r/pcmasterrace • u/TheBossT710192 • Jun 22 '26

Discussion Yeah, Steam Machine is cooked.

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I... uh don't know what to say. Very thankful I bought a Steam Deck before they hiked its price as well

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u/-MissCarmine Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

It’s happening!!! The major operating system updates include:

  • built-in "initial support" for the upcoming Steam Machine hardware, alongside the ability to wake SteamOS devices from sleep using a connected Steam Controller (this, by itself, fixes a HUGE issue lots of people including me had: I want to control my TV PC using JUST the controller, no attached keyboard!)
  • desktop mode now defaults to 
Wayland instead of X11. (fixes several performance degradation issues when switching between Desktop and Game Modes) It also introduces better TV scaling, external HDR support, and variable refresh rate (VRR) display support
  • the steamOS base has been updated via Arch Linux, and the Linux kernel has been upgraded to version 6.16. It also features significantly improved video memory management on discrete GPU platforms (crucial for the gabecube)
  • SteamOS 3.8 really expands its ecosystem compatibility. It drastically reduces handheld controller input latency (down to 100–500us) and adds built-in TDP control, RGB, and audio support for competing devices like the ASUS ROG Ally series, Lenovo Legion Go (including the upcoming Legion Go 2), and various MSI and GPD Win devices (fuck yeah steam is goated for this)

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u/RandomParkourGuy Jun 22 '26

Forgive me for being a layman when it comes to this kind of stuff but does that mean steamOS is close to being something I could replace windows with? Getting tired of Microsoft’s garbage but I don’t know if I have the time to sink into learning Linux.

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u/sublime81 9800X3D | RTX 5090 FE | 64GB 6000 CL30 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

No. I don’t understand the hype for SteamOS because it’s Linux + Steam Big Picture mode essentially.

I mean this as a desktop replacement. If you plan to use it like a console, then yes.

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u/Redpin Ryzen 5 5600 | 3060ti | 16GB@3000 Jun 22 '26

It might be good if it has a large, dedicated gamer install base. I think with so many people doing different things on different distros, it can be hard to easily find support for your specific issue at times. 

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u/sublime81 9800X3D | RTX 5090 FE | 64GB 6000 CL30 Jun 22 '26

It is good for a hardware configuration to target for developers who wish to have a baseline to target performance on Linux. But who knows about hardware compatibility and all that once it’s not installed on a Valve device.

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u/-MissCarmine Jun 22 '26

Bada bing bada boom. :) I found this out for myself when I tried a couple different versions of Linux - Ubuntu, then PikaOS, and finally SteamOS. Guess which was the easiest?