"Windows X" A Steam Deck OS like alternative for PC hardware

[Atekk920]

This is not a "switch to Linux" rant, please stick with me... I switched to Linux for gaming for a few weeks just to see if it's coming along as well as I have heard. Its a totally viable option if you are willing to learn a lot of stuff all over again and eat the lack of hardware feature parity..... I also noticed an average of 12% reduction in FPS across all the titles I tested; (Cyberpunk, Witcher 3, The Finals, Helldivers 2, Forza 4, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, God of War, DMC) and still cant get my Razer kb\mouse profiles mapped and chroma controlled devices to work- I'll keep the dual boot alive for fun - but it wont be my daily driver anytime soon. We need another alternative and the time is right for striking!

Biggest Gripes: There is a massive lack of feature parity for Nvidia cards. It seems like most of the software features are just plain out missing in Linux - there is not even an NVCP which has been a part of NVIDIA drivers on Windows since the 90's. There is also an average about 10-15% performance loss in every game i tried (8 was enough to see the pattern clearly). I'll be sticking with Windows for now, but will be keeping an eye on how this evolves. I have a feeling it will really take off in the next few years.

I think most of us can agree that Microsoft is on the wrong track with Windows. My personal opinion is that they should create an OS for PC's. Windows X, if you will.. a mesh of PC and Xbox ecosystems (is Xbox even a console brand anymore?? The line is already blurred so this kind of feels like their next logical step) It would be something akin to slapping a 4090 in a Series X and adding a "desktop mode" that can run any PC compatible app, without all the productivity and AI garbage. Exactly like Steam has done with the Deck.

What are your thoughts on something like that? Could you see it being a good fit for handhelds only or would you rock it on your desktop? I most certainly would!

 

[Hveðrungr]

I think most of us can agree that Microsoft is on the wrong track with Windows.

I don't have any problem with Windows. It works without me needing to waste any time worrying about it.

 

[Brian Boru]

I think most of us can agree that Microsoft is on the wrong track with Windows

I think they've done well overall for ~40 years, some stumbles but generally moving forward. Who have you found to agree with your view?

without all the productivity and AI … would you rock it on your desktop?

Of course not. Windows strength is its productivity services—they earn MS a lot more cash than Windows itself. There's a reason why most business worldwide runs Windows, and it's tied heavily into productive server and office services.

If you don't think AI will make a huge difference once it matures, then I can see where you're coming from. But all the signs say otherwise, that AI will be at least as transformative as the major tech revolutions of the past. Some crash & burn this decade, some great advances next decade, part of the fabric by 40s-50s.

 

[Colif]

Biggest stumbling block for Linux is support, since a lot of hardware makers don't even try. Next biggest is... Microsoft windows market dominance. Its hard to convince people to swap when its still easier to just play the games on Windows.

That and the learning everything from scratch thing. For most users, it would just be a matter of learning how to logon but for people who like to know whats going on, with PC, its a rabbit hole.

I think most of us can agree that Microsoft is on the wrong track with Windows.

Curious what you mean by that.

My personal opinion is that they should create an OS for PC's. Windows X, if you will.. a mesh of PC and Xbox ecosystems (is Xbox even a console brand anymore?? The line is already blurred so this kind of feels like their next logical step) It would be something akin to slapping a 4090 in a Series X and adding a "desktop mode" that can run any PC compatible app, without all the productivity and AI garbage. Exactly like Steam has done with the Deck.

Xbox OS is an altered version of windows.

The Xbox system software is the operating system developed exclusively for Microsoft's Xbox home video game consoles.[1] Across the four generations of Xbox consoles, the software has been based on a version of Microsoft Windows and incorporating DirectX features optimized for the home consoles. The user interface, the Xbox Dashboard, provides access to games, media players, and applications, and integrates with the Xbox network for online functionality.

Xbox system software - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Microsoft could in theory just have Xbox OS as a VM built into windows. People have wanted a way to log directly into games already... Microsoft are slow to provide it. This doesn't surprise me, they slow to update almost everything they add into windows. Maybe by Windows 20 they will have the multiple desktop feature working... or just drop it.

 

[Atekk920]

The main point I'm trying to make is that that they lack a gaming oriented release. It would be nice to have a choice to run something like the Xbox OS on my PC to play PC games and install PC applications...Yes, XboxOS has some of the same parts under the hood as Windows, but it has no practical application in this scenario. They make a Home edition of Windows that has a few things stripped out of it. An advanced user can even strip most of the un-needed stuff out themselves with an answer file during installation. I believe MS could strip down a version of Windows and tweak a few things to make it lighter, less resource intensive, and allow for more legacy compatibility.... I did not enjoy my experience gaming on Linux, I only enjoyed how lightweight and responsive the OS was - even on 10 year old hardware. I'd love to see them lean out an official version of Windows that's targeted for LTS and supports a wider range of hardware than Windows 11