this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
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Steam Deck
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A place to discuss and support all things Steam Deck.
Replacement for r/steamdeck_linux.
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This is the smallest obstacle, IMO. You could get rid of (or leave a small dual boot partition of) Windows, and use one of the good Linux distros tailored to a Steam OS-like experience, like Chimera or Bazzite, and just keep ticking along without missing a beat.
I love my Deck, but I'm already researching the process of eventually transitioning off of it simply because the screen is too tiny for my 40s eyes, and I don't get to use it handheld as much as I'd like. This upcoming wave of Deck-like handhelds with 9 and 10 inch screens will be looking very good in this upcoming year.
Unfortunately it doesn't really work that way. Those distros need to be adjusted to work properly with the hardware. For instance, if you got a ROG Ally and slapped Chimera on there you would have no sound, no WiFi, and you have to manually adjust the resolution for each game.
This would be a fairly trivial task for Asus or Lenovo, so I don't really understand why they don't do it, but they don't.
Have you actually installed chimera on the rog or are you just dredging up old linux problems that aren't true anymore like how Nvidia fanboys say AMD drivers don't work on Linux to this day despite AMD having higher compatibility?
No. I have not. I don't have an Ally. But these are issues mentioned in Chimera's own documents, among others. So I assume that they're not fabricating issues with their own software.
They may be outdated, but the point stands.
I've never heard anyone say Nvidia has better compatibility with Linux. Usually the opposite.
@HughJanus wait, AMD is better for Linux?
Yes, absolutely
Many of those "Steam Deck killers" market themselves that they use Windows to have better game compatibility though, average casual users don't notice the different on Windows and on Linux. Also it seems like currently only Valve is the only one being interested on Linux gaming and taking serious, if any measure to improve Linux gaming. Even GOG with their anti-DRM stance (which may align more to Linux users) and Epic Game Store with their anti-monopoly stance (which also align with many Linux users too) haven't done anything to improve Linux gaming or even port their store/launcher to Linux, and many manufacturers and machines don't support Linux adequately or maybe even not at all (especially gaming machines). So it wouldn't be so surprising though
If they don't notice, that's great. But if you use a Windows handheld and a SteamDeck, they WILL notice a vast difference in usability, because one is simply taken from the desktop and slapped into a handheld, and the other is built from the ground up to deliver an exceptional experience on a single specific piece of hardware.
Nobara Linux has a Steam Deck edition (basically with gamescope-session and KDE), and I believe it includes patches for complete compatibility with the ROG Ally.
They both do.
If it doesn't work out of the box, it's a failure of a device.
Ignoring drivers not being available.
Maybe not a failure of a device, as us enthusiasts would probably still be able to make something cool of it. A failure of a product, definitely, as it probably wouldn't be successful enough with the casual user for the manufacturer to support it for long.