Are any of you running an alternate Linux distro, and why?
With the release of bazzite 2.0 and the existence of other steamOS-like distros like chimera OS, I'm just wondering if anyone is running their steam deck with a different distro than what was shipped. How does the experience stack up, do you prefer something like chimera or bazzite? Just wondering if I'm missing out by keeping the stock OS.
I’ve been running bazzite and the experience has honestly been phenomenal. The biggest upside for me is getting to use gnome but there’s lots of other little benefits. Getting access to the most recent updates for the kernel and mesa is super nice. The different cpu scheduler mixed with gnome’s higher performance over the kde 5 series has got to take the cake though. Using desktop mode has been silky smooth compared to stock. That said game mode has no massive differences.
Honestly I don't regret it and there is nothing to miss from SteamOS. Also I like the idea that Bazzite aims to support home theaters as well as other PC-based handheld consoles.
Feature wise - it's awesome. <3
Bazzite simply kills the argument "Steam Deck is better than any other handheld with Windows because of SteamOS features". Thanks to Bazzite, SteamOS is "available" for more than Steam Deck.
I was using bazzite pre 3.5 release and it was very cool. It can make sense for users that spend a lot of time in desktop mode and linux already. Though i wouldnt suggest it for everyone.
Switching back to steam os is relatively painless.