Listen, I would pay good money for an off the shelf console first computer that runs SteamOS, has as primary input a controller and an ARM architecture or any other small form factor x86, that fits under the TV. Freaking SteamMachines were a top notch idea, and Gabe should go for it again.
Wouldn’t ARM cause a lot of compatibility issues? I’d imagine we’d need to stick to small form factor x64 for now.
I run windows on ARM, no issues using x86-64 apps.
That gets wildly different with how taxing games are and how much they specifically take advantage of x86_64 instructions sets. Even decade old games would barely squeak by, if they don’t break entirely.
Would love a new Steam Machine and could actually be good this time. Proton didn’t exist when they released the original Steam Machines which limited you to linux ports of games. I had bought two but wiped & did clean installs of Windows 7 so we could play all the games wanted to.
Before Proton, gaming on linux relied on native ports or WINE. Native ports were rare & not always better. WINE took some learning to make work well but I dunno, never got any good at it.
I have a suspicion that they are making something. In an interview about the steam deck refresh one of the engineers mentioned how they couldn’t find an AMD apu that was efficient and powerful enough to warrant making a steam deck 2, he said not in this chassis anyway. Insinuating they know of one for a different chassis. Pinch of salt.
Even more rare was a port that was up to date with the windows branch if ever updated at all.
Man I tell you, the early 2000’s was actually a great time for Linux gaming, it only really went downhill around the early 2010’s
I think it’s worth checking out some diy alternatives that get the job done. I built my own “steam box” with some cheap Ali Express parts (Elsa 5700xt and Erying motherboard with core I9 equivalent engineering sample) to great success. The OS is key. I’ve found two that work very well:
https://chimeraos.org/ (requires AMD GPU) https://github.com/ublue-os/bazzite/ (Works with Nvidia but it’s unstable using steam full screen at times)
I’ve had a great level of success with ChimeraOS so far.
I have thought about trying a minisforum with the built in 6600m but I haven’t given it a go yet.
big picture works great on any linux distro, why would i want anything more?
It works* on any Linux distro. Definitely not great.
Big picture mode runs like complete shit for me no matter what I do
If the reduction in overhead, or any other optimizations it might offer, increases performance even more, I might go out of my way to set up a multi-boot.
A gaming-focused, curated experience that just works™️
With a little know how you can get 99% of the way there with any arch based distro, but installing a new OS for non techies can be pretty intimidating. Having Valve’s assurance that it works with all common hardware would help more people take the plunge, I think.
Be very keen to see steam OS everywhere, there’s a vetted interest in valve getting this widely adopted (more devices running it means more eyes on steam and more potential sales)
I’m keen to see the hardware variations device manufacturers come up with when they can just throw steam os on them and it all “just works”
Bringus Studios champing at the bit to make more ghetto Steam Decks.
“Coming to other handhelds” “very tuned for steam deck” Why are these conflicting things in the same headline?
It’s tuned for a specific hardware platform right now. Choosing specific hardware platforms for support is just an extensions of that.
However the “PC” platform is basically an amalgamation of any possible hardware combination that currently exists, and is a whole different target for a project like this.
What will be first, dual boot support or PC install support?
You mean dual boot for the steam deck? Iirc the new OLED model will allow custom bios/firmware so that could be a possibility soon
