When it comes to choosing between SteamOS and Windows for gaming on dedicated GPUs, the decision is far from straightforward. While Windows often takes the lead, the results can vary wildly depending on the game and hardware. But here's where it gets controversial: is Windows truly the undisputed champion, or does SteamOS have some hidden aces up its sleeve? Let's dive in.
Take Borderlands 3, for instance. This 2019 title, which lacks ray-tracing effects, consistently performs 20-30% better on Windows across all tested GPUs. While it still runs decently on SteamOS, the performance gap is hard to ignore. And this is the part most people miss: even though SteamOS isn’t far behind, Windows’ edge in this game is one of the most pronounced we’ve seen.
Now, let’s talk about Forza Horizon 5 and Cyberpunk 2077 with ray-tracing enabled. On 16GB dedicated GPUs, Windows again pulls ahead, typically by 15-20%. But here’s the twist: when we tested Cyberpunk 2077 without ray-tracing, Returnal (without hitting the 7600’s 8GB RAM limit), and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the results were nearly identical between Windows and SteamOS. In some cases, the differences were so small they could be chalked up to margin of error. Does this mean SteamOS can hold its own in certain scenarios?
Things get even more interesting with integrated GPUs like the Radeon 780M and RX 8060S. Despite the 8060S boasting over three times the compute units and faster LPDDR5X-8000 memory compared to the 780M’s DDR5-5600 SODIMMs, SteamOS surprisingly outperforms Windows in many cases. In Forza and Cyberpunk with ray-tracing, SteamOS edges out Windows on the 780M and nearly closes the gap on the 8060S. For games where dedicated GPUs showed a tie, SteamOS consistently leads in average frame rates—though only slightly. Is SteamOS the unsung hero for integrated GPU gaming?
Here’s the bold question: While Windows often leads, is SteamOS closing the gap faster than we realize, especially on integrated GPUs? And if so, what does this mean for the future of gaming on Linux-based systems? Let us know your thoughts in the comments—we’d love to hear if you’ve noticed similar trends or if you’re team Windows all the way!
