The Steam Deck Has Finally Been Surpassed — By A Fork Of Valve’s Own Experience

The first clip I installed Bazzite connected a Windows gaming handheld, I laughed. It looked for illustration specified a blatant clone of Valve’s Steam Deck interface. Its galore bugs kept maine astatine bay.

Now, an Asus ROG Ally X moving Bazzite has each but replaced nan Steam Deck successful my life. For nan moment, it whitethorn beryllium nan champion handheld your clip and money tin bargain — because it brings 90 percent of nan Deck’s easiness of usage to nan Ally’s overmuch powerful hardware, larger 80 watt-hour battery, and adaptable refresh title screen. Depending connected nan game, it tin moreover relationship amended capacity and artillery life than nan very aforesaid handheld pinch Windows. I’ve been testing it for 5 months, and I’ve seldom looked back.

This cognition won’t beryllium for everyone, because nan $800 Ally X costs acold overmuch than a Steam Deck, and Bazzite still has annoying quirks. But because Bazzite tin truthful convincingly toggle style a Windows handheld into a existent Steam Deck rival, I judge it singlehandedly proves that handheld manufacturers are making nan incorrect premier if they doggedly instrumentality pinch Windows, and that others should subordinate Lenovo successful hedging that stake arsenic soon arsenic possible. Bazzite is 1 measurement — different whitethorn recreation arsenic soon arsenic adjacent month, erstwhile we’re expecting Valve to unfastened up its SteamOS to overmuch partners. 

In reappraisal aft reappraisal of handheld gaming PC, I’ve tried to explain: Windows isn’t a bully portable gaming experience. It’s bloated, afloat of self-serving prompts to banal your accusation pinch Microsoft, subscribe to Microsoft’s services, and usage Microsoft’s apps. It’s not designed to fto you navigate pinch gamepad controls aliases moreover do elemental keyboarding connected a 7-inch touchscreen display. It’s not bully astatine making judge games motorboat full-screen, and worst of all, I’ve ne'er been tin to spot a Windows handheld to slumber and resume decently erstwhile I driblet it into a bag.

The Steam Deck, pinch its Linux-based SteamOS, has nary specified problems. It’s acold personification to nan “it conscionable works” acquisition of a Nintendo Switch aliases PS5. I cognize my crippled will almost ever beryllium caller to play arsenic soon arsenic I deed nan powerfulness button, and there’s a gamepad-accessible keyboard caller to spell whenever I like. But SteamOS hasn’t been broadly disposable for different company’s handhelds — which brings america to Bazzite. 

The open-source Bazzite is simply a measurement to bring SteamOS’s strengths to hardware that doesn’t yet personification Valve’s blessing. It’s not technically SteamOS, arsenic it’s based connected Fedora Linux alternatively than Arch Linux, contains galore different and/or updated components and a batch of civilization tweaks. But it plays nan aforesaid games nan aforesaid nonstop way, and nan parts you touch are sometimes moreover laughably nan same. Bazzite includes an nonstop transcript of nan Steam Deck’s UI correct down to Valve’s ain tutorial connected really to usage nan Steam Deck’s buttons — each of which should theoretically beryllium OK pinch Valve, arsenic it expressly allows anyone to administer an unlimited number of copies of that package nether a constricted license.

Despite what you whitethorn personification heard, it’s not existent that Windows handhelds relationship overmuch games than SteamOS. Not only does Valve’s Proton compatibility furnishings tally galore Windows games amended than connected an balanced Windows handheld, galore titles that are room and abandoned connected Windows personification already been fixed by nan Linux community. While nan Linux-based SteamOS does personification little celebrated multiplayer shooting games because publishers aren’t consenting aliases tin to relationship nan aforesaid anti-cheat solutions, I’ve recovered it’s a mini worth to pay.

To me, nan astonishing information is that Bazzite doesn’t consciousness for illustration a hack. For me, it’s been truthful overmuch overmuch reliable than Windows that it makes Windows consciousness overseas connected handhelds, moreover though I usage Windows connected my desktop each azygous day. And it’s reasonably easy to group up, pinch its ain installer that walks you done setup. You tin moreover competently dual-boot Bazzite alongside Windows, holding down your handheld’s footwear insubstantial shortcut button(s) erstwhile you restart to move betwixt nan two.

And erstwhile I did that pinch nan Asus ROG Ally X, consecutive comparing Bazzite and Windows, I often recovered games ran faster, smoother, and utilized somewhat small powerfulness pinch Bazzite’s Linux-based operating system.

It’s not nighttime and day. While I saw up to 13 percent faster capacity successful Cyberpunk 2077 and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, sometimes capacity was identical successful different games. In Returnal, nan peculiarly demanding crippled wherever you crash-land connected an alien outer afloat of destructible objects and swarming enemies, my framerate was initially worse, though a caller update put it connected par; successful Shadow of nan Tomb Raider, my framerate was initially amended but an update has now made it worse. 

Even pinch games that are 13 percent faster, we’re mostly conscionable talking astir a mini fistful of frames; I ne'er saw tin velocity summation that a crippled became playable connected Bazzite that wasn’t playable connected Windows done faster framerate alone.

But they do often consciousness smoother, pinch little hitches! Like nan Steam Deck, I announcement that framerate doesn’t typically dip arsenic debased pinch Bazzite arsenic it does pinch Windows. Many consciousness faster and look amended connected nan Ally X than connected nan Steam Deck OLED, too, because of nan faster spot and peculiarly nan adaptable refresh title screen, which lets nan Ally show each model its processors tin make alternatively of capping astatine an arbitrary number that mightiness consciousness choppy. (It’s a slayer characteristic for GPU-limited handhelds, and it’s a ample woody that Bazzite supports it today.)

Similarly, I didn’t spot artillery life savings successful each game. I sometimes watch nan Ally X drain its artillery one, two, moreover 3 watts slower connected Bazzite than connected Windows erstwhile I group nan chips to identical powerfulness levels, but that’s not ever nan case. In Dirt Rally, I saw an identical 3 hours, 8 minutes from immoderate operating systems, and immoderate Armored Core 6 and Persona 3 Reload drained nan Ally astatine nan aforesaid speed, each offering 3 hours of play. But successful Dave nan Diver, I was tin to make Bazzite past astir an different hr astatine 4 hours, 14 minutes, acold personification to my 4 hour, 42-minute consequence pinch nan Steam Deck OLED.

That’s because for illustration SteamOS, Bazzite makes it easy to tweak really overmuch powerfulness and capacity you’re utilizing connected nan fly. Not only does Bazzite personification nan aforesaid built-in Gamescope monitoring instrumentality Valve uses connected nan Steam Deck, you tin too double-tap nan Ally X’s speedy entree fastener to propulsion up an integrated type of Handheld Daemon, a powerfulness personification instrumentality that lets you alteration your chip’s nonstop TDP to toggle turbo aliases artillery savings (or RGB lighting, aliases rumble, aliases galore more) successful a snap.

Frankly, nan interface is overmuch responsive and reliable than Asus’ ain Armory Crate UI overlay, though it can’t alternatively do everything that Asus does pinch its ain hardware. Two cardinal examples: nan Ally X’s rear macro buttons don’t activity unless you instruct Handheld Daemon to emulate a Sony DualSense Edge controller, which is easy but tin mean mismatched fastener prompts successful immoderate games. And you can’t clasp down nan powerfulness fastener to quickly entree nan Linux desktop mode aliases a shutdown menu. 

But utilizing those spot wattage adjustments, I easy managed to amended artillery life moreover further than Windows successful immoderate of nan slightest demanding games I test, ones wherever nan Steam Deck has mostly tally circles astir nan title successful nan past. In immoderate Balatro and Slay nan Spire, I sewage nan handheld’s afloat artillery drain down to conscionable 6.4 watts by mounting nan spot to 5 watts and dimming aboveground brightness to minimum, which theoretically gives you a maximum of 12.5 hours from nan 80 watt-hour pack. That is class-leading artillery life, folks — moreover amended than nan Steam Deck OLED.

And erstwhile you petition overmuch performance, nan Ally X has nan artillery to return it places nan Deck OLED can’t comfortably compete. When I group nan Ally X to its 25W “Turbo” mode, I get complete 2 hours of Helldivers 2, and astir 2 hours of Baldur’s Gate 3, astatine a very playable 900p solution pinch a “Balanced” level of render scaling. (If you tin tolerate a lower-res picture, you tin get astir 3 hours of BG3 astatine 17W TDP.)

In short, I don’t liking astir nan Ally X’s artillery pinch Bazzite immoderate overmuch than I do pinch nan Steam Deck OLED, peculiarly since Bazzite added support for nan ROG Ally X’s utmost standby mode wherever I find I only suffer 4 percent artillery overnight.

But location are things I do miss astir nan Steam Deck OLED and its autochthonal SteamOS. While Bazzite does spot Steam’s awesome controller remapping and support nan ROG Ally X’s gyroscope for precision aiming, it doesn’t magically springiness it a brace of transcript touchpads to make generations of older mouse-and-trackball games work. You don’t get nan Deck OLED’s somewhat larger aboveground pinch overmuch vibrant colors and superb HDR light. I personally still deliberation nan Deck has amended ergonomics, too, though nan Ally X is surely my 2nd favourite among today’s starring handhelds.

The gamepad controls too sometimes return a mini spot longer to recreation backmost to life aft resuming from sleep, moreover without utmost standby turned on. Bluetooth microphone support seems wholly borked successful Bazzite. Sometimes there’s a agelong clasp erstwhile I’m trying to uninstall a crippled earlier nan strategy responds. Whenever there’s a Bazzite update, I’ll uselessly spot Valve’s past update relationship alternatively of Bazzite’s and personification nary thought what I’m astir to get. Occasionally I spot capacity return a move for nan worse aft an update, for illustration really Shadow of nan Tomb Raider is abruptly giving maine small framerate than pinch Windows. And it’s difficult to show really agelong a strategy update will return to install.

Also, there’s a weird rumor wherever if I almost afloat drain nan battery, down to 1 percent aliases 0 percent, nan afloat strategy will slow to specified a achy crawl it tin return 10 minutes conscionable to prevention your crippled and unopen nan Ally X down. And I petition to unopen it down, because moreover charging to 100 percent doesn’t velocity things up again. This is easy tin to forestall by simply plugging successful nan strategy astatine nan 5 percent aliases 3 percent mark, for illustration you’d petition to do anyhow pinch astir different handhelds.

I’ve told Bazzite’s maintainers astir these things, and they opportunity they’re moving connected them — including a hibernation mode that should alleviate nan 0-percent charging quirk successful particular, and overmuch intuitive updates. “We personification too been improving support for different manufacturers, peculiarly OneXPlayer, and for nan adjacent update GPD,” adds Antheas Kapenekakis, a Bazzite contributor who’s too nan lead developer of Handheld Daemon. 

I don’t deliberation I would personally bargain an Asus ROG Ally X complete a Steam Deck, astatine slightest not now. At $800, it costs astir doubly nan worth of a guidelines Steam Deck, and hundreds overmuch than nan OLED type I personally recommend. To beryllium worthy each that different money, I’d want to cognize nan ROG Ally X isn’t conscionable nan champion handheld today, but too nan champion handheld tomorrow. I would personally clasp to spot a caller harvest of handhelds astatine CES successful January, and comprehend what Valve, Microsoft, AMD and Lenovo personification to opportunity astatine their January 7th event.

But if I already owned an Asus ROG Ally X, aliases regular Ally, aliases nan Lenovo Legion Go, I would perfectly instal Bazzite connected it correct away, perchance utilizing a dual-boot configuration to make judge I tin easy move back. You mightiness beryllium amazed by really mini you’ll miss Windows. You mightiness beryllium amazed by conscionable really overmuch amended nan portable acquisition tin get. 

Photos by Sean Hollister / The Verge