State of Windows gaming

[diamond.g]

Valve has already ported Steam OS to both the Lenovo Legion Go and the ASUS ROG Ally. Additionally the new Lenovo Legion Go S ships with Steam OS instead of Windows.

The SteamOS version is cheaper than the Windows version.

I guess it is good MS has realized that folks want the compatibility of Windows, but the performance of SteamOS and are looking to make a version of Windows for handhelds. Curious if they are going to allow it to run on "normal" desktops.

 

[Queen6]

Soon as I can drop MS Windows the better. I'll use my Mac's for sensitive tasks, the gaming system will be at most a bare bones W10/W11 (LTSC) or Linux and play via Proton/Wine etc.

Q-6

 

[diamond.g]

Soon as I can drop MS Windows the better. I'll use my Mac's for sensitive tasks, the gaming system will be at most a bare bones W10/W11 or Linux and play via Proton/Wine etc.

Q-6

Steam hardware survey is painting a different picture (for market share)....

 

[kiranmk2]

Its strange that we are still in this position given what has been demonstrated in the past

• Back in the days of netbooks with 2-4 GB SSDs, there were plenty of tools to create streamlined Windows XP installs to get it to onto the small drives
• Back in the days of Windows 9x, there was an option to switch between the Windows UI and "DOS mode" and plenty of games that would run in both, but were vastly better in DOS mode (although, granted, they awere largely not designed for a Windows environment)

I would have thought Microsoft should have been working on this for years: creating an OS-based on the Windows core that could switch between XBox mode and Windows mode (hopefully without needing a full reboot, just stopping/starting various processes).

 

[throAU]

Soon as I can drop MS Windows the better. I'll use my Mac's for sensitive tasks, the gaming system will be at most a bare bones W10/W11 (LTSC) or Linux and play via Proton/Wine etc.

Q-6

I've been doing this for like, 10 years at this point. Has worked well for me.

Windows is for gaming, nothing serious. Same hardware will be running Linux soon enough. I already have a second PC i DO run linux on to test games from time to time, DCS World is still not quite there yet.

Anything work related or personal life related is done on my mac.

 

[Queen6]

Steam hardware survey is painting a different picture (for market share)....

Likely he's pulling data from more than just Steam. TBH not overly concerned what others do, next HW upgrade cycle I'll make the change. In the meantime W11 is locked down for my needs not MS.

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

I've been doing this for like, 10 years at this point. Has worked well for me.

Windows is for gaming, nothing serious. Same hardware will be running Linux soon enough. I already have a second PC i DO run linux on to test games from time to time, DCS World is still not quite there yet.

Anything work related or personal life related is done on my mac.

Same, have a M1 MBP that's solely for critical tasks & travel. The gaming system just plays these days and it's replacement will have very little than what's need to game, the odd utility, minimal productivity, last but not least malware protection.

Q-6

 

[maflynn]

Soon as I can drop MS Windows the better. I'll use my Mac's for sensitive tasks, the gaming system will be at most a bare bones W10/W11 (LTSC) or Linux and play via Proton/Wine etc.

Q-6

Interesting video, I'll be reviewing that shortly, but I wanted to touch upon a few trends in the chart
Here's the link that Chris is showing in the video: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide/#monthly-201501-202505

Not for nothing but if you examine the chart yourself you see that Macs have been declining since 2023, where as Windows has been in a steady decline since the start of this chart.

I'm really curious to know the ratio of enterprise users vs consumers for windows. I think enterprise is holding steady, but more and more consumers are leaving windows.

I'm not seeing any increase in Linux, not sure how steamos is showing up, is it Linux (as I would expect) or is it slotted as "other"

Here's a screen grab:

 

[diamond.g]

Interesting video, I'll be reviewing that shortly, but I wanted to touch upon a few trends in the chart
Here's the link that Chris is showing in the video: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide/#monthly-201501-202505

Not for nothing but if you examine the chart yourself you see that Macs have been declining since 2023, where as Windows has been in a steady decline since the start of this chart.

I'm really curious to know the ratio of enterprise users vs consumers for windows. I think enterprise is holding steady, but more and more consumers are leaving windows.

I'm not seeing any increase in Linux, not sure how steamos is showing up, is it Linux (as I would expect) or is it slotted as "other"

Here's a screen grab:
View attachment 2519666

If Gemini is to be believed they track by webpage views, which most folk running SteamOS isn't doing. Which is why I mentioned Steams HW Survey. Really all the launchers/storefronts should have this data, they just are not sharing it like Steam does.

 

[maflynn]

they track by webpage views, which most folk running SteamOS isn't doing

Yeah, that makes sense.

I just finished viewing the YT, and one of the comments - almost in passing is that MS is using AI to produce the code, and its showing a number of rookie mistakes in that coding. I'm not surprised to see AI take on a much larger role in coding and why its not doing a great job.

My organization is embracing AI as the end all and be all, which is troubling and scary

 

[diamond.g]

Yeah, that makes sense.

I just finished viewing the YT, and one of the comments - almost in passing is that MS is using AI to produce the code, and its showing a number of rookie mistakes in that coding. I'm not surprised to see AI take on a much larger role in coding and why its not doing a great job.

My organization is embracing AI as the end all and be all, which is troubling and scary

Yeah Jensen said they were using AI for coding as well.

 

[Huntn]

Look at the GitHub page is more detailed and illustrates the newer version. If you remove the bloat and set the updates for security only it will be OK.

If it screws things up, you can roll back as the first thing the script does is take a system restore point. You may loose some features you want, just turn them back on. I use Task View & Precise Location so I turn then on. Also check your AV is active after as the script may need to shutdown to effect system changes.

Is very simple follow the recommendations and turn off anything else you dont want Recall, Copilot etc. Have used for a good while with no known negatives. I like Chris's approach more as he's only using Microsoft's own tools with no 3rd party installs.

n.b It's on W11 Pro 23H2

Q-6

Titus Ultimate Windows Utility- Have you, are you using it? Does using this utility to turn off bloat require tending it in the future? 🤔

 

[Queen6]

Titus Ultimate Windows Utility- Have you, are you using it? Does using this utility to turn off bloat require tending it in the future? 🤔

Used for a good while, you wont get bloat as it's removed & DL shutdown. Worst comes to worse, just rerun the tool...

Q-6

 

[Huntn]

Used for a good while, you wont get bloat as it's removed & DL shutdown. Worst comes to worse, just rerun the tool...

Q-6

Ok I’m going to the git hub page and see if I can makes heads or tails of it… I was not kidding when I asked you what you turned off.😛

 

[Queen6]

Ok I’m going to the git hub page and see if I can makes heads or tails of it… I was not kidding when I asked you what you turned off.😛

Like this, I also checked Copilot & Recall as dont want the features.

Config you can run System Corruption Scan which will check the system and all drives, repair as needed. Updates pick Security, when you click the tab is self explanatory.

Q-6

 

[dmccloud]

Winaero Tweaker is another good Windows utility for getting rid of bloat in Windows.

 

[maflynn]

Winaero Tweaker is another good Windows utility for getting rid of bloat in Windows.

I like O&O Shut10++ Its not as much as a debloater as it is a utility to turn off the telemetry. Oddly enough Chris Titus' debloater utility actually runs O&O Shutup in the background.

More control over your operating system​

• Disable Windows Copilot+ Recall
• Adapt your security settings
• Protect your privacy
• Control location services
• Disable telemetry for Microsoft Office
• Do not pass on your user data and diagnostics

 

[MRMSFC]

I think Microsoft is rudderless right now with games in general.

It feels like they don’t know what to do with either Xbox, their studios, or Windows.

They went and bought a bunch of games studios, but immediately had to promise to continue to release games on their competitors platforms.

They promoted “everything is an Xbox” and immediately had to backtrack and say that they will continue to make the Xbox, and not discontinue it in favor of Gamepass.

They really don’t have any killer features with DirectX that Vulkan doesn’t, and more and more games are running better on Linux thanks to Valve’s efforts.

And so far with Windows it seems like they’re far more focused with Copilot and finding new ways to farm telemetry data.

 

[diamond.g]

I think Microsoft is rudderless right now with games in general.

It feels like they don’t know what to do with either Xbox, their studios, or Windows.

They went and bought a bunch of games studios, but immediately had to promise to continue to release games on their competitors platforms.

They promoted “everything is an Xbox” and immediately had to backtrack and say that they will continue to make the Xbox, and not discontinue it in favor of Gamepass.

They really don’t have any killer features with DirectX that Vulkan doesn’t, and more and more games are running better on Linux thanks to Valve’s efforts.

And so far with Windows it seems like they’re far more focused with Copilot and finding new ways to farm telemetry data.

I'd argue that DX is "better" than Vulkan because its APIs are vendor agnostic. Vulkan tends to be ahead if you look at vendor specific extensions, but all the general stuff is still behind.

Annoyingly only ID Software still has an engine that uses only Vulkan instead of DX, every other game that has Vulkan is usually worse performing compared to their DX counterpart.

 

[throAU]

Winaero Tweaker is another good Windows utility for getting rid of bloat in Windows.

if you need to resort to third party unsupported hacks to make the OS not completely suck, its time to move platform.

 

[salamanderjuice]

if you need to resort to third party unsupported hacks to make the OS not completely suck, its time to move platform.

So the only good OSs are Linux and the BSDs?

 

[maflynn]

So the only good OSs are Linux and the BSDs?

I think you're missing the point. If you have to utilize hacks to make an operating system work better, then something is wrong. I think Windows has a lot going for it, but its getting harder to use with every new "feature" that MS adds.

They're more interested in forcing its customers to use microsoft account to install the os, and receiving telemetry then having an OS that performs quickly

 

[diamond.g]

I think you're missing the point. If you have to utilize hacks to make an operating system work better, then something is wrong. I think Windows has a lot going for it, but its getting harder to use with every new "feature" that MS adds.

They're more interested in forcing its customers to use microsoft account to install the os, and receiving telemetry then having an OS that performs quickly

For just gaming, I'm not sure why folks have to debloat Windows. It seems fine performance wise without all that extra work. Maybe I have a skewed impression because of the hardware I am using.

 

[salamanderjuice]

I think you're missing the point. If you have to utilize hacks to make an operating system work better, then something is wrong. I think Windows has a lot going for it, but its getting harder to use with every new "feature" that MS adds.

They're more interested in forcing its customers to use microsoft account to install the os, and receiving telemetry then having an OS that performs quickly

I don't think I am. I think it's all operating systems at this point besides Linux/BSDs and maybe like Haiku if you're willing to count that.

Windows certainly has it's share of crap and some of it's definitely annoying, but MacOS, Android, iOS and friends all have loads of anti-features and bad behaviors that require 3rd party tools, hacks and now even regulation to fix too. I'm not even convinced Windows is the worst offender. At least they let me run what I want.

 

[throAU]

So the only good OSs are Linux and the BSDs?

MacOS is mostly OK without resorting to third party unsupported hacks - for me.

Anything i want to fix on it i can do with apps from the app store or elsewhere.

Linux and the BSDs are way better than windows but both have their issues:

• no/poor HDR display support
• poor UI consistency
  • there's always a variety of toolkits in use in the typical suite of GUI apps you need with different menu layouts, different clipboard implementations, some work with network file shares, some don't, etc.
• poor quality native apps
  • There's a lot you can do with both Linux and BSD using the command line, but GUI apps outside of a few niches are still lacking compared to the macOS library.
  • The OS is stable but the GUI app landscape is hit and miss

BSD even more so than Linux for all of the issues above. I ran FreeBSD for several years both desktop and server.

But, Linux is getting there and its a lot better than windows in general. For me, it's not as usable as macOS. Essentially anything i need from Linux i can get out of macOS, and Linux doesn't have the cheap, high quality GUI driven applications i use for my job. Essentially i've paid for a few network utility apps on macOS and anything i need from Linux is normally a brew install away.

I used to daily drive desktop Linux between about 1998 and 2006 (started using it CLI/server use in 1995), now its used for headless servers and virtual machines, but i still check out the desktop at least once every 12 months or so. Last time i ran linux desktop full time (on my PC) would have been 2021 or so.

For me, for serious work, I'd rather pay for a high end mac than run Linux at the moment. Gaming however, sounds like Linux is going to be better than Windows real soon if not already, and the Windows gaming PC will end up with Linux on it again.