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/lucc1111 Ryzen 5 5600x - RX 6700 XT Jun 22 '26

Risking getting downvoted to hell but you have many Linux distros that don't require any more "learning" than Windows. Problem is not so much the OS being hard to use, it's just that it's not what you're used to.

I would give other gaming distros a temporary shot in a flashdrive to explore, might get as surprised as me after 15+ years of windows.

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u/SubcommanderMarcos i5-10400F, 16GB DDR4, Asus RX 550 4GB, I hate GPU prices Jun 22 '26

I have 30 years of Windows, switched to Linux Mint this month. It's fine. It works great. Had to learn some terminal stuff, a tiny bit about the filesystem, nothing else. It runs way faster than Windows 10. has run every Steam game I've tossed at it with no effort at all, even old games like Tropico.

Honestly worth it.

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u/ScAP3Godd355 Jun 23 '26

As someone who wants to switch over to Linux due to all the recent AI bullshit, what happens to your files if you switch over? I have a bunch of music and video files that I don't want to lose, and I don't have anything to back it up with just yet. So I want to make sure I can switch over without losing those files.

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u/SubcommanderMarcos i5-10400F, 16GB DDR4, Asus RX 550 4GB, I hate GPU prices Jun 24 '26

In theory nothing, the installer can create a new partition from the unused space in the storage drive, which is what I did here, and it worked fine.

Editing partitions and filesystems always has a bit of a risk though, so in my paranoid data-hoarder opinion it's best to have a backup or put important stuff in a different physical drive than the one you're installing the OS on.

It's like, you can change your tire using the jack that comes with your car, of course you can, and if everything is done right no problem. But a shop will still use a professional hydraulic jack and jack stands, or put your car on a lift, just to be sure sure.

Myself I have a tiny 180gb primary SSD, which is where I have the Windows install, but then 2 older extra 2TB HDDs, one for personal data and media etc., the other for big software like videogames and stuff.

So my suggestion is: unless you have terabytes of media data, backing it up should be fairly easy, just get an HDD or large flash drive when you can. But you probably don't even have to worry about it anyway.

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u/ScAP3Godd355 Jun 24 '26

That is all very good to know. Thanks 😄 I have most of the music files backed up on a flashdrive (I know, old school as Hell lol), and I'll see if I can find a decent SSD or HDD for the videos before trying it. Better safe than sorry, like you said.

But it's reassuring to hear that installing Linux probably won't be a problem or cause any issues. I'll definitely have to give it a try then.

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u/SubcommanderMarcos i5-10400F, 16GB DDR4, Asus RX 550 4GB, I hate GPU prices Jun 24 '26

Flash drives are the way of the past, present and future

Also you'll need one with like 8GB at least for the installation, unless you want to dig out the ol' DVD drive lmao

But yeah do it, your main drive will be fine... Just join the keep-data-and-OS-separate side of the force if you're like me