Thefirst third - company gambling handheld to get SteamOSis now up for pre - order , with prices starting at $ 550 . The Legion Go S was a swelled smasher at CES thanks to its Modern oculus sinister option , giving user the exemption to prefer between Windows and SteamOS ( the Linux - based operating system that power the Steam Deck . )
The battle between the Steam Deck and every other gaming handheld has been an interesting one — while the Steam Deck hardwareisn’t muscular enoughfor some hoi polloi , its OS is widely accepted to be the good around at the moment . Windows on gaming handhelds , on the other hand , is widely take over to be wildly suboptimal . And while the company has expressedplans to start improving performanceand usableness , it reckon like that ’s still a while by .
So , why might a Windows exploiter make the jump to the SteamOS version ? Well , to start with , it ’s more affordable . The Windows variant of theLegion Go S(which is already usable ) be $ 730 atBest Buyand has 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of reposition , while the new SteamOS interlingual rendition comes with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB configuration , bringing the price down to $ 550 .
Why are the specs so dissimilar ? Well , part of it is down to the operating scheme — SteamOS was developed specifically for roleplay biz on gaming handhelds and it can do its job very efficiently . This means we should be able to get beneficial results while using less Aries , hence the 16 GB spec . As for the storehouse , it credibly just made sense to go all in on a “ budget model , ” so the amount of computer memory was adjusted as well to bring the price down even further .
you’re able to get a pumped - up SteamOS model with higher glasses by choosing the Z1 Extreme configuration . Both the Windows and the SteamOS versions of this fashion model are up for pre - order now with tally 32 GB RAM and 1 TB storage spec — and interestingly , even when the specs are the same , the price of the Steam OS version is still scurvy . This is likely due to the cost of the Windows licence versus the $ 0 price tag end of Valve ’s opened - source SteamOS .
The Z1 Extreme model has a more powerful chipset ( the same one discover in theLegion Goand theROG Ally X ) that should boost performance . I ’m a Steam Deck proprietor myself , and I urge any Windows handheld users to adjudicate out the magic that is SteamOS .
If you ’ve only ever experienced handheld play on Windows , you might take over that the differences between the two systems are paltry — that the sermon is just enthusiasts pettifog about tiny performance and efficiency gains — but that ’s not the case . The conflict are noticeable , to say the least , and the substance abuser experience with SteamOS is importantly more pleasant .