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Is Steam OS now viable?

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  • Windows
  • SteamOS
Last response: in SteamOS
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September 22, 2014 2:24:22 AM

After hearing of Steam OS a few months back I've always been wondering if it's finally a viable alternative to Windows as a PC gaming platform. Now I don't have have a big TV I can stream to nor a fast broadband connection, but how does it fare when gaming compared to Windows? Can my Steam library handle it?

Any tips & advice will be appreciated.

More about : steam viable

September 22, 2014 3:04:31 AM

steam os is still in beta and steam boxes that will be equipped with steam os will not arrive before 2015 due to the steam controller being redesigned.alienware is not waiting for that controller and is releasing a so called alpha.
http://www.alienware.com/landings/alpha/ with a Microsoft xbox 360 controller and a tweaked windows operating system that boots into steam big pitcher. although alienware says you can install steam os without voiding warranty and they will assist you on installing it.
now steam os is a linux distro that is based on debian weazy 7.0 the latest stable release.that also boots into steam big pitcher mode.now windows games will not play on steam os natively.you can play some games using wine and play on linux virtually.lets just say they don't work with steam os.
when you go into steam you can see a section which is only for steam os and linux.http://store.steampowered.com/browse/linux/ only these games can run on linux.you will find that most recent games do not work with linux.although it wont be long for games to be released for linux as well "steam os"
the other thing is that linux runs games using open gl.windows used direct x witch most games are more optimized to run with direct x.so if you find a game that runs in linux and you compare performance with linux running open gl and in windows running direct x you will see open gl falling behind.but if you compare open gl in both linux and windows environments you will see linux will have a equal or overhead most of the times with nvidia gpus.
if you are not familiar with linux it is better to leave it for now or try a linux distro like mint or ubuntu.because debian is a bit more hardcore and you will find yourself becoming a alcoholic with no linux experience.
just joking for the last line.
in short words it will compete with windows as a gaming platform because its is aimed as a console platform but packs a full blown desktop under the hood.you will see most games are focused for ''next gen consoles ''
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CryEngine
here you can see 3 games that will be released for linux on the new cryengine 4 star citizen, homefront revolution and kingdom come.
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September 22, 2014 4:01:25 AM

Thank you for the advice, looks like I'll be sticking with Windows 7 for a while then.
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