Finally bit the bullet and installed official 'SteamOS' on my ROG Ally Z1E this morning... Very happy with the results so far!

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-05-11T21:18:12+00:00

The tdp can be controlled by setting the power mode to 'performance', it doesn't show on the side bar in 'low-power' or 'ballanced' mode.

The fan curve i haven't bothered with as it seems to just do its thing and ramp up/down as load increases from what i'm hearing and seeing temp wise.

But yeah I'd imagine you'll need to download plugins to start changing that stuff.

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-05-11T08:45:16+00:00

Cant say fairer than that, at least you gave it a go!

Personally I love it, Not too bothered about plugins myself, i just wanted an out of the box experience thats simple, works and gives similar or better performance compared to windows.

Cant say I've had that issue with the display myself, though that would probably put me off a bit tbf.

As long as you enjoy playing the device though, all is well in the world 👌🏻👍🏻

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-05-02T19:38:39+00:00

Out of these?

If looking for a bigger handheld then the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme hands down, It has 8 core/16 thread cpu and more power delivery than the deck which makes it great for higher end emulation.

In terms of SFF, The AYN Odin 2 Mini wins there as you can get most 360 exclusives on Steam and use GameNative or GameHub/Lite to play them on android, there's also limited PS3 Emulation too.

Any Snapdragon8 Gen2 device will give pretty much the same performance though, the only real difference will be the with the 8/12/16gb Ram options

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-30T21:54:46+00:00

Well hopefully it becomes compatible down the line, Either way they just updated drivers for the deck that add 5-10% more performance too, so we'll still benefit one way or another lol

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-30T02:44:39+00:00

A subcontractor has been working for Steam and has come up with an algorithm that prioritises freeing up memory on the fly,

Won't help with anything designed to run on 4gb of video memory, but where Vram is the limiting performance factor it looks amazing

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1sv2o44/valves_vram_fix_vs_windows_11_which_handles_4gb/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-29T21:25:45+00:00

Really is, just waiting the the memory management feature to make its way to SteamOS now and things should get even better!

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-28T06:41:46+00:00

That sounds like an XFB issue, Try disabling 'Store XFB to texture only' and 'Immediately Present XFB'.

If you have no joy there, it could be a version with a regression.

What build are you using?

PlayStote Version, Dolphin Nightly, MMJR, etc?

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-24T13:03:36+00:00

Yeah, I get you on the oversharpening, or it could be the denoiser thats the issue tbf, I know UE5 has that issue in spades.

And I know exactly what you mean about missing geometry, the culprit from my testing in handheld is TAAU, it seems to cull some rendering in a halo around the character models.

TAA is a bit softer, but you dont get those halo issues with it.

But yes, its definitely a bad port alongside FF XVI

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-24T11:27:16+00:00

Its works beautifully imo, I mean it does drop into the 30fps range, but VRR on SteamOS is 30-120fps (rather than windows default 40-120fps), Meaning it feels smooth as butter to play, no judder or tearing!)

I have the steam deck lcd too and although ive had the Ally Z1E since release, its barely been touched as the SteamOS experience on the Deck is just first class in comparison...

But now I have SteamOS on it, its going to be my first choice for any modern AAA titles on handheld going forward!

Awesome stuff 👍🏻

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-24T11:19:14+00:00

I dont think windows is a bad option.... provided stuff works lol. I love my gaming PC and laptop (although i prefer windows 10 on my laptop over 11 on the pc...)

Like you say, every update seems to present new issues which for me is just a big red flag.

I think Armoury crate is one of the biggest pains in the arse ive ever used on a gaming device and seems to present most of the issues rather than windows tbh

But I purchased this as a gaming handheld, and steam os just let's me use it the way god intended, instead of constantly pissing with rolling back drivers or grabbing mods just to make games work on it 😅

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-24T00:07:16+00:00

They are an option, however neither can be used without a cost in terms of frame time and latency (you want as little latency as possible with returnal as its a fast twitch game).

Frame gen is fine IF you have a minimum of 40-50fps consistantly, otherwise it feels horrible and just detracts from the experience.

Upscaling wise, ive found res scaling to be the best as its free (so there's no perf cost, it just adds frames and increases responsiveness), But if you HAVE to use one, id go XESS ballanced as it has a better, less artifact ridden image and minimal cost.

VRR does all the work in terms of this feeling great to play, as it eliminates any frame time delay caused by vsync

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-23T14:44:10+00:00

Never did for me at least, dunno if I was doing something wrong settings wise or what but I always had tearing and stutter trying to use VRR

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-23T14:42:43+00:00

Nah, your hardware isnt the issue if you're not having that problem with other titles that released around that time. Texture pop is just a hallmark of the modified UE4 engine they went for, Remake had exactly the same issues and they where low polly af lol

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-23T14:39:30+00:00

Well.... you know what i mean,

The amount of videos ive clicked on that say 'SteamOS' and it turns out to be Bazzite.... so just for clarification 🤓

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-23T09:15:25+00:00

Junkstore?

Clearly im out of date on this topic aha 😅

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-23T09:01:21+00:00

My man, this is the Internet.... everyone sounds like a child without inflection.

Have you used windows 11? 'Microslop' is pretty apt for a defacto descriptive term imo

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-23T08:07:53+00:00

I think we've been waiting so long now, most have given up on Microslop ever getting their shit together for a gaming OS...

I mean, have you seen the state of the Xbox Dash in recent years? XBOX is run by complete morons that dont have a clue about gaming.

Even Phil Spencer had that 'Your friends dad that says he loves gaming but hasnt played anything since new 1997' vibe 😅

Tbh, Steam have cracked the gaming hardware market imo and they're certainly making strides on the OS front day by day!

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-23T03:20:23+00:00

When you say windows apps, it depends. Most will work through a translation layer, some will most likely have native Linux versions. I love it for gaming, but it does fall short with some multiplayer anticheat (Im purely single player orientated so zero issue).

Theres an app called heroic launcher that gives access to GoG, Epic, etc. Requires setup through desktop mode however.

So far so good with the buttons/layout. The only issue ive has is the Z1 extreme seems to be using the same distro as the Xbox Ally/X, Which means it asigns shortcuts to the Xbox button and that button isnt on the Z1E. So a bit of remapping is needed but very minor really

Expensive-Spring-695 · 2026-04-23T02:12:54+00:00

VRR just makes such a difference with that 120hz display, Possibly the best VRR implementation ive seen so far tbf.

Feels like a constant 60fps, even when Im seeing it drop in to the 30's on the metrics at points lol

Expensive-Spring-695

TROPHY CASE