run this?

Lmk if any other info is needed to answer but here some the other specs:

CPU: 13th Gen Intel(R) Core (TM) i5-13500
Memory: 32.0 GB DDR4

Edit if this changes anything: the most graphically intense games I'd be trying to run would be Sims4, Risk of Rain 2, and Dead by Daylight.

As the title says since the newest update I noticed a big drop in overall hdr brightness levels. Don’t mind having it like that in the menu but it’s actually affecting all the games. Is that a bug? Do I need to readjust all games manually now ? Before the update games that supported hdr looked great on my display Oled lg c1